Day 41: Port Vila, Efate … Vanuatu

Sunday, 8 January 2017
At Sea — South Pacific Ocean … En Route to New Caledonia

[Ooops … forgot to get stats last night, so the ones below are from the 17th … when I posted this entry to the blog.]

Stats @ Ship’s Time 6:00a (VUT) … UTC 6:00p (16 February)
Temp: 80.8F (27.1C)
Position: 20.09.12S / 168.11.76E

The man who goes alone can start today; but he who
travels with another must wait till that other is ready.
~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Welkam to Efate, one of the 83 islands that make up Vanuatu.  Insignia docked at the commercial pier in Port Vila, the capital of this Melanesian island nation.  Though we did a short drive through the city on our way back to the ship at the end of the day, we spent our visit here exploring parts of the rest of the island.

Jurassic-looking coastal scenery en route to Port Vila.

I was set to take Mui to Hideaway or Iririki for a day of fun in the sun and surf when fellow-passenger Manuela announced that she had organized a cultural tour with Atmosphere, a ni-Vanuatu operator … meaning owned/operated by the local people.  So, we jumped on her small group tour instead.  I’m glad we did.  We had a really nice time.  And the weather cooperated, too.  In a region plagued by rains — five to six cyclones per year is not unusual — the wet stuff held off until the very end of our day.  Even that downpour was brief, and by the time the ship was ready to set sail, the skies had already turned blue again.

[My one caution to others who might book with the tour company would be to limit the group size to no more than 8.  It was a tight fit in the vehicle for our group of 12 even though the van was described as seating 16.]

Our guide, Steve, regaled us with interesting tidbits about his country and his culture — I should have taped him so as to remember everything.  He told us that in many of the Melanesian dialects spoken on the islands, Vanuatu means “Our Land Forever” or “Eternal Land.”  He was particularly proud of how friendly his people are, always ready with a smile or greeting for anyone they encounter — we found this to be true throughout the day.  And, he was quick to assure us that cannibalism is no longer practiced — except on one island, which we are happily not visiting.

To illustrate the symbolism inherent in the nation’s flag, Steve gave out playing cards and explained …. starting with the colors: red for the blood shed for independence … admittedly little; green for the lush vegetation and fertile lands; black for the color of the Melanesian people; and yellow for Christianity … although I read that it also stands for sunshine.  The “Y” represents the rough-shape of how the 83 islands are aligned.  The circular symbol is for a pig’s tusk … a very important cultural element; and the crossed lines represent the silver fern … which stands for welcome, peace, and respect.

Lots of thought went into the design of the flag of Vanuatu.

One of the most intriguing things Steve shared about the culture of Vanuatu was the dowry-system.  Most marriages are arranged by the man’s family.  Paying a dowry to “purchase” the wife is customary … pigs being the ‘currency’ of choice.  Once the dowry is accepted, the girl leaves her family, never to return to them.  She is forever a part of her husband’s family, living under the thumb of her mother-in-law, who is the matriarch of the family.  Men stay with their families, and are responsible for their parents until their death.  While this custom has relaxed some, it is still widely practiced on the islands.

So, enough tidbits … let’s get on with the tour.

Our first stop was at Iarofe, a restored village developed to share with visitors the pre-Colonial life and culture of the Melanesian people of Vanuatu.  Here we were joined by two other groups also exploring with Atmosphere.  Walking through the bush a short distance, we arrived at the entrance to the village.  There was a bar across the path, and a silver fern frond stood upright in the center of it.  After the chief said a few words of welcome in his dialect, he removed the barrier and invited us into his village.  Sitting on benches around an open space, we were each handed a branch of leaves to use as a fly swatter … thankfully there were no mosquitoes.

The people were dressed in their traditional costumes.  While the women worked quietly in the background, one of the men spoke to us about living off the land and surviving in the aftermath of the frequent cyclones that came through the islands.  He showed us a couple of fishing tricks using: (1) spider webs to make lures; and (2) plant fronds to create bats to pound on the water to remove the oxygen and bring the fish to the surface.  He also showed us how they use shells to cut tree fronds, peel bananas, and grate coconuts, and spoke about preserving bananas in deep holes covered with banana leaves, which, when properly layered, act as a barrier to water.

Our visit concluded with the men performing a couple of dances and demonstrating “fire-walking” — on a bed of heated rocks … something only men do … as a rite of passage, and often to test the mettle of warriors.  It was interesting to watch how one of the men used his mouth like a paint sprayer to cover the sole of the fire-walker’s foot with a mash of plants as a layer of protection from the heat.

Performing a dance for fishermen going out to sea.

We left the village with our host’s words ringing in our ears: “You arrived as guests, you are leaving as family.”

Our second stop was at Eton Village where we visited the school.  Steve explained that while there might be a few teachers who receive pay from the government, most of the teaching is done by volunteers.  We didn’t see any teachers in the school rooms that we peeked into, but the kids — for the most part — seemed to be paying attention to their studies.  Nearby, a visiting midwife was doling out vaccines as part of her duties.

It was here that we spotted the beach and asked to walk in that direction to check it out.  It was brutally hot under the sun, but there was a nice breeze, too.  The white sand beach, and the water in varied shades of aqua, were both beautiful, but what we enjoyed most was a group of boys fishing with a net — or at least trying to.  A few of them hammed it up for the cameras, capturing our hearts with their broad smiles.

Sweet children at Eton Village.

Swimming time was at hand next — but not in the ocean.  Steve took us to the Blue Lagoon where fresh spring water mixes with salt water from the ocean.  Several of our group jumped right in, deeming the water very refreshing.  This was followed by a visit to Rarru Cascades where some of the group rinsed off the salt from the lagoon with a swim at the waterfall.  Neither Mui nor I swam here, but we enjoyed the short walk to get there and the lush green landscape along the way.  When we returned to the parking lot, we partook of plates of fruit (included in the cost of the tour) … a refreshing treat.

Blue Lagoon … it even looks refreshing.

Cascades on the path to …

… the Rarru Waterfall.

On the way back to Port Vila we made three more stops.  The first one was at the Tanna Coffee Factory.  Here we were briefly shown how they roast Vanuatu-grown coffee and tasted the end product with a beverage of our choice.  You don’t hear about Vanuatu coffee much, but Mui said it was quite good.

The next stop took us up to the Klehms Hill Lookout for a bird’s eye view of the landscape.  Alas, tall grass blocked most of the view for shorties like me.  I actually got a better look at the scenery from inside the van as it sat higher off the ground.  Mui climbed on top of a short post and took a pano for me so that I have something to remember this stop by.

Our tour ended with a quickie stop at a handicraft market in Port Vila.  It was when we were getting out of the van here that it started pouring.  We got a little wet going inside to look at the wares on offer, but by the time we came out 10 minutes later there was no sign of the rain.

Mui waiting for his coffee order to be filled.

An expansive view of the scenery.

Steve dropped us off at what he referred to as the “Mama’s Market” at the pier — appropriately named I think as most of the stalls were manned by women.  Though the vendors were friendly and not pushing to make sales, the stalls were set up as a maze that everyone had to walk to get back to the ship.  We didn’t dally.  I was dragging by this time — partially from being under the weather with whatever respiratory crud is ailing me, but mostly from being out and about on a hot and humid day.  Though I drank a lot of water, I doubt I kept up with the amount lost through perspiration.  A shower went a long ways towards refreshing me enough to go up to the Terrace Café for dinner.  Thankfully tomorrow is a day at sea and I can rest up.

Farewell Vanuatu!

Click here for the online gallery with more images from our visit to Vanuatu.

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