Goodbye Vanuatu, Hello Solomon Islands!

After an incredible time exploring Vanuatu, it was finally time to say goodbye and set sail for our next destination: the Solomon Islands!

But before we could leave, there was still one very important mission left to accomplish. One that involved an early morning, a lot of snorkeling, and a rather elusive underwater creature. And as if that wasn't exciting enough, the following days brought us another bureaucratic adventure, a beautiful three-day passage, our biggest fish yet, and our first encounters with the people of the Solomon Islands. But let's start where we left off!

One Last Evening on Epi Island

Before leaving Epi Island, we had one last evening to enjoy this beautiful little corner of Vanuatu. With our big dugong-snorkeling mission planned for the following morning, we decided to spend the evening taking a leisurely walk along the beach and through the nearby village. After exploring for a while, we stopped at Sanda Café, a small local restaurant, for dinner. And what a delicious dinner it was! We were served a local chicken dish with bok choy, onions, sweet potatoes, and rice, accompanied by some refreshing homemade lemonade. Everything was absolutely delicious, and after all our cooking aboard Tauha, it was a real treat to eat out. Besides, we needed to fuel up for our big adventure the next morning. After all, finding a dugong was serious business! With full stomachs and high hopes, we headed back to Tauha for an early night. Tomorrow would be our last chance to find one of these gentle giants before saying goodbye to Epi Island.

One Last Try at Finding a Dugong

As you might remember from our last blog post, we were anchored in Lamen Bay on Epi Island, an area famous for its dugongs. These gentle marine mammals, close relatives of manatees, feed on the seagrass growing in the shallow waters of the bay. Naturally, we couldn't leave without giving it one last try to see one up close. So, on our final morning, we dragged ourselves out of bed at sunrise, squeezed into our snorkeling gear, and hopped into the dinghy. The sun had barely risen above the horizon when we made our way toward the seagrass beds. Not wanting to scare away any dugongs with the dinghy's engine, we tied it to a mooring and waited quietly, scanning the water for any sign of movement. And just five minutes later, there it was! A large tail broke the surface of the water not too far away. A dugong!

Trying to contain our excitement, we slipped quietly into the water and started swimming toward the spot where we had seen it. When we arrived, the seafloor was clearly disturbed, as if something large had been feeding there just moments before. Unfortunately, the dugong itself was nowhere to be seen. But we weren't ready to give up just yet. And as it turned out, the ocean had a few other surprises waiting for us that morning.

A Turtle Paradise

As we continued snorkeling over the seagrass patches, we suddenly spotted a sea turtle peacefully enjoying its breakfast. Now, anyone who knows us knows that we get excited every time we see a turtle. But this time, it wasn't just one. There were turtles everywhere! At one point, we counted more than six turtles swimming and feeding around us. Some were enormous and looked like they had been cruising these waters for decades. Others were smaller, with beautiful, vibrant patterns on their shells. A few had clearly been through some rough times, including one turtle with a missing flipper. But there they were, happily munching away on seagrass, occasionally surfacing for air before diving back down.

It was absolutely incredible to watch them so closely in their natural environment. And the turtles weren't our only companions. We also spotted rays gliding gracefully through the water. Honestly, even without a dugong, this snorkeling trip was already worth getting up at sunrise for.

After about an hour and a half, however, we were slowly starting to get cold, and our stomachs were reminding us that breakfast was long overdue. It seemed our dugong mission was going to end without the grand encounter we had hoped for. Or so we thought.

The Last-Minute Dugong!

We had arrived back at the dinghy when Alex decided to make one final little loop. Just a quick look around. A few moments later, I noticed him signaling frantically in my direction, clearly very excited but desperately trying to stay quiet. My heart immediately started racing. Could it be? I swam over as quickly and quietly as possible. At first, all I could make out was a large shadow moving slowly along the seafloor. But as we got closer, the shape became unmistakable. The enormous rounded body. The powerful tail. And the funny little trunk-like snout digging through the seagrass. There it was. A real, living dugong, right in front of us! We could hardly believe our luck.

