Port Vila (veela) Vanuatu 
Some funny words we saw today.....they speak a mixture of things here but the coolest is the pigeon language.
There was a sign which read "yoo no kam in siyd. Long dog eet yoo'"
Roughly translated as it sounds.....don't go inside ...big dog will eat you!
If yesterday was hot then today is absolutely scorching. We docked at Port Vila at around 8am and could tell, just from the view off the balcony, that it was a beautiful day. After a quick breakfast we packed our cameras and headed off the ship. Because the harbour is deep, there was no need for a tender ship today and we could just walk directly off. 
Just in the port a market was set up with stalls selling all kinds of curiosities and junk. Most of it was junk! There was a massive scrum trying to get out of the port gates and start our walk to town. The scrum being caused by over eager taxi drivers desperate to get you on board their particular vehicle. Many of them did not understand that "no thank you" meant no thank you..... we eventually shoved our way through the throng and started what was meant to be a 5k walk into the main city area. Already we could tell that Port Vila was much bigger and busier than mare. After around two minutes of walking we realised it was just too hot. At just 0930 in the morning it was probably around 35 degrees and the humidity was the real killer. Luckily, one not so pushy taxi driver caught our attention and we climbed into his bus for a ten dollar trip into the city/town.  
The town itself was quite industrial with a lot of vehicles stuck in the traffic jams that filled the main few roads. Once there we did wander around the shops and managed to find a Vanuatu flag to add to our collection. Sadly, Barbara, no thimbles in any of the stores!
Even wandering around the town and seeking shade in the shops it was still so hot and humid. We had a very well earned lemon beer in a cafe and then decided it would be a good idea to walk out of town and head up toward where we figured it would be quieter and more picturesque.
It was all of those things.... the roads were devoid of vehicles for the most part almost as soon as we got a few hundred yards out of town. The road we followed snaked left and right as it climbed....it was a hot, hard walk but we had the best view of the port once we reached the top. I still cannot believe just how blue the sea looks in these parts. Just stunningly beautiful. 
At one point on our uphill walk a man pulled up alongside us in his pick up truck and asked us where we were going. We decided not to get in his vehicle, not because he wasn't pleasant or anything....just not pushing our luck with accepting lifts from random strangers! 
Once we felt we could no longer walk the uphill snakes road we found a straight one which headed back down to the town. I suggested popping down to the shore front just to get our bearings and see how far from the ship we were. Once there, another nice guy called Rox offered to take us to see the waterfall.....this was strange to us because we had been told that, due to no rain, the waterfall had dried up.  
We knew princess had cancelled a tour due to this. Anyway, Rox assured us that the waterfall he was taking us to had plenty of water and so we agreed a price ( much cheaper than the ship tours) and got into his car for the half hour drive. It was a nice journey where we took in the lush green scenery of Vanuatu and waved to various people selling fruit along the road. Everyone seems so happy here and it is infectious.
Rox pulled his vehicle into a small car park and told us he would wait whilst we went to explore. A guide then pointed us to a white sand path which lead in amongst trees and vines and told us just to follow it and we would get to the waterfall. So we followed it.....for around 200 meters the path snaked left and right and, to our right, was certainly a river with small cascades of water in various places.  
I was beginning to wonder if that was in fact the waterfall which would had been a tad disappointing......but then, just around a few more corners, we could hear the sound of crashing water.  
The path opened it into a clearing of sorts and, in the centre of this clearing, was a gorgeous huge fresh water pool which looked deep and inviting. At the far end of the pool was the waterfall....the water was cascading down into the pool and looked very inviting. A few people had gone in for a swim. Just before I went in I managed to find a life jacket for Dave. This was great news because there was no way he could have touched the bottom and been safe in that pool.
We both climbed down some rickety steps and lowered ourselves into the water. Just to get out of the heat was amazing. There were thousands of fish in the pool and they were not at ALL scared of us. They even came up and nibbled at our legs which didn't hurt at all. Once we were both happy that dave's jacket was floating, we swam out toward the waterfall itself and tried to get underneath it. 
The cascade was a very long one, not particularly high but the length meant that there was a lot of waterfall in a small space. Some waterfalls are high....this one was wide. Both Dave and I tried to swim under the cascade itself but this is really a lot harder than it sounds. As soon as we got close to it the water splashed into our eyes and hammered down onto our heads. Invigorating....yes! I was wearing my GoPro again and hopefully got some good shots.  
After a time spent enjoying the coolness of the water and watching the locals back flipping from the top of the waterfall, I spotted the rope swing. Of course I wanted to go on the rope swing! Swimming back to the pontoon where we had first got into the water, I climbed out and took hold of the rope. It was brilliant! I actually swung and dropped into the water four times because it was so much fun. Dave watched me but I could tell he really wanted to have a go.  
Finally it was time to go and, just before we left, Dave said "I'm doing it!' And he strolled over to the rope. I was anxious and excited for him and got my camera ready to capture the moment. He did great! Swung out like a pro and let go when I shouted at him to do so. That had been his concern, not letting go at the right moment when the pool was at its deepest. But he did it....he surfaced quickly due to his life jacket but was all grins as he swam back to the pontoon.
Dave said he would have regretted it if he had not have tried and I was proud of him. Sometimes I forget how unsure he used to be of any water and now look at him. Swimming in natural pools, dunking his head under waterfalls and jumping in from rope swings. Great stuff!
We found Rox waiting for us and he took us the half hour ride back to the ship. It was still scorching hot as we wandered back through the market and then on board. Straight to the pool we headed where we spent over an hour properly cooling off and chilling out. At around 15:30 it was afternoon tea time and it was delicious as usual. We are going to eat in one of the posh restaurants tonight (we do it once per cruise) and I had to tell Dave to stop eating cake or he wouldn't have room for his crown grill steak.
Now for the exciting news....we won the afternoon trivia! Just the two of us and a particularly tricky trivia saw us rack up 17/20. The guys marking our paper said we were too smart by half. I pointed to David.....it's mostly all him although I did contribute some answers this time. Considering most of the teams have four or six players, we were proper chuffed to win again. We got a few offers to join other teams as we walked out of the room with our chests puffed out and clutching are crappy magnet clip prizes! It's not the prize we do it for.....it's the kudos for sure.
Now we are chilling out in the room waiting to leave this lovely port. Tomorrow is a sea day and we plan relaxing and going to the gym.
Ooooh news flash.... captain just made an announcement.... we are going to be late disembarking because one passenger needs to be medically disembarked and we are waiting for the ambulance to arrive for him. Shame really....hopefully they will be okay. It happens quite often on cruise ships because so many of the punters are quite elderly. Anyways....it won't delay us too much apparently. 
Ttfn



Ps more photos to come. Go pro footage too mb heavy to upload!