John and I visited Port Vila from 29 March, 2 weeks after Cyclone Pam hit. We found the devastation confronting and feel for the ni-vanuatu people and businesses trying to recover. Best thing moving forward will be for the tourists to start coming again.
We feel blessed that our bungalows came through relatively unscathed; a gutter ripped off, some flashing torn like it was paper and fans bent out of shape. The gardens will also recover, so very fortunate indeed.
At the waterfront in town
What once was the craft markets
Nambawan Café is no longer
Sign bent out of shape
One of the many trees completely uprooted
Roof gone
Fans must have been spinning up hitting the ceiling and we found them like this
Wind blew so hard against the wall it jumped the cistern away from the wall
Gutter and flashing twisted like it was cardboard
View from the studio through the gardens to the block next door
Because the lagoon rose over a metre, the water plain underground popped the empty
septic tanks (which were ready for the next bungalow) out of the ground
The hills across the other side of the lagoon are all brown like a bomb had gone off
The rise in the lagoon washed away the soil leaving just the concrete around the fence posts.
After distributing clothing etc to the local community, John got into repairing and finishing off and I into
adding the finishing touches to Bungalow 1. Can't believe it's finished, just the bedside tables and
small dining table & chairs to go. From an empty shipping container to this ...
