Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
I didn't realise, when booking this trip, just how humid it might be in the places we would be visiting. Boy was it humid today!
Our first port of call this cruise was at Lifou, on the largest of the Loyalty Islands. It is very pretty, with blue beaches and is very much the image you conjure up when you hear "tropical island". Palm trees abound, as do frangipani and hibiscus. Plus, there are little huts and beach shacks dotted along the main road.
We were dropped off the tender at a tourist area, nowhere near the main town. It was a matter of booking a tour either previously on the ship or with the local operators when you landed. No taxis to speak of, so I was a little disappointed as I had hoped to go and see the vanilla plantation, but could not get there.
Instead, I contented myself with a short walk along one of the tracks which led to a rocky outcrop that had magnificent views back towards the ship. The four of us stopped for photos, before heading back to the touristy area.
As we approached, some of the Islanders were doing a cultural demonstration if some singing and palm leaf weaving. What they produced with the leaves were amazing, and included bags and hats which the locals use to stop the sun. The show didn't last much longer though, so the four of us split up, one heading to the beach and us three walking up to find a Catholic Church and small museum.
The church was not huge, but was very pretty. The altar was carved (a man who looked like an Islander, struggling to hold up the alter, which I thought was interesting) as was the cross. There were lots of stained glass windows, but most of them were damaged. Plus, something which made me smile-a nativity scene, but the stable was made of palm leaves and decorated with tinsel. It reminded me of the Vietnamese "Christmas vomit" which I had seen last year.
On the way back to the beach, we stopped at the museum but didn't stay long, as it was all written in French. There were some very old photos of the Islanders dressed in their colonial best which looked very out of place compared to the colourful and breezy cotton clothes they were wearing today.
I also stopped at the hut where there were local crafts to buy. There were carvings as well as clothes and jewellery but I didn't buy anything-I didn't get any money changed, as I thought there would be ATMs where I could do that. Alas not.
I then went down to the beach to find the others, but didn't stay too long. I was hot and wanted to get back to my 21st century comfort of air conditioning. As it turns out, they were feeling the same, so we all came back onto the ship for the rest if the afternoon.
The only other thing of note was that a few hours after sunset, there was a tropical storm that we were sailing through. There was heaps of lightning and some thunder, and I had a great time sitting watching it, and trying to take photos, from the balcony. I am led to believe that this is quite common around this area, so I may well see more storms before the cruise is done!
- comments