Vanuatu 4.0

After more than 3 years we are finally back. In the place where a lot of things began for us and where we now spend a few months as a couple, pregnant, with Pepe as a baby and now with Anton as a family.

The plans only became concrete in June and now we are incredibly happy to be able to be here again.

We started in Hamburg at the airport on August 28th, 2023 at 10:30 p.m. With 3 huge suitcases weighing 30kg each, a stroller, Maxi Cosi and some hand luggage, we stood in the Emirates check-in queue. We flew to Auckland via Dubai. The first 5.45 hour flight to Dubai overnight was quite relaxed. Both children were able to sleep well. We sat in the front row with a baby cot where, thanks to the legroom, we were able to build a bed with our carry-on luggage. Anton just had the permitted dimensions for the baby bed (max 11 kg and 80cm) and slept in it for a few hours.

After just a 3-hour stopover in Dubai, we continued on time to Auckland. In the A380 we again had the first row with a baby cot, but we were able to use it much less. Both children were awake a lot and there was more to do. Anton is now crawling and pulling himself up everywhere. We were able to play with him in a free row next to us and there was also some space in front of the stairs to the first class. Pepe was able to keep himself busy with books, sticker books and coloring books, but of course he also had his needs. At some point the 4 p.m. passed and we landed in Auckland on time at 10 in the morning.

The time in Auckland until the next departure was quite short and we rushed through the airport pretty quickly. When the news came that the plane was taking off 6 hours later, we were first relieved and then annoyed. The 8 hours at the airport gave us the rest and we arrived in Port Vila at 9:30 p.m. pretty exhausted. Luckily Debbie sent someone to pick us up and take us to Seachange Lodge. We arrived at the garden house with the owner Ian, who we knew, and fell into bed after a quick shower. The first night went well at first. On the second and third nights, Michel, Pepe and I had longer periods of wakefulness. Anton was the quickest to internalize the new rhythm.

On the first few days we had a great distraction due to the Continental Cup being held in Vanuatu. Beach volleyball teams from New Zealand, Australia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Samoa were there and it was a big event with lots of spectators. In the men's and women's categories, Vanuatu made it to the finals and were beaten by New Zealand. They were close games and the atmosphere was great. We met many familiar faces on site and the anticipation for the coming time was huge despite the long journey :)

Between games we spent a lot of time at the resort next door where the teams and organizers were staying. Thanks to a huge children's pool, we were able to get Pepe excited about palm trees, pools and warmth pretty quickly. I'll describe what the first week after the Continental Cup looked like in the next post.

Lukim yu 🤗