Parties & Celebrations
Vanuatu
I was very fortunate to be invited with a small group of friends to the remote islands of Vanuatu, a nation of 65 inhabited islands located in the South Pacific of Micronesia, not too far from Australia. According to Lonelyplanet.com, Vanuatu is known as the happiest place on earth, and after meeting many of the locals firsthand, it’s understandable why.
We departed San Diego, refueled in Hawaii, and finally landed on the island of Espiritu Santo. Once settled on my friend’s boat, we started our journey kayaking up the Riri River to the Blue Hole for a refreshing swim in stunningly gorgeous water amongst bright green, lush mangroves. The island Espiritu Santo is covered with some of the densest foliage I have ever seen—the ground was almost completely covered in growth, and overhead the trees and vines were so thick that the sun was barely visible. The local people live without any of the creature comforts we take for granted. They have no running water, electricity, soap, toothpaste, or even medicine. They live off the land eating bananas and coconuts for almost every meal. Yet they’re the sweetest, kindest, most generous people you could ever imagine. I can’t stop trying to imagine myself living under these conditions and clearly know this is not an option!!!
That evening we cruised overnight to Pentecost Island where we were invited to witness ‘Land Diving’, a Melanesia right-of-passage where young men jump off a pyre that sits 80 feet high. Standing on a small platform with vines attached to their ankles, kids literally bungee jump using vines. The vines are calculated to stop 6 inches above the ground, that's 79 feet 6 inches down and leaves very little margin for error. Everything is 100% made by hand and sometimes the vines break and they eat a lot of dirt or get severally injured, but fortunately, there were no big injuries that day. (See the video clip attached.)
The morning we arrived, locals came to greet us in their dugout boats and were so happy to see us, and in awe at the same time. They had never seen a boat like ours and in truth, even to me my friend’s boat is amazing. The local islanders could not comprehend the “flying machine” (a helicopter) that was on the boat. It really had every villager talking. We went ashore like “Father Claus” with bags of flour and rice, sugar, salts and spices, and soap and other basic necessities. That afternoon we were included in a Cava Ceremony where Cava, a drink made from a local root is ground by hand and diluted with water, was served. The result is a foul tasting elixir that makes your mouth numb and also gets you a little tipsy...but not nearly tipsy enough to hide the taste.
On one island, the 124 sole inhabitants were just returning after having been relocated to the main island for 18 months due to a volcano eruption. It was amazing to see an entire village so excited to be back home—so happy living a very basic life with so very little, and so happy to welcome us and share what they do have! They go to bed when the sun sets and wake up when it rises. There is no electricity, no running water or purification system, no shops, and they don’t read or write. For food they dine mainly on bananas and coconuts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fish is a rarity since the volcano has killed most of them, and every so often they’ll be lucky to catch a wild pig and eat meat.
We travelled again in the early morning to the island of Vanua Lava. As soon as we anchored, out came the kayaks for a visit to the stunning twin waterfalls. The local chief gave us permission to swim in the crisp mountain water which I thoroughly enjoyed! The rest of the trip consisted of swimming in crystal clear waters, snorkeling around beautiful coral reefs, and every now and then seeing the tropical fish that actually survived the volcanic eruptions, eating delicious food, napping in the afternoon (something I never have the luxury to do), laughing all afternoon with my friends, and sleeping. We were all in bed by 9pm at night.
I don’t know if I will ever get back to Vanuatu, but I know it’s a place I will never forget. The landscape and waters were magnificent, but what I’ll remember forever, and, if ever I feel in need of anything to brighten my spirit, I will think of these amazing people.
Now, back to reality!
