Saturday 20 July 2013
Port Vila
Cleaning and sorting continued aboard, with the tropical sun finally coming out, with the wind dying away and the rain staying away. We’ve just had a special farewell dinner for our extreme dentist Lyndon, otherwise known as Fang, plus nurse Kristie and James – all leaving early tomorrow morning; pick up at 4:30am in fact.
It’s been an action-packed couple of weeks and it’s hard to think the first team is going home.
With the departure of Lyndon, Kristie and James and Tony and Christine choosing to stay in an apartment ashore, it leaves just Jon, Ray and me aboard the good ship Chimere. This will soon change as the next sailing team will start arriving on Friday 26 July and the medical team a week later on 2 August.
Lyndon was keen to check-out the PCV dental clinic again today and so we went up the hill to find Richard Tatwin playing cricket in a regional match, over the road at the Independence Park. Richard is very much the all-rounder and while we watched he assumed the role of keeper, bowler, fielder and batsman.
The dental clinic still lacks one important piece of equipment – called suction. This will of course change in time when additional equipment arrives, but at the moment patients are expected to do a lot of spitting and dribbling as the water builds up in their mouth – all very disgusting stuff.
Anyway, as it turns out Lyndon is something of an inventor, handyman and anticipated such a situation, consequently he has constructed a mobile suction unit powered by a small vacuum cleaner and involving a collection jar, (for you know what) and a series of hoses, pipes, cables and switches. It’s now late, but Lyndon has finally constructed it all and after unpacking the vacuum cleaner we have been treated to a demonstration – of a cup of water being emptied by a suction tube attached to a garden hose. Amazing, unfortunately Lyndon won’t be around to give it a go.
We are slowly working through the jobs aboard with refueling set down for Monday, along with doing a food stock-take and repack. Important to know where the next jar of peanut butter is when required.
Smooth seas, fair breeze and farewell Fang, Kristie and James.
Rob Latimer
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