Tanna - the best so far

So much as happened. We have done so much, it has been hard to sit down and write it up. I was having a hard time even getting my head in to it as I did not want to spoil the feelings running through me about the place. This will be a hard blog post to write. It may even sound a bit unbelievable or puffed up. Believe me - I would have a hard time exaggerating about Tanna. This is what we had always imagined the South Pacific to be like. The Marquesas dashed those romanticized ideas about Pacific paradises when we saw paved roads, brand new trucks and cars whizzing along with relatively unfriendly people. The Fijians may be more outwardly friendly than the Tannese as the locals here are shier and a bit more reserved. But, they are wonderful people and would make solid friends if you got the chance.

So the problem here is how to itemize what we have been up to and what we have seen and experienced since arrival at Port Resolution. We had a big yachtie party with the local boys' band last night. The night before was our 2nd trip to the volcano and everyone got so freaked out we left early. I fixed one of the kava grinders here yesterday and the day before. We have met new cruiser friends from all over the world. I have hung on to the back of 4WD trucks standing on the bumper going through over 50 miles of jungle rain forest. We went to an all night singing and dance party at the John Frum village beneath the volcano. We met a woman who had a baby two weeks ago who had named it after a good friend of ours from Canada who had been here over a month ago. Whew! We are just catching our breath and I did not even mention our trip to Lenakel - 30 miles over bad roads - to check in with the authorities and go to the bank. I think I will break these events up in to multiple blog posts and later will post some pics when we get to Port Vila where there will be internet access.

The day after we got here we were booked on one of the local small 4WD trucks to go over to Lenakel to check in with Customs, Immigration and Quarantine in addition to going to the bank to get Vatu bucks. This was last Thursday here. We were going in with White Swan (Bob and Dianna) our good friends from Mexico out to here. Dianna, also known as Martha as in Martha Stewart because she is a cook extraordinaire (Fr sp?), is also chronically late. We were all of 5 minutes late and the truck left without us. So we just goofed off and walked around that day. We walked the long stretch of black lava sand beach of the bay and ended up at the "hot springs" village of Nasori at the head of the bay where we met "Chief" Jimmie who was whacking on a big log with a dangerous looking axe. Men here almost always walk around with some kind of sharp implement, usually a bush knife which is a skinny type of machete, kept really sharp. They start the boys off here with sharp knifes right after they learn to walk - no BS!! I have pictures to prove it. Tottlers (always boys) run around with big honking knifes chopping away at any bush or branch they can find. They will sit on the ground hacking at limbs right next to each other so that you imagine you will see parts of baby brother go flying any second. I think this is a version of the Darwin theory going here - if they are not capable of handling knives early without chopping off their fingers they are eligible to grow up to be adult bush knife carriers. Otherwise.....

The little village above Nasori is where we met Jocelyn and her husband (and chief) Sam with his brother Willy. Jocelyn would be the life of the party in any gathering. She is outgoing, loud, well spoke and intelligent. She also was carrying a two week old baby named Lorelei or something like that. She said she named her after Lauren of S/V Mystic Blue who we have known for the last two years. Lauren is a visiting high school principal from near Montreal Canada who is sailing with Ian who owns Mystic Blue. They were here weeks before us and obviously got to know Sam and Jocelyn very well. Jocelyn named her new baby girl after Lauren and wanted us to know that. I will post a pic of them both next Internet time. This was so cute and so wild. The village huts sit right next to a huge banyan tree on the trail we were on.

We saw a sign for a beach restaurant and were trying to find it when we happened upon Sam and Jocelyn's village. They are the Usua's and Sam is the chief. Willy, Sam's brother, volunteered without us asking to guide us to the restaurant after we could not decide which unmarked trail to take through the jungle. We walked for a couple of kilometers and got to a road we followed down to the beach and crashing surf where this little French restaurant and resort sits. The owner did not hardly speak English but we were able to order lunch and some Tusker beers for us and our guide. The French owner obviously did not approve of us giving a beer to our Melanesian friend and said it was a bad idea but we did it anyway and invited him to eat with us for which the owner wrinkled her nose so more. The French have very strong ideas about natives. They are still my least favorite people and I hate to say that, but over and over again we have been abused and treated rudely by the French everywhere we have been. So I guess I am a Francophobe and should be more enlightened but my scientific background tells me that you have to listen to the overwhelming evidence which is hitting you in the face and accept the facts of life. To each his own I guess.

To top it off, lunch for five with one beer each was over $132 US!! We also had coffee, which we ordered, and fruit salad dessert, which we did not order but got charged for. The main dish was rice with some tomatoes and onions in it - nothing special. A total, total ripoff. The name of the restaurant is Le Vulcain at the Turtle Bay resort. I encourage you and your friends never to patronize this place. We did meet a nice French ER doctor and his wife and daughter on holiday though who now live on New Caledonia.

We walked back to the main village at Port Resolution though and later went to the tiny restaurant on "Surf Beach" on the other side of the peninsula that makes Port Resolution. We had dinner by hurricane lantern with the wonderful lady named Leia who runs it for the village. The meals there are fantastic, with over ten dishes every time. We have been twice, once for dinner and later for lunch. Leia is a delight to talk with, with her 16yo helper Suzie hanging back in the little kitchen. They actually cook everything in the village over wood fires and then bring it down to the beach. The "building" is a woven grass hut with bamboo table and benches to sit on along the walls. There is papaya, bananas, curries, taro, squash, salad, yams, pumpkin, rice and several other things I am not sure what they were. Everything is totally delicious. The squash is called Choco some places but Shoo Shoo in Bislama here. It is a cross between a squash and a green melon and has a delicate flavor. Yum!! I had seconds both times there. And, it cost 650 Vatu or about $6.50 US each, BYO wine or beer. Leia is 37, has 5 kids, one of which is 23 so do the math. Her husband died a couple of years ago, cause unknown. She gave us lessons in Bislama and we spoke of village life and the vegetables, etc. Had a great time so we went to lunch there two days later and might even go again. Highly Recommended!

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