Day 106, Year 2: Exploring Tanna Island
Date: Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Weather: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; SE Winds 15
Location: Port Resolution, Tanna Island, Vanuatu
It was an early start this morning, and unfortunately an hour earlier than it needed to be. We were to meet at the Yacht Club at 7:30 AM to start our trip across the island to the administrative center of Lenakel. We should have gotten a clue when we left Windbird and saw that none of the other boats even had their dinghies in the water, but on we went. When we got to shore, there was no one there, and we then started to think that maybe we have entered a new time zone. When everyone else arrived
an hour later, it was confirmed. We have now set our clocks back another hour. Since sunrise has been almost 7 AM, at least now it will be daylight when we wake up. We actually really enjoyed our extra hour on shore this morning. We watched White Swan and Maggie Drum enter the anchorage and just enjoyed the early morning. We met the cutest little kitten in the Yacht Club and got great pictures of the kitten sleeping on Ranger’s backpack. The Yacht Club is just an open-air structure that serves
Vanuatu beer, Tusker’s, when pre-arrangements have been made. It is certainly unique.
Stanley, Chief Ronnie’s son, was our guide. He had arranged for a pick-up truck to take us the 41 kilometers to Lenakel. The soccer team was also waiting to be transported across the island for the Tanna Island finals–100,000 Vatu at stake (that’s $1,000 US). But we were told to get in the truck and the soccer team was left behind. We found out later in the day that the final game between the Port Resolution team and the Lenakel team will take place on Friday. We were assured this was not because
we were being transported instead of them. I sure hope that was really the case. There were nine yachties and few locals in the back of the truck. To say that we were packed like sardines would adequately describe the picture. Add to that the fact that the road is sometimes a beach, sometimes a narrow dirt road with lots of ruts, and sometimes an ash plain of a volcano, but always either going up or down a mountain, and you sort of get the picture. The ride was not nearly as rough as we expected,
but it was absolutely spectacular. There were two US yachts represented, Windbird and Ranger, in addition to one each from Australia, New Zealand, France, and Sweden. We had a great time getting to know one another while enjoying the scenery of this beautiful island. We passed by Mt. Yasur, the active volcano, climbed high in the mountains, stopped briefly in the village with the island soccer field, and then descended into Lenakel. It has one main dirt road going through. We went to Customs
for check-in with them, visited the market next door, went on to Immigration in yet another town, and then went even further to the Quarantine Office. It was one minute to eleven, but the Quarantine Officer had already gone to lunch. We went to lunch in a little thatched hut by the ocean (fish and rice the only thing on the menu), went to buy fresh bread, and then went back to the Quarantine Office to wait. It was almost 2 PM when someone came who could help us. It still wasn’t the official,
but it was his assistant. We did have to do a bit of waiting, but at least we are legally checked into Vanuatu. Now we can relax and enjoy.
This place is so very, very different from Fiji. There are not the huge smiles and shouts of “Bula” as a welcome here. People are shy and don’t make eye contact readily. Most on the road in Lenakel did not say hello. It appears that it just takes time to get them to warm up to you. The women here are very low on the totem pole. Where women in Fiji were often running the show, here they obviously do the work and take a back seat. They wear Mother Hubbard dresses and almost all have very short,
kinky hair. Most men wear knee-length shorts, although some had on sulas. Many of the young men look and dress like Rastafarians. We have a lot to learn about the people here. The land is greener and there are many more flowering plants than in Fiji. High on the mountain, the trees and plants look much the same as New Zealand. There are the trees with bright red “bottle brush” blossoms, Australian pines, Norfolk Island pines, giant tree ferns, lots of mango trees, and many huge banyan trees.
The volcanic soil here is obviously very rich.
With all of our waiting time for Quarantine in Lenakel, we didn’t get back here until after 5 PM. It was a great trip with much that still needs to be digested before I can even write about it. Let’s just say that this is a beautiful island with a bit of mystery about it. We will continue to unravel the mystery tomorrow.
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| 070808 Day 106 Tanna, Vanuatu–Trip Across the Island to Lenakel |
