The Great beer Mission

Actually not a serious mission, compared to northern Pentecost. Where me Al and Jackie march about half a mile through the village to find "the store". The Store was security concious. It had corigated iron walls. As a posed to woven palm leaves as every other building in the village. It was also dark. Dark is dark in these islands. No electrisity, small children, one of the dragging a tree, loomed out of the dark on eaither side. Houses lit by hurrciane lights flickered between trees. An Englisman's home is his castle. I call them "Houses" beacause people live in them. Huts would be a less charitable but maybe more acurate description. The stars were out overhead, and fireflies flickererd amucst the trees. You really had to be there. The child dragging a tree branch added to the surreality, it sounded as if the forest was folloing us.

Pixelated finger for sensative viewer

The beer quest, in this island was for cold beer. The presence of a hospital presumably requiring electricery. We walked to the bar. Following the locals directions. They were, as usuall, wildly optomistic. "Island Time" is something we are used too. Everyones always late. This is not a problem. Now I have a theory as to why they are late. Its cos they wildy underestimate the time it takes to get places.

Guide to Island Distance Units

Not Far = brisk half hour walk.

10 Minutes = the other side of the damn island.

Maybe 1km = Go back to the boat for knapsack and hiking boots.

However there was a bar, and it did have cold beer. Which tased v good. We stopped to buy M & M's on the way back. And balloon's for the kids. We had been sharing the ships supply of lollies with the kids. But realised there is no dental care nearerr than Port Villa, which might as well be on mars to the outer islanders. Ballons however don't damage dental enamal. Probably safer too, most toddlers round here have machettes to play with. The ammericans are impressed by George Washington's one little cherry tree. Round here todlers have tree felling as a daily chore.

Getting in and out of the bay was scary. The reef has been blasted, to allow a narrow passage. We used our time honoured navigational system, of measuring our distance off using the radar and comparing how far out the chart was. Note I said how far out not whether it was out. All the charts bar ocational hourbour plan inserts are out here. If you look at the inserts, their edges oftern miss the edges of the main charts by half a mile. Given the dynamited pass was probably (it wasn'y actually marked on our chart) only a couple of boat lenghts wide. We just had to follow the transits in, which gave us 2.3m on the echo sounder display. We go aground at 1.8m.

At anchor in the bay

Alan decided we were 1.5 miles off the corner of the island with its 1/2 mile of reef. I looked at the shore looked at him. Looked at the shore. decided we weren't 1.5 miles away. Radar came up with 0.7. Which given many of these charts might as well have "there be dragons here" writern on them was a little close. I think the authors just draw a green reefy area arround the edges as a sort of pictographic discalimer.

All in all I needed that beer, and the hike probably did me good. The bar was playing a Jean Claude Van god damn movie. Which one doesn't matter they're all pretty much alike. So we sat outside. Bootleg DVD's obviously.

Thank god for 'em I say. The boat had a European DVD player, replaced in Suva with I suspect and Ausie or possibly Asian DVD player. Thanks to the DVD regeion code system you can't swap DVD's with other boats unless they mach your DVD players region. Bollocks I say, I have no sympathy for "bootleg DVD's are bad" when the legal ones are no use. We've got hulk hogan's Suburban Commando. Legal copy can we watch it? No its yankee region, can we bollocks. Not that in this case I'm that bothered. I though I was fianlly going to get to see ET. Nope worng region. I'm (obviously) a geek. Breaking region codes on my laptop probably woundn't be too tricky. However my laptop is the only one of 4 on board with no DVD drive.