The dugong seemed completely unbothered by our presence, calmly continuing its breakfast while we floated nearby, watching in amazement.

It was such a peaceful animal, moving slowly and gracefully through the water. We also noticed that its back was covered in scars, possibly from mating encounters, interactions with other dugongs, shark bites, or boat propellers. For quite some time, we were lucky enough to swim alongside it and observe it up close. Eventually, the dugong decided it had enough company and slowly moved on. We didn't want to disturb it or chase after it, so we simply watched it disappear into the blue. And just like that, our final mission in Vanuatu was complete! Turtles, rays, and a dugong, all before breakfast. Not a bad way to start the day!

One Last Sail Through Vanuatu

Back aboard Tauha, we finally treated ourselves to a well-deserved breakfast before getting everything ready for our next passage. Our destination was Espiritu Santo, the biggest Island of Vanuatu, where we needed to officially check out of Vanuatu before continuing to the Solomon Islands. We also had a rather long shopping list. Groceries, fresh vegetables, hardware supplies, and various bits and pieces that somehow always seem to be needed on a sailboat. Before noon, the sails were set, and we were on our way.

The weather was beautiful, the wind was good, and after just one night at sea, we arrived early the following morning. Instead of heading straight into town, we decided to anchor near a quieter, more remote island nearby. After catching up on some sleep and getting a few boat projects done, the afternoon heat eventually convinced us that we had spent quite enough time working. The water was simply too inviting. So we jumped in! It was the perfect temperature, and we decided to swim all the way to shore, giving our arms and legs a little exercise after the passage. Our arrival on the beach, however, did not go unnoticed. A group of cows was watching us with what can only be described as complete confusion. Apparently, the island was mainly used for cattle farming, and two strange humans emerging from the ocean were not part of their usual afternoon entertainment. We exchanged a few curious looks with our new bovine audience before enjoying the rest of the beautiful, sunny afternoon. It was one of those wonderfully simple days that make cruising so special.

Permit A38

The next morning, we raised the anchor, headed toward town, and set off to complete the official checkout procedures. And as you probably know by now, customs and immigration are rarely as straightforward as one might hope.

It was a hot day, and walking around town under the blazing sun wasn't exactly our favorite activity. Still, we were once again impressed by how clean everything was and how friendly the people were, even in one of Vanuatu's larger towns. Our first stop was the customs office. After finally finding the building, we were informed that we first needed to visit immigration. Of course, immigration wasn't in the same building. In fact, it was quite a walk back in the direction we had just come from. So off we went. When we arrived at immigration, we were told that everyone was on lunch break and would return in about half an hour. Fair enough. Half an hour later, we could hear people moving around inside the building. Excellent! Progress! Except the door remained firmly closed. Another half hour passed, other people were now waiting with us outside, before someone finally opened it. Only to inform us that the officer responsible for checking us out was still at the airport. But don't worry! He would be there in another half hour. Of course he would.

Eventually, the officer arrived, and we were finally able to complete our immigration paperwork. A first success. Next, we had to visit the harbor office to pay our fees. This turned into another lengthy process because apparently nobody was entirely sure how much we actually owed. But eventually, after some calculations and discussions, we managed to pay. Now all we had to do was return to customs and collect our final paperwork. Easy! Except their computer system wouldn't start. So we waited. And waited. And waited some more.

At this point, the entire experience was starting to feel suspiciously like the famous Asterix and Obelix adventure involving Permit A38, where the heroes are sent from office to office in an endless bureaucratic nightmare. Fortunately, unlike Asterix and Obelix, we eventually escaped with our sanity more or less intact. And, most importantly, with our official checkout papers!

