June 1, Sat afternoon This is the urban center of Vanuatu. They have laundry here!! I'm so so so happy! Went to a hotel for a beautiful fat filled breakfast to eat with my Malarone. Well, the eggs and tablespoon of ham has fat. Yes, the way to keep the anti-malaria drug from making me feel yucky is to take once a day with a fat meal. The beautiful part of the breakfast was the piles of fresh local fruit.
Our friends' boat broke the mooring line in the night - scary. It went adrift and got tangled up with some other boats and no serious damage was done. We went to bed at 7 pm after sailing 24 hours including all night and we slept through the whole affair.
I think Barry is SO SO smart!! He can fix everything - engines, water tanks, wifi antenna, tow generator, alternators, regulators, on and on.
He went off in the dinghy to dump trash and get more $ out of the ATM and brought back lunch from the local outside marketplace. Leaves, potatoes, manioc, and yams all with a smoky flavor and wrapped in a banana leaf. Barry calls it a leaf lunch - you know, bag lunch/leaf lunch. And it was a bargain because he got it without the chicken wing. He says the chicken feet go to China, the turkey tails go to Tonga and apparently the chicken wings come to Vanuatu. I think Americans just eat skinless chicken breasts. Do you remember when we were in Tonga and the meat market only had lamb flaps (don't ask me), turkey tails and lard? And we were in China with Leo and had chicken feet?
The money here says "Ripablik Blong Vanuatu" and "Long God yumi stanap". I'm not sure about what long means here.
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Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Volcanos and Visiting
May 29
We went with Tom to kastom village to see kastom dancing and singing. From here to there he kept up a steady flow of information about life on Tanna. Again we picked up and dropped off local people as we went along. Two of the passengers he said were going to nakamal, a kind of town meeting. The nakamal was to solve a problem. What problem? A man and his wife and the neighbor are having a problem and the chief and certain other people (I don't know how they are chosen) get together with the parties and work it out. If the offender doesn't do as decided then off he goes to the police and if he still doesn't comply, it's off to prison. I've never seen or heard of a prison here so the system must work before it gets to that point. Nakamals are an essential part of life here. As I said, it is pitch black after 6 pm. At that time everyone gathers at a clearing with log benches and some plank shelves and that site is also called nakamal. So at nakamal local news is spread, problems solved, kava drunk (men only), produce traded and toktok, all around a fire ring of glowing embers.
Two more men we picked up are football (soccer) players, as is Tom. No kava drinking for them during the season. They are champions in Vanuatu.
The niVans are very industrious and their villages are very clean and tidy. When we pass through a village everyone is raking leaves, putting away, building, repairing, cooking, washing or gardening. We pass many groups of 2 or 3 people harvesting yams, manioc/cassava/tapioca, pawpaw (papaya), banana, island cabbage (kind of like spinach) and fruits and nuts I never saw before. Tom asked them for a sample and gave to us to try - all good. He said on Tanna (no other island) if you pass through a person's garden you can eat whatever you find. At the end, if you see the owner of the garden you tell him what you ate and he says OK no problem. If you don't see the owner then don't tell him. On other islands anywhere this is tabu. There are many huge banyan trees which seem to be a source of pride. He pointed out sandalwood saplings planted in groves which he said are owned by people from India he thinks. He thinks maybe they make sandals from the wood; he's not sure. The sandalwood trees strip the soil of nutrients and then their local crops do not give much fruit he says.
We pass Larry's bungalow. Larry was a Peace Corps person and he did good projects for the niVans. After Larry came Sandra. They stay for 3 years, then leave. Does he like the Peace Corps? Very good; he loves them. Very good. Whenever we ask a question, the niVans spend a few seconds thinking before they answer. Can you imagine - thinking before you speak? And speaking quietly? What lovely people.
We took lots of pictures and videos and when we get to internet we will send. Maybe. If it's fast enough. Or we may make a flash drive and give to Sheryl and she can post when she gets home.
We told Tom we would like some island cabbage. He said come to his house and he would cook some and his wife, Annie, would crack a coconut, he would grate and she would squeeze to make milk. Then we would have milked island cabbage to eat. So at six o'clock we went ashore in the dinghy, found his house in the total darkness, had a delicious dinner of all local foods - pawpaw, manioc, bananas, milked cabbage/spinach, and unmilked cabbage/spinach. They kept apologizing for no meat. They were happy when we said we didn't eat meat. They eat meat sometimes but not once a day and not once a week - just sometimes. Tom explained how his grandfather lived to be more than 100 years old and only ate uncooked local produce. They woke up and brought to us to show off their 5 month old son, Chris. He was very unhappy about the flash camera but mama nursed him and he went peacefully back to sleep. After dinner we all went to the John Frum Wednesday night service which was very pleasant singing, guitar playing and hand clapping. As we walked back to Rubber Ducky (the dinghy) we had to be careful to not stumble over someone sitting there in the night, unseen in the darkness. We could not have spent a more heavenly night out.
