After two days of intense diving activity we were dived out; it was time to move on. We cruised over to Oyster Island and anchored in a stunning bay next to another inviting resort. It was a beautiful sunny day, one of very few thus far. A yachtie acquaintance of Rod’s, Harold aboard Cassiopeia, says he hasn’t seen good weather here since March! As soon as we settled at anchor, we jumped into the dinghy to visit a nearby blue hole.

There are several blue holes on Vanuatu, deep freshwater pools of crystal clear blue water fed by cold underground springs. The water bubbles up to fill the pool and then spills over to create a tropical river that winds its way to the sea.  Although I said previously we were ‘dived out’, actually we took our scuba gear along to better explore the pool.

It seemed like a very long dinghy trip up the meandering river, although Rod says it only took us 10 minutes. The following day Mike and I repeated the trip in our kayaks and it required some 45 minutes of paddling each way, not accounting for photo stops. Around the last curve we arrived at the blue hole, shaded by a giant banyan tree with a rope for swinging out Tarzan-style over the pool. The water was cold! Much chillier than the ocean. But no freshwater rinsing the salt off our gear afterwards, which was a bonus. And lucky for us to see it on a sunny day when the hue of the water was an intense electric blue.

This is the last of the blogs from Vanuatu.  We have cleared out of the country at the immigration office, celebrated with a departure dinner last night at the Oyster Island Resort, and are just waiting for a break in the weather before heading to the Solomons. This morning we woke up in a gray drizzling cloud with rumblings of thunder, but we expect by tomorrow we’ll be on our way.  Perhaps another departure dinner is in order!