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| Arriving on Panasesa Island |
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| "Tender" delivering passengers to the island |
We dropped anchor early in the morning off the island of Panasesa in the Conflict Islands. We had booked a "snorkelling tour" for the day, as we were told that we would be unable to reach the reef ourselves.
The tour involved a short dinghy ride to a nearby offshore pontoon from which we could snorkel – a distance we could probably swam ourselves.
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| Anticipation |
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| Objective |
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| Satisfaction |
However the snorkelling was great, travelling along a steep drop-off into deep water. The water was crystal clear. We saw plenty of fish and coral, with Frances swimming out further than everyone else.
Access to the island is managed by P&O, and all purchases on the island must be in vouchers bought through their agents who do not buy them back, so if you exchange too much money you are left with worthless pieces of paper! In addition to the locals selling arts and crafts, there is a bar and food stall where you can purchase local delicacies such as fish cooked in pandanas leaf with rice.
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| The voucher purchase desk |
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| The bar |
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| The food stand |
After maybe an hour snorkelling, we explored the island which is quite small, and walked through a coconut forest to the other side of the island in about 15 minutes.
The island has all the elements one would expect: the water was a beautiful clear blue, the weather perfect, the palm trees swaying gently in the light breeze...
Interestingly, the floating wharf and snorkelling platform were both made of plastic.
Hot, tired and hungry we caught a tender back to the ship and had lunch and promptly crashed out.
Frances had to wake me to run a Tai Chi class at 3pm after which she had a manicure appointment. It’s just go, go, go.
We went to the Waterfront for dinner, and again Natalie complained about the chemical smell so we tried another table which was acceptable, so we made a permanent booking there.
The dinner again had some really good parts and some less good, but overall OK, especially the desserts.
Interestingly, the floating wharf and snorkelling platform were both made of plastic.
Hot, tired and hungry we caught a tender back to the ship and had lunch and promptly crashed out.