Rabaul, Papua New Guinea & Chuuk, Micronesia

We have a new “Hottest Spot” winner – Rabaul, Papua New Guinea takes the prize! I'm not kidding you, everybody was sweating like crazy! What an amazing stop though. When we awakened on Sunday morning, we looked outside and we were sailing right beside a volcano that had smoke billowing out the top! Now that is a sight to see. The second I stepped outside, my glasses fogged up and I knew we were in for a scorcher. Since most of Rabaul was destroyed in a volcanic eruption in 1994 we were driving on the ash on top of what used to be the town. Our first stop took us toward the volcanos to a partially rebuilt village. Everybody was so nice and friendly! Everywhere we went people were waving at us and shouting hello. The children ran down to the road and were so excited to see us – it was very lovely! At the village a group of children sang Sunday school songs and we had a wonderful view across to the volcanos. Next we went to see the remains of a Japanese WWII plane that had been dug out of the ash. We then drove to the hot springs, and just when I didn't think it could get any hotter, it did! The water was 80 degrees celsius, and man could you feel it as you approached! Our guide told us that people bring their food down to the hot springs and cook it in the water, and I can see why. We made our way back across the ash plain to the vans, and at that point I ran out of water (boo hoo). Our final stop took us back through the relatively undamaged part of Rabaul and up to the Rabaul Volcano Observatory which gave us magnificent views down over the town, the harbour and the volcanos. Rabaul was a truly great stop, and our guide was lovely. She and I exchanged addresses and hugs before mum and I got back onboard the ship.

On Tuesday we arrived in Chuuk, Micronesia which turned out to be just as hot as Rabaul – not surprising since both places are so close to the equator. There were no tours offered in Chuuk, and there really wasn't that much to see. I understand that it is a wonderful place to go diving because there are so many sunken Japanese planes and ships in the waters surrounding Chuuk, but since I find all things submerged to be really creepy, it wasn't to be. Nevertheless, mum and I got off the ship and wandered around the town. Parts of the street were flooded and it was quite muddy. The local post office was doing a brisk business as our fellow passengers went rushing by us with boxes to load up and mail back home! After we'd had our fill, we went back to the port and browsed through the stalls selling souvenirs. Mum was keen to pick up some “love sticks” and was quite pleased when she found them. I will leave you to find out what a “love stick” is, or you can wait until we get home and we can show you! As for myself, I bought a wonderful carved turtle – I just love him. I only hope I can get him back to Canada in one piece!