The Great Grocery Shopping Sprint

With the paperwork finally completed, we could turn our attention to the next task of provisioning. Our first stop was a grocery store, where we enthusiastically filled four bags with food. Everything was going wonderfully. Until we reached the checkout. The card reader wasn't working. And, naturally, we were about 20 dollars short in cash. Oops. Fortunately, the staff were incredibly relaxed about the whole situation and had no problem with me waiting in the store while Alex went to find an ATM. They even suggested he take a taxi. But Alex, apparently determined to turn our grocery shopping into an athletic event, decided to run instead. About ten minutes later, he returned, completely out of breath but triumphantly holding the missing cash. The staff seemed rather impressed that he had actually run the entire way. With our groceries finally paid for, we carried the heavy bags back to Tauha before heading ashore again.

This time, our mission was the fresh produce market. And thankfully, it was still open! We managed to find bok choy, cucumbers, spring onions, papaya, tomatoes, and some delicious homemade chips. Finding such a variety of vegetables is always exciting. We even treated ourselves to some delicious ice cream. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the hardware store, it had already closed. And since the sun was slowly setting, we decided to stay another night.

The following morning, we made one final grocery run to pick up everything we had forgotten the day before, followed by a moderately large hardware shopping expedition. Electrical cables, fishing supplies, distilled water, and countless other little things somehow found their way onto our list. We also managed to dispose of our trash and refill our water bottles at the dinghy dock, which doubled as a busy shuttle and fishing dock for boats traveling between the nearby islands. Finally, everything was ready. Tauha was stocked, our paperwork was complete, and it was time to say goodbye to Vanuatu!

Three Days at Sea

Our next destination was Nendo, the largest island in the Santa Cruz Islands, a remote island group in the southeastern Solomon Islands, about three days of sailing away. We had chosen this particular island partly because we had heard that checking into the country would be relatively straightforward there. It also worked well with the wind direction, and stopping there would allow us to rest rather than sailing for five days straight. A pretty good plan, if you ask us. And even the weather seemed to agree! The passage was fantastic. Sure, the seas were a little choppy at times, but we had plenty of sunshine, good wind, and, perhaps most importantly, a working autopilot! After all our previous autopilot adventures, being able to sit back and let it steer the boat still feels like a luxury. Life was good.

As usual, we settled into our offshore watch schedule. Alex takes the first night watch from 8 PM until midnight. I take over from midnight until 4 AM, and then Alex is back on duty from 4 AM until 8 AM. During the day, things are a little more flexible, depending on how tired we are and what needs to be done. In theory, this means we each get four hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time. In practice, of course, those four hours also include getting into bed, trying to fall asleep while the boat rolls from side to side, and occasionally waking up because something makes a suspicious noise. But overall, the system works pretty well for us.

The Fish Must Be Broken!

I had just emerged from my four-hour sleep, and we were planning to have breakfast together before Alex headed down for his turn to rest. We were both relaxing in the cockpit when Alex looked at the fishing rod trailing behind Tauha and commented: "I think the fish must be broken. Nothing is biting!" Well. Apparently, the ocean took that personally. Because not even ten minutes later, we heard it. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

The fishing reel was screaming! Alex, who was still at the helm, immediately jumped into action. He clipped himself onto the safety lines and grabbed the fishing rod while I hurried over to take control of the boat. And then the fight began.

This was no ordinary little fish. Whatever was on the other end of the line was putting up a serious fight! We could see a fairly large fish jumping out of the water behind us, desperately trying to shake the hook. Alex fought to reel it in, and as it slowly came closer, he became increasingly convinced that we had caught a mahi-mahi. After about ten minutes of battling, the fish was finally close enough to see properly. And yes! A beautiful mahi-mahi! Bright green and yellow, measuring an impressive 47 inches (about 119 cm) and weighing roughly 16 lbs (7 kilos)! Our first really nice ocean fish! We were absolutely thrilled. After getting it safely aboard, Alex cleaned the fish and prepared it for storage. And with that very successful morning of fishing behind him, he finally headed down for a well-deserved nap. I think it's safe to say he slept with a pretty big smile on his face.

Hello, Solomon Islands!

