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The tiny island of Mare. (Pronounced - Ma ray)
Usually, as we approach a port, we can see the land mass either side of the ship. This island is so small that we couldn't even see it on the forwards facing ship web cam until we were right on top of it.
Nestled in the South Pacific, Mare is a hidden gem and one of the New Caledonia islands. It was named as such by the explorer. Captain Cook, who reckoned it bore such similarities to the Scottish Caledonia islands, that he named it New Caledonia. I can see what he meant....Scotland is famed for its tropical temperatures, gorgeous dark skinned residents and softly spoken, French, accents. Yep.... just like Scotland!
I should add here that David thought 04:45 was a good time to get up this morning. Apparently he was too excited to sleep and so opened the balcony doors.... the crashing noise of the sea made sure that I woke up too and, just to ensure I didn't slip back to sleep, he put the Tv on as well. Sadly none of the channels were working and the room was bathed in the glaring light of static. Coupled with the noise of the sea, I thought the world was crashing down around me!
Anyway.... awake we were and we watched from our balcony as Mare came closer and closer. The typhoon had passed by them earlier that night and, by the time we docked, it was beautifully calm.
We were both very excited as we got on board a tender and took the short five minute boat ride to shore. Mare, like many South pacific islands, is very very green with Pinetrees nestled amongst bread trees and other Flora.
Mare is a limestone island and, if you look at it from above , you will see lots of natural holes dotted around. These are kind of like sinkholes and are often filled with the most gorgeous coloured blue water.
Things to do on mare are little.....it has the tiniest town as we stepped into land and, by tiny, I mean a few open air buildings selling handicraft and souvenirs. Princess were operating a shuttle bus to one of the white sandy beaches but David and I decided to try and walk the coastal road ourselves. The plan was to try to find our own secret beach on the way and go for a swim in the clear blue waters.
It was hot.... around 31 degrees and very humid. We set off and, within just a few minutes, spotted the police building with gendarmes written on it. The French gendarmerie come out to these islands on attachments to work and after two years or so, then return to France. The policeman standing outside the building smiled as we approached and so I guessed it was cool to speak to him.
He was lovely and we chatted in broken French and English for a few minutes. When he realised I was an English police officer, he tore the police patches from his shirt and gave them to me. What a legend! One of the patches has an image of a mare thatched hut on it and I am beyond thrilled with them.
After a kiss on the cheek we left the policeman and started off walking again. The coastal road was windy and had no pavement to walk along but, considering there were very few vehicles, it was safe enough. To our right was the South Pacific sea but in most places it was just too Ricky or coral like to climb down for a swim.
We kept walking and walking looking closely in hidden alcoves for a spot which was suitable. It was a truly beautiful walk and we saw so much more than those on the coaches who passed us by every five minutes or so.
We found a place called the natural aquarium which was a hole, a few meters in from the sea, and filled with water and many fish, crabs and other aquatic life. No one else was there which seemed really surprising to us. It's the kind of place a tour could have gone to but it seems only the beach was on offer! There was a small, no swimming, sign at the natural aquarium and so, after we had taken our photos, we headed off again on our walk.
We walked for eight km in blistering heat and humidity but still we found no spot of sand amongst the limestone and coral.
We found secret coves and gorgeous photo spots and this kept us going for over two hours of walking. After two hours we were both hot, sweaty and not so much relishing the walk back!
We decided to turn back around and, on the way back, we would look closer for safe places to get into the water.
After around ten seconds of walking....a dirty black pick up truck, you know, the kind you see in horror movies which have axe men on board, passed us going the same way. It came to a stop in the middle of the dusty road and a hand extended from the window beckoning us.
We didn't need asking twice and we sprinted up the road toward the pick up and climbed into the back seats. The lady driver was called Api and we guessed it was her adult son sitting in the front passenger seat. We didn't learn his name because he didn't talk much. He did smoke quite a lot of cannabis though...and wore a woolly hat. Strange...
Api and her son took us all the way back to the small town we had started from and we were really grateful. The heat was just too much to have enjoyed the walk back.
Very close to town I found a place to swim! Luckily I had crocks to wear in the water.... it was very coralline and rocky. The water was gorgeous and I had my go pro with me too. Hopefully, once I get a chance to look at those images, I will find some good shots of underwater sea life. It was teeming with fish and crabs!
David stayed above and took photos for me. You couldn't really swim there unless you were a very strong swimmer and had decent footwear!
Finally, tired but happy we boarded a tender for the ship. Back on board we went to the pool for another cooling dip and chilled out in the hot tubs. Early night calls!
Tomorrow is Port Vila. A bigger island for us to explore.
- comments
Gary Glad the typhoon relented and allowed you a great day.
Mum Who is the man in the picture ?!
Maureen Pilkington So interesting can hardly wait to hear more of your travels