Solomon Islands

We were greeted with the sight rof dolphins around the ship. There is a group of about 50 spinning dolphins that live quite close to a nearby Island. They are smaller than other dolphins and are called spinning because they spend a lot of time jumping out of the water and spinning this makes them much easier to spot. We are taken to a private island owned by an American. He has bought it for reasons of conservation. It is in beautiful condition and to keep it this way there is a ranger on the island. It isn't very big but gives us a really good idea of what pristine vegetation might be like in the Solomons. There is plenty of time to walk around the island and then snorkel. I can hear birds and wish that our birding naturalist was nearby so I could ask him what they were, he seems very knowledgeable of birds in the area despite being Irish. I did see a bird on the path and managed to take a picture. It isn't great but I'm hoping he can identify it. I also saw mud nest quite low to the ground.m

The snorkeling here is much better than yesterday, I don't feel hemmed in by a large decaying ship and the space is large enough for everyone to swim and snorkel without bumping into each other. We're told that the coral is in really good condition, although near to the shore there is evidence of bleaching but I'm told that was because it's very close to the surface. Further out where I was snorkeling the coral looked good which meant we could see many different kinds of fish. Of course with any coral reef, the fish are often very brightly coloured and that was the case here. It wasn't as hot as I imagined it would be which was probably because we were on a small island, but it did make the walk particularly nice. On our way back and zodiac driver took us close to where the dolphins were and we could see them leaping out of the water, unfortunately almost impossible to photograph.

The second part of the day was spent on the island of Ghizo and the town of Gizo. This is the next biggest town after Honiara in the Solomon Islands. They have very good carvers (stone and wood) so it's suggested we take some local currency with us. I suspect it's a big deal to have our ship just offshore. I doubt they would see many tourists or have many opportunities to sell their work. One group told us they actually had travelled from another Island when they heard the ship would be here.

At first impressions the town looks very much like those you see in South Africa, it is after all a third world country and so the buildings are fairly roughly constructed, the road is not very well made and there's only one road really where the shops are and what is available to buy is limited mostly to what the locals need. There is evidence of people chewing betal nut with the telltale sign of red spit on the pavement. The people are very friendly and most will say hello as they pass by. It's a very busy town, albeit small with people coming and going to the local market or just out and about. We walk most of the length of the shopping strip. The market is really interesting, inside the entrance is where the men sell fish, many of the fish look like those we swam with this morning. Each stall holder has only a few fish to sell. Baskets made of palm leaves are available for people to carry their produce home. I love seeing the fruit and vegetable section of markets. It's always so colourful and that is the case here. Some of the produce for sale was unfamiliar but most was what is available at home. Again the stalls are small and the sellers women. It seems like the men sell the fish and the women sell the fruit and vegetables. Some of this will be on our plates tonight for dinner.

The island is very conscious of minimizing plastic and other waste which means the street is reasonably clean. My overall impression is that despite the fact that it's a poor place, it is well organized and clean and probably safe. This is hard to tell because we have our guardian angels (Ponant crew) with us wherever we go but at no point did I feel unsafe. They keep their distance but are watching.

A big day so an early night.Read more