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We went with Tom to kastom village to see kastom dancing and singing. From here to there he kept up a steady flow of information about life on Tanna. Again we picked up and dropped off local people as we went along. Two of the passengers he said were going to nakamal, a kind of town meeting. The nakamal was to solve a problem. What problem? A man and his wife and the neighbor are having a problem and the chief and certain other people (I don't know how they are chosen) get together with the parties and work it out. If the offender doesn't do as decided then off he goes to the police and if he still doesn't comply, it's off to prison. I've never seen or heard of a prison here so the system must work before it gets to that point. Nakamals are an essential part of life here. As I said, it is pitch black after 6 pm. At that time everyone gathers at a clearing with log benches and some plank shelves and that site is also called nakamal. So at nakamal local news is spread, problems solved, kava drunk (men only), produce traded and toktok, all around a fire ring of glowing embers.
Two more men we picked up are football (soccer) players, as is Tom. No kava drinking for them during the season. They are champions in Vanuatu.
The niVans are very industrious and their villages are very clean and tidy. When we pass through a village everyone is raking leaves, putting away, building, repairing, cooking, washing or gardening. We pass many groups of 2 or 3 people harvesting yams, manioc/cassava/tapioca, pawpaw (papaya), banana, island cabbage (kind of like spinach) and fruits and nuts I never saw before. Tom asked them for a sample and gave to us to try - all good. He said on Tanna (no other island) if you pass through a person's garden you can eat whatever you find. At the end, if you see the owner of the garden you tell him what you ate and he says OK no problem. If you don't see the owner then don't tell him. On other islands anywhere this is tabu. There are many huge banyan trees which seem to be a source of pride. He pointed out sandalwood saplings planted in groves which he said are owned by people from India he thinks. He thinks maybe they make sandals from the wood; he's not sure. The sandalwood trees strip the soil of nutrients and then their local crops do not give much fruit he says.
We pass Larry's bungalow. Larry was a Peace Corps person and he did good projects for the niVans. After Larry came Sandra. They stay for 3 years, then leave. Does he like the Peace Corps? Very good; he loves them. Very good. Whenever we ask a question, the niVans spend a few seconds thinking before they answer. Can you imagine - thinking before you speak? And speaking quietly? What lovely people.
We took lots of pictures and videos and when we get to internet we will send. Maybe. If it's fast enough. Or we may make a flash drive and give to Sheryl and she can post when she gets home.
We told Tom we would like some island cabbage. He said come to his house and he would cook some and his wife, Annie, would crack a coconut, he would grate and she would squeeze to make milk. Then we would have milked island cabbage to eat. So at six o'clock we went ashore in the dinghy, found his house in the total darkness, had a delicious dinner of all local foods - pawpaw, manioc, bananas, milked cabbage/spinach, and unmilked cabbage/spinach. They kept apologizing for no meat. They were happy when we said we didn't eat meat. They eat meat sometimes but not once a day and not once a week - just sometimes. Tom explained how his grandfather lived to be more than 100 years old and only ate uncooked local produce. They woke up and brought to us to show off their 5 month old son, Chris. He was very unhappy about the flash camera but mama nursed him and he went peacefully back to sleep. After dinner we all went to the John Frum Wednesday night service which was very pleasant singing, guitar playing and hand clapping. As we walked back to Rubber Ducky (the dinghy) we had to be careful to not stumble over someone sitting there in the night, unseen in the darkness. We could not have spent a more heavenly night out.
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
May 27
May 27, 2013
Birds are beautiful weavers of friendships. I told Naomi that I wanted to see birds. The children heard and ran off gleefully to climb up the corner post of their thatch house. There they had a birdcage made from vines and a stick with 2 young Coconut Lorikeets. We spent about an hour playing and posing with those birds which are an abundant resident breeding species in Vanuatu. There were 50 Common Mynas in the village. At least the locals know that those birds came from far away, China they thought but really India, and are harming the local birds and that the native birds have declined since the myna's arrival. After the birds Naomi showed us a steaming heap of dirt where lap lap was being cooked - it's the national dish and is made from cassava (or taro or yam) dough wrapped in leaves and maybe containing bits of meat.
