Wohnen und Leben in Port Vila

The travels are over, 2 cyclones passed and now we finally have sunshine again and plan the last 2 weeks in Vanuatu. How time flies! 😯

During this time we met many great people and experienced the culture and made ourselves comfortable in the Seachange Lodge with our New Zealand host Ian. It's often the people and shared experiences that leave the longest memories. So now we're going to tell you a little bit about our everyday life, which mainly takes place in the lodge, at the beach courts, and sometimes in yoga studios, at the beach, supermarket, or local markets.

For the three months, we had a private room with a bathroom in Ian's house. We share the kitchen and living room with him or other guests from another 2 rooms, which are sometimes more and sometimes less occupied. Often they are friends or acquaintances of Ian from NZ or Australia, as he prefers a cozy and familiar environment. Ian is from the South Island of New Zealand, bought the lodge 4 years ago, and has been living in Vanuatu since then. He also manages other accommodations, some of which are on Tanna or Santo. He is incredibly warm and helpful, and we have been invited to his barbecue evening twice, where he serves Western delicacies (cheese, antipasti, and good red wine) for friends. It's a real treat for us, as we rarely indulge in that (simple Gouda 200g = 8€). The friends and other guests often have some kind of business or are looking for something to stay in the tax haven of Vanuatu. Otherwise, many come for volunteering or you meet long-term travelers from Europe who have many exciting stories to tell.
Besides our residential house, there are 6 self-contained apartments or bungalows, a pool with sun loungers and kayaks. Just recently, a German couple with 2 children stayed here for 10 days. They started with their sailboat in Fehmarn 3 and a half years ago, sold the boat on Fiji, and now travel back to Germany through the Pacific Islands and Australia. Since the daughter is now 8, the parents teach her every day, and it was interesting to hear how the family organized and experienced the trip. They had planned it for a long time, but they didn't expect it to last over 3 years. But there is still some money left, and they are enjoying the freedom as long as they can. Their stories are really inspiring and they have given us new ideas 😉.

When we are not at 'home', we hang out at the beach courts. Josh has become our closest friend, but we have also become more familiar with many other boys and girls. Nevertheless, we are looking forward to after training to spend time with other people, do yoga/strength training, or sip iced coffee at a resort. Our alcohol consumption has been limited to 1 bottle of red wine and 10 bottles of beer for the last 10 weeks. It's the culture.

Through the yoga teacher in Fiji, we met Charlotte from Zurich. She has been traveling in the Pacific region since April and has now settled in the local village of Mele for 3 months. The reason was more or less a guy she met while diving. Especially because Anni has more free time, it's nice to have coffee with her and chat about everything. But also, the guys from the diving school are super nice, and just last Sunday we spent a day together on the boat.
Anni's everyday life has also changed a bit in the last weeks. It's not the breakthrough in her career (which would be theoretically possible given the demand for physiotherapists), but it's a nice side job. She now teaches yoga three times a week. Once in the Yoga Association of Port Vila (for which she gets free yoga classes) and twice for some pocket money in a youth center. She also treats Vicki, a New Zealand lawyer and businesswoman, after her shoulder surgery. She also owns the only organic shop in Vanuatu, which is of course very convenient.
Through the youth center, where many Western volunteers work, we also got to know many other new people at a festival last week (you've seen them somewhere before... This 'city' is small, and expats stand out). So the next 2 weeks won't be boring, and we still have to experience 1-2 kava evenings (the root that you drink here to 'numb' yourself) before we go to Australia on November 17th 😀.