Later that night, we finally arrived at our destination in the Solomon Islands. Unfortunately, that meant anchoring in the dark. Not exactly our favorite activity. Especially since GPS positioning isn't always as reliable as we'd like, and trying to judge distances and underwater obstacles in complete darkness can be rather nerve-racking. But everything went smoothly, and soon our anchor was down. We had made it! And even better, the anchorage was wonderfully calm. After three days at sea, a peaceful night without the boat rolling around felt absolutely fantastic.

The next morning, we took care of a few things aboard while waiting for customs to arrive. They were supposed to come directly to Tauha to complete our check-in. But then we received a call. Apparently, they didn't have any fuel for their boat. No problem, though. We launched our dinghy, crossed the bay, and walked over to the customs office ourselves.

When we arrived at the dock, it was bustling with activity. Boats were coming and going, people were selling things, and there was plenty happening all around us. Unfortunately, we didn't have any Solomon Islands dollars yet, and there was no ATM on the island. But to our surprise, customs didn't seem particularly concerned. They simply told us that we could pay the fees when we checked out of the country. Wait, what? No running around town looking for cash? No endless waiting? No complicated bureaucratic treasure hunt? We could just check in and pay later?

After our experience leaving Vanuatu, this almost seemed too good to be true. But it wasn't! The entire check-in process was quick, easy, and incredibly relaxed. What a wonderful welcome to the Solomon Islands!

Vampire City

As we started exploring, we quickly noticed a few differences between the Solomon Islands and the other Pacific countries we had visited so far.

One particularly interesting thing caught our attention almost immediately. A surprising number of people had bright red teeth and gums!

At first glance, some almost looked like vampires. We soon learned that this comes from chewing betel nut, a popular local stimulant. The areca nut is typically chewed together with lime powder and betel pepper, producing a bright reddish-orange juice that stains the mouth. In some ways, betel nut plays a similar social role to kava in other Pacific islands, although the effects are quite different. While kava is known for its relaxing properties, betel nut acts as a stimulant.

It was another fascinating little cultural difference to discover along our journey. We also noticed that life here seemed somewhat less prosperous than in some of the islands we had visited previously. There were fewer signs of wealth, and unfortunately, at least in this first anchorage, quite a lot of trash had accumulated along the beaches. That was a noticeable contrast to the remarkably clean towns and villages we had just experienced in Vanuatu. Of course, we have only just arrived, and one island certainly doesn't represent an entire country. We are curious to see what the other islands will be like as we continue exploring. One thing, however, was immediately familiar. The people were incredibly friendly and welcoming!

Trading Fish for Fruit

Back aboard Tauha, we had one small problem. A very delicious problem. We had a lot of mahi-mahi, but with no freezer aboard, there was absolutely no way the two of us could eat all that fish before it went bad. Fortunately, we had already noticed that trading seemed to be quite common here. Earlier that morning, someone had even approached us offering papayas. So Alex decided to head ashore again and see whether anyone might be interested in exchanging some fresh fish for fruit.

The village where we were anchored was apparently home to a vocational training school, where students learned trades such as carpentry and electrical work. Alex spent some time chatting with the locals and having fun with the children before arranging a trade. And what a successful trade it was! He returned to Tauha with two papayas and a watermelon, all in exchange for some of our freshly caught mahi-mahi. A pretty good deal for everyone, we thought! We got delicious fresh fruit, the villagers got fresh fish, and nothing went to waste.

And as I'm writing this blog post, we're actually sitting aboard Tauha, happily eating that very watermelon. It doesn't get much fresher than that!

Onward Through the Solomon Islands

And that's where we are right now! After an unforgettable final morning swimming with dugongs in Vanuatu, a bureaucratic marathon, a beautiful offshore passage, and our biggest fish catch yet, we've officially arrived in the Solomon Islands. We don't know exactly what adventures are waiting for us here, but that's part of what makes this journey so exciting. Over the next week, we'll continue making our way through the island chain, exploring new anchorages, meeting local people, and hopefully discovering even more of the incredible marine life this part of the world has to offer.

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