We cruisers, 2 French couples, ourselves and a 16 year old (about) named Tonga, arranged for transportation to see the volcano. We rode together in a Toyota 4WD driven by John on a road made of volcanic ash and lined with steaming vents. The ash turns to slush when it rains and so the road had impassable gullies here and there. We managed. As we traveled we stopped and picked up more and more niVan until the truck was overflowing. Through jungle we bumped. We saw flocks of Yellow-fronted White-eyes, a Vanuatu endemic. In Bislama (pidgin) they are called yelo sma fella pigeon. (All birds are called pigeon in Bislama.) As night fell we began to see flying foxes (fruitbats that they eat) and 100s of Glossy Swiftlets, abundant breeding birds. We discussed languages because Tonga speaks fluent French, English and Greek and the locals speak at least 3 languages. Tok tok is talk in Bislama. Love it.
The volcano! We parked and hiked up to the rim through a barren red and black ash landscape. I was think of running to stand under a tree in case one of those lava bombs headed my way but, alas, there was not a living thing there. We stood on the rim with perhaps 50 other people and watched, heard and felt old Mt Yasur belch and explode high into the air. Most of the lava bombs fell nowhere near us and the few that came close were so high that you had plenty of time to … duck? I don't know. We have photos and movies. Spectacular!!
It was pitch black on the way back. How wonderful to live in a place that's dark when it's dark! People sitting in groups with glowing branches from the fire to use as a torch (flashlight). Everything and everyone is quiet and still. EEK! Some boys jump out of the jungle and yell the equivalent of "Boo!" and our whole truck erupts in laughter. So so funny. It was 8:30pm when we got back to the boat. Nothing to see at all except the slowly rocking masthead lights of the 8 boats in the bay and trillions of bright bright stars. Amazing what we give up for our lights.
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Birds are beautiful weavers of friendships. I told Naomi that I wanted to see birds. The children heard and ran off gleefully to climb up the corner post of their thatch house. There they had a birdcage made from vines and a stick with 2 young Coconut Lorikeets. We spent about an hour playing and posing with those birds which are an abundant resident breeding species in Vanuatu. There were 50 Common Mynas in the village. At least the locals know that those birds came from far away, China they thought but really India, and are harming the local birds and that the native birds have declined since the myna's arrival. After the birds Naomi showed us a steaming heap of dirt where lap lap was being cooked - it's the national dish and is made from cassava (or taro or yam) dough wrapped in leaves and maybe containing bits of meat.
We cruisers, 2 French couples, ourselves and a 16 year old (about) named Tonga, arranged for transportation to see the volcano. We rode together in a Toyota 4WD driven by John on a road made of volcanic ash and lined with steaming vents. The ash turns to slush when it rains and so the road had impassable gullies here and there. We managed. As we traveled we stopped and picked up more and more niVan until the truck was overflowing. Through jungle we bumped. We saw flocks of Yellow-fronted White-eyes, a Vanuatu endemic. In Bislama (pidgin) they are called yelo sma fella pigeon. (All birds are called pigeon in Bislama.) As night fell we began to see flying foxes (fruitbats that they eat) and 100s of Glossy Swiftlets, abundant breeding birds. We discussed languages because Tonga speaks fluent French, English and Greek and the locals speak at least 3 languages. Tok tok is talk in Bislama. Love it.
The volcano! We parked and hiked up to the rim through a barren red and black ash landscape. I was think of running to stand under a tree in case one of those lava bombs headed my way but, alas, there was not a living thing there. We stood on the rim with perhaps 50 other people and watched, heard and felt old Mt Yasur belch and explode high into the air. Most of the lava bombs fell nowhere near us and the few that came close were so high that you had plenty of time to … duck? I don't know. We have photos and movies. Spectacular!!
It was pitch black on the way back. How wonderful to live in a place that's dark when it's dark! People sitting in groups with glowing branches from the fire to use as a torch (flashlight). Everything and everyone is quiet and still. EEK! Some boys jump out of the jungle and yell the equivalent of "Boo!" and our whole truck erupts in laughter. So so funny. It was 8:30pm when we got back to the boat. Nothing to see at all except the slowly rocking masthead lights of the 8 boats in the bay and trillions of bright bright stars. Amazing what we give up for our lights.
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Tuesday, May 28, 2013
for Boden and Colby
Dear Colby and Boden,
We met a boat named Samba that has 2 children, Luke 10 years old and Sam 8 years old. The children are laughing and playing near us and we think you would enjoy meeting them. We hope that when you get here we will anchor near them again and you will have kids your age. People with children call their boats "kid boats". When you come to visit we will be a kid boat also. The kids boats always try and do things together. Tonight they all went to the volcano together. We went last night. The kids speak several languages. When they are with Americans they remember all their English, or if they are near German people they speak German or French people - well, you get the idea. It is just amazing how they know all these languages. This afternoon we visited with Stanley who lives here. He speaks 12 languages. He said there are 32 languages on Tanna!! And it's just a little island.
