Vanuatu, like most of the islands in the South Pacific, has a very small carbon footprint on our planet, but they seem to suffer the most from the effects of global warming and climate change. Specifically, the devastation caused by the horrendous cyclones that have occurred over the past few years, Pam and Winston, just to mention two. This morning, during our snorkeling excursion, we saw first hand some of the storm damage inflicted on the coral reefs surrounding the southern part of Aneityum Island. The coral that was healthy, though, was fabulous and included variety we'd not seen before. While there weren't too many fish around this particular snorkeling site, we did see the largest Angel and Parrot fish we've ever seen, even larger than those we'd seen in Bonaire.

We are on the southern tip of the southernmost island of the chain of islands comprising Vanuatu and we are the only yacht in Anelghowhat Bay. In fact, we may well be the only yacht visiting Aneityum Island at the moment, but our dinghy explorations this morning revealed the most magnificent scenery, particularly around Inyeug Islet. It reminded us a lot of Huahine Island in French Polynesia and Niuatoputapu in Tonga with the powdery white sandy beaches, volcanic rock and fabulous shades of turquoise and blue water. While the water was absolutely freezing, we've had sunny blue skies since our arrival and it's wonderful having all this remoteness and stunning natural beauty to ourselves. The stars were so bright last night we thought they were lights onshore and we had a beautiful sunset, the first in quite some time. Apparently though, a cruise ship is expected tomorrow, so we'll have plenty of company again, whether we like it or not!

After a very productive day yesterday, Elaine finished making the paw paw jam this morning, which was enjoyed with freshly baked crumpets for breakfast. That is the o ne downside to this eco-friendly environment we're currently enjoying - no grocery stores, so no fresh bread, which means we get to bake a lot. Fortunately fruit and vegetables can be traded for fish hooks and line, of which we have plenty!

This evening, just before sunset, we had a local boat stop by. There was a Digicel employee onboard who was from Pakistan and who had never been on a yacht. He was here to service the equipment on Inyeug Islet and wanted a photograph taken of himself on Paw Paw. Needless to say, we then had all the locals onboard the boat wanting to do the same thing. The delight and joy, though, when this gentleman discovered that Roy knew his country and had visited it years ago, was touching. It was dark by the time memories were recalled and stories exchanged. A fun ending to a fun-filled day and, once again, stressed the fact, that no matter where in the world this sail adventure takes us, it's the people we meet under t he most unexpected circumstances, that make the difference to our experience. Our paths will probably never cross again, but he, nonetheless, invited us to his home in Port Vila, if we ever passed this way again.