Should We Be Worried?

We are anchored at Port Resolution, Vanuatu. It is Sunday morning as I write. We arrived on Friday morning hoping to clear into the country before the weekend. It didn’t happen. At this point, we assume it will be Monday before we can clear in. We don’t know. We have called on the radio and sent emails but have heard nothing back. So we wait. We can’t leave the boat until we have cleared in so we sit and wait. The first day of waiting wasn’t bad. We were tired after the passage so a lazy day was welcome but now I’m restless. I’m ready to explore our surroundings.

The main reason we, like most cruisers, came to Port Resolution is to climb Mt. Yasur. Mt. Yasur is an active volcano. It is a national park and locals guide travellers to the summit crater. We plan to do the hike once we clear in.

We saw steam rising from the volcano as we approached the island on Friday. We can’t actually see the volcano from our anchorage. There is a steep hill blocking it from our view but it’s clear that it is not far away. Every so often, a plume of steam rises out of the lush foliage that covers the hillside–evidence that of the seismic activity just below the earth’s surface.

I’ve read that there are hot springs across the bay. Apparently, they are easy to access from the beach but I don’t think we’ll try them. It’s not quite eight o’clock in the morning and it’s already 29°C in the cockpit where I’m sitting. Sitting in water near the boiling point doesn’t have much appeal for me.

As I look across the bay, I see another plume of steam rise from the forest canopy and wonder how the volcano is monitored. What are the chances of “the big one” hitting while we are here waiting for the authorities to clear us into the country?