When do you go backpacking?
Love, Gramma and Grampa
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We met a boat named Samba that has 2 children, Luke 10 years old and Sam 8 years old. The children are laughing and playing near us and we think you would enjoy meeting them. We hope that when you get here we will anchor near them again and you will have kids your age. People with children call their boats "kid boats". When you come to visit we will be a kid boat also. The kids boats always try and do things together. Tonight they all went to the volcano together. We went last night. The kids speak several languages. When they are with Americans they remember all their English, or if they are near German people they speak German or French people - well, you get the idea. It is just amazing how they know all these languages. This afternoon we visited with Stanley who lives here. He speaks 12 languages. He said there are 32 languages on Tanna!! And it's just a little island.
When do you go backpacking?
Love, Gramma and Grampa
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Monday, May 27, 2013
A Day in the Vanuatu Life
May 27, 2013 Today was a day that our sailing is all about - visiting the locals and exploring the natural world. We dinghied ashore and were looking for birds when Pascal and Dennis showed up off the boats Manta and Post Scriptum - 2 catamarans which have been sailing together for a year. They said they were going to the volcano tonight and we were welcome to join the excursion. So they walked us to the village to find Stanley who arranges the trip to Mt.Yasur, the volcano. Stanley was elsewhere but we made arrangements with his sister, Naomi. As a matter of fact almost everyone was elsewhere because it was national election day and people had to travel to one place or another to vote. Naomi said she took care of her friends' children while the friends voted and vice versa. She took us to their White Sand Beach and sent the (what I thought were her) children off to play in the reef protected waters while explaining the whole child care system to us. Pretty much it boils down to all the children belong to everyone and whoever is handy cares for them. So the children she was caring for ran off down the beach to play with their friends and she just walked off because someone else was down there to care for them. These were tykes not yet in school - 2 to 4 year olds on the shore of largest ocean on earth. I was aghast but there seemed to be enough children so I guess the system works. She gave us a tour of the village and finished up with explaining that religion was very important to life there. These people on Tanna have the most bizarre religion I have ever heard of - the John Frum Cult. John Frum showed up in Vanuatu in 1939 and said he was John from America - hence the name John Frum. He was made an associate of the head god. Then in World War II, Americans were stationed in Vanuatu and so John Frum America and the generous and kind black American soldiers (who looked like the ni Van) and the Red Cross and wealth all got mixed up together with religion and they have rituals designed to get John Frum to have a second coming in Vanuatu. Confusing, I know, but that's their religion and we are welcome to come on Wednesday night here at the village in the Church of the Red Cross. Wednesday night certainly sounds better than Friday night when they stay up until Saturday morning singing and dancing. She said they also had Presbyterian and Seventh Day. The Seventh Days had a school, dispensary and church. The Sevenths sound good to us because of the health and education and the exemption from having to drink kava. She explained the water system. Here goes: they have water in the pipe but that water has problems so they use pumps throughout the village but they don't work. (?)
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Sunday, May 26, 2013
under the volcano
Well ... would you look at that!! Explosions followed by sky turning pink. Glasses are helping with ash in the eyes.
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Safe and sound
Sunday, 5:15 pm our time, anchor down and set. Volcano spewing, ashes in eyes and teeth, island as a whole steaming. Rain of various sorts all day and still cloudy but no rain now. Some Aneityum mosquitos sailed away with us and when we let our guard down (read took our clothes off) they bit me. Lynne 3 bites, Barry none. I think I'll do a happy dance. Maybe eat marshmellows for dinner. Or apples and peanut butter. What's your vote?
There are 2 catamarans in this little shallow anchorage, flat as can be, and 1 small red monohull pitching and rolling terribly. We are rolling a bit but my hero has a roll damper which he is deploying.
I am debating as to whether I should risk my life going up to the rim of this volcano to look in. A once in a lifetime experience they say. On the other hand my grandchildren need a gramma. How do you vote? Barry is going. That's one reason he came here. That, and hoping to get a big namba.
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There are 2 catamarans in this little shallow anchorage, flat as can be, and 1 small red monohull pitching and rolling terribly. We are rolling a bit but my hero has a roll damper which he is deploying.
I am debating as to whether I should risk my life going up to the rim of this volcano to look in. A once in a lifetime experience they say. On the other hand my grandchildren need a gramma. How do you vote? Barry is going. That's one reason he came here. That, and hoping to get a big namba.
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