Marcus | Papaya Villa

Explore Eton Reef

Take a 'Reef Walk' across Eton Reef

One of our most favorite things to do is to explore Eton Reef which is right in front of Papaya Villa. Once the tide drops you can spend hours looking at real coral and reef fish.

We have approx 1.6 kilometers of pristine reef in front of the property here at Eton Reef. You will see live corals and beautiful colored reef fish in a natural environment.

Go snorkeling and take a camera. Stoney takes her Go-Pro and captures some amazing video. If you want a tour, just check with Shoran. She does make a small charge, but that goes to purchase some books for the kids in our village

Afternoon Tapas

And there goes the afternoon...

We decided to give dinner a miss and spend the afternoon making and eating tapas in the Loco Kitchen. A glass or two of wine and there it is!

Crispy fried squid tentacles, home made chorizo bread, pork feijoada, tender eye fillet pinchos, patatas brava, and prawn and chorizo paella…

Guests are able to order dinner, just let me know in the morning and the menu really depends on what is available and fresh.

We do operate the Papaya Loco Cooking School from here so the food is always fresh and interesting.
Just another option for dinner for our wonderful guests….

Paella at Papaya

Spain comes to the South Pacific ...

Who would have thought you could enjoy paella here in the islands of the South Pacific?

Our paella is one of the most requested dishes at our Long Lunches. The scent of saffron, bay leaves and beautiful lobster stock floats around the villa.

Many of our guests take a cooking class with Marcus in the afternoon and then that’s dinner done! If we have lobster from our reef then it finds its way into the paella also.

The hero ingredients usually depend on what’s available here at the time. It may be farmed prawns from Teouma, octopus from Efate, or beautiful poulet fish which is a speciality of Vanuatu. For vegetarians imagine tofu marinated in garlic and smokey paprika with brown rice and black beans!

Stoney makes her fabulous sangria. Perfect with paella on a tropical island

This will be a memorable meal for sure…

By the Beach

The view over Eton Reef ...

I just love this view over Eton Reef. We often get up to watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee…. and even the sundown is amazing from this spot. These beautiful stone seats are perfect to drop your towels and go for a swim.

This little piece of paradise is right in front of the villa on our private beach. In Spring it is surrounded by the beautiful white flowers that have a scent surprisingly like a camelia. They form an amphitheatre behind this amazing ocean view.

A perfect spot for an early morning meditation.

Built from rocks collected on the beach, some good old cement and stainless steel coach screws to batten them down.

The Beach Hut

Our Special Beach Hut

Well peeps we are right on the ocean so why not create a fab space to sit and ponder the world? We wanted some shade and also the ability to have somewhere to catch up with friends and take in the cool ocean breezes. So the Beach Hut was built!

Beach Hut Dining

The Beach Hut is perfect for an early dinner watching the waves roll over the reef. Or if you really must eat in the middle of the day… why not a light lunch followed by a swim. Check with Shoran if you would like a picnic basket for a day at the beach.

Beach Hut Coffee Break

Most of our guests take breakfast at the Beach Hut overlooking the ocean. What a way to start the day. Me… I like to take my early coffee here and ponder the coming day.

The Loco Long Lunch

How about a five hour long lunch with Caribbean and Portuguese food ... followed by a swim

Stoney sets up the big table in the nakamal at least once a month…. but this is becoming popular so check in when you are staying and join the fun. Lunch kicks off around midday and usually followed by a swim around 3:30 and then onto dessert!
Marcus makes 5+ courses using what is fresh and available locally. Food is Caribbean or Macanese and every now and then he will surprise our guests with a typical island dish.
It is BYO so guests bring their favourite drop. It a great afternoon… usually Sunday afternoon…

Our New Kitchen

The Papaya Loco Kitchen

Well we now have a fabulous purpose built kitchen. It was inspired by the Caribbean… with amazing Portuguese floor tiles. We have already prepared some amazing food here. There is seating for 6-8 inside the kitchen and 20 in the nakamal . Of a night it lights up with these retro strings of lights. Can’t wait to cook for you!

The Getaway Show

Our Getaway Visitors

Look who dropped by!

Yep Catriona and the crew from the Getaway Show. We did a shoot in Port Villa in the morning shopping the Food Markets in town and then out to the villa to shoot a cooking class. Yes our Papaya Loco Cooking School has had numerous food writers cover us and now Catriona and Getaway. They loved the villa so much they also shot around Papaya Villa. Was such a great fun day… and she is as lovely as you would expect!

The Milky Way

Stargazing...

This year we built the ‘Star Deck’ where you relax of a night, turn the lights out, grab a glass of wine and WOW! ….What a show.

In the Southern Hemisphere we are privileged to have the Milky Way. These pics were taken by Anshel from Hong Kong during his stay with us. Incredible… thank you Anshel.

Our Wood Fired Oven

Who doesn't like something out of a wood fired oven!

This was my weekend project. A true labour of love. Now we make pizzas, roast vegetables and with the addition of a ‘Tuscan Grill’ we grill steaks, lobsters, fish and anything else you can think of… oh yes… Portuguese Pirri Pirri Chicken.
The oven is built to the original Pompeii Oven specifications which are very precise. The floor of the oven is fire bricks and under them is an insulation layer of sand and empty beer bottles. Yes I took one for the team and emptied a few… well more than a few but who’s counting.

Living on a tropical island has its challenges. If you want something you need to build it your self… oh yes .. assuming you can get the materials. This little project took me almost two months. What with waiting on refractory cement and fire bricks to arrive from overseas. Was it worth it?

Definitely. It looks beautiful and is so much fun to cook with. We have had afternoons or evenings with guests where we light it up and make some amazing food. There is some thing magical about cooking with fire… and of a night it just looks romantic. We are constantly learning how to use the oven and also what timber to use… We are stock piling timber now to allow it to dry for approximately 12 months!

Author: Marcus