Vanuatu Part 5: Fishing, Shopping, Missionary Day, and The Reef Vanuatu Zoological

We were supposed to go fishing as a whole big group, but the boat we were supposed to go on ended up needing repairs so we couldn't go. We were thrilled to find a smaller boat that could take a few people out! Cameron, Andy, Max, and my dad all went together for a long morning. 

They were thrilled to catch these cool Barracuda.

These look like small Poulet to me? But I'm not sure. Poulet is a local white fish that's really delicious. 

They were so thrilled with their Barracuda catches until they met up with the other boat for lunch, and they'd caught a 200+ lb Marlin. Pretty crazy for being on such a small boat!

The rest of us spent the morning exploring the "China shops," as my mom calls them. There's a decent-sized Chinese community in the area and most of the little shops are Chinese run. 

A little classy potty break for Davis along the side of the road.

That afternoon we also stopped by the local craft market and got some seashell jewelry (which has already broken).

And then we stopped by the "Mama Market," where the local women sell their produce they grow at home.

There's a beautiful boardwalk right next to the markets. This could have been a nice family shot, but Davis refused to be in this picture. 

A fun little park right on the boardwalk.

Andy was on the hunt for jerseys and shirts the whole trip--these are the three he landed on after lots of hunting and thinking.

We had a fun morning where Max and Violet got to be missionaries! Max was my dad's companion and Violet was my mom's companion. They attended a meeting with my parents and the APs where they planned a zone conference for the following week. My dad lent Max a tie. :) (Andy was invited too, but he caught a stomach bug and was home sick this day.)

Cameron and I walked around town and bought Davis this shirt while they were having their meeting.

All smiles from Elda Max and Sista Violet! (Even though they said the meeting was really boring, ha ha)

After the meeting, Max went to lunch with my dad and some elders. Us girls took a couple of sisters out to lunch too. It was so fun to chat with them and hear how excited they were about their area. 

More creative playing at the mission home!

Our final night in Port Villa we had to go back to Stone Grill.

Had to sneak a shot of this truck full of people. You see this all over! The truck beds are totally packed with people riding around town.

Our final morning we visited The Reef Vanuatu Zoological. It's a cool animal preserve. They raise sea turtles and set them free in the ocean once they're adults.

The baby sea turtle area was so fun! They were the cutest little things.

We chatted with the Australian owner for a bit.

Max thought this guy was very heavy and was scared he was going to drop him.

They had other fun animals too! This is a crazy looking coconut crab.

Don't let his smile fool you--Andy was quite upset our tour guide stuck this little guy on his shirt and started freaking out, which made it try to climb into Andy's shirt and terrified him even more ha ha.

Violet, on the other hand, loved holding him!

Two whole weeks in Vanuatu! We had an amazing time and were excited to head to Fiji for a week.

We ran into one of my parents' past missionaries, Sister Wilson. She works at a shop in the airport.

A rare moment when the boys were playing well together! It had to be documented.

Vanuatu Part 4: Church at Paonangisu and Lelepa Island

Sunday morning we made the drive to the other side of Efate to go to the Paonangisu Branch for church. 

I borrowed one of my mom's island dresses to wear for the day.

It just so happened that Elder Tuiburotu had just gotten transferred that week from Tanna to Paonangisu so we got to see him again. Davis was thrilled to see his best buddy again! 

We waited a while for church to start. I think it started 45 min late. Island time!

They asked my parents to both speak when we got there. They didn't know we were coming and I wonder what their plan was if we wouldn't have come ha ha.

I loved hearing my parents speak. It's so cool they've both learned Bislama.

My memory of this meeting is that it was very hot.

More hanging out after church! They didn't have the second block of meetings that day. They're trying to get organized so that can happen. :)

It was my favorite thing to watch my kids play with and interact with the local kids. Max and Violet were a bit more shy. Andy and Davis jumped right in.

A group shot in front of the missionaries' apartment.

Davis with his favorite elder.

We wanted to go visit a local home, so that night we went to visit one of my parents' former missionary's mom. We got really lost coming here (they don't really have an address), but finally found them.

They were the sweetest extended family that lives in a group of a few shacks. This one had just been destroyed in the tropical storm in march. They said they were inside when it happened.

We wouldn't let our kids touch the stray dogs that run around everywhere in Vanutua (we were scared of diseases), but made an exception for this cute little guy. 

It was so humbling and fun to chat with this special family for a bit. We gave them legos we had brought and got to see their really humble home. I think it gave us all a bit of perspective.

That night we had a couple of sister missionaries over for dessert. A sister from West Valley and a sister from Indonesia. I wish I remembered their names. It was so fun to chat with them and hear a message from them.

The next morning we woke up and headed out on a full day tour to Lelepa Island!

First, we rode on boats to a little private beach and did some snorkeling, kayaking, and hanging out. 

Lots and lots of shell collecting and trading

After they fed us lunch, we got back on the boats and headed to the snorkeling spot just off of Lelepa. The snorkeling was incredible! I can't decide if it was better here or at Hideaway Island. After the snorkeling we rode the boats again to visit a cave and the village on Lelepa Island. Not pictured: that boat ride was absolutely terrifying. We were on little boats and the waves were huge because it was so windy. Giant waves were crashing inside the boat for a good 15-20 minutes. We were all absolutely soaked and were hanging on to our kids for dear life. I think only Davis and Violet were in life jackets. Another one of those "this would not be allowed at home" moments. We all looked at each other when we were done with wide eyes feeling very grateful we'd survived it.

We were pretty traumatized from the boat ride at this point but still enjoyed the cave.

They served us warm drinks in the village.

It was so cool to spend a little bit of time in the village! They had made handicrafts for us--I bought two decorative baskets that are so pretty.

All the young children sang us a couple songs. It was so cute.

It's hard to tell, but there were giant spiders hanging above us all along the path. Davis wanted to hit them with his stick. 

All in all a fantastic day!