apriha.com » Vanuatu

From Port Vila to Cairns

Andrew Riha — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:39:09 +0000

Following Vila, I completed the return to civilization with a flight to Brisbane, where I spent a few short days washing all of my clothes (they needed it), hanging out with Ronan (from Scotland), and meeting his friend Amber.

My brief stay in Brisbane was followed by 3 weeks spent in Cairns; I was in Cairns to complete my PADI Divemaster certification, and inherent to the course, I was able to do some awesome scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. That being said, the next few posts will be highly diving-centric, so buckle up your cummerbunds, make sure you have your diving buddy, and prepare to make a giant stride into the adventures of a Divemaster Trainee. We’re going to have a great dive!

Vanuatu (compendium post)

Andrew Riha — Mon, 26 May 2008 05:02:29 +0000

A few more photos (and videos!) from Vanuatu…

Hanging out with the Peace Corp volunteers in Ranwas, South Pentecost at the opening of the new school; the Ranwas string band accompanies the celebration…

Land diving in the village near the Lonorore airport in South Pentecost…

Efate

Andrew Riha — Mon, 26 May 2008 03:10:09 +0000

Efate, the capital island of Vanuatu, is home to the capital city of Port Vila, which was my next port of call. I spent two days here hanging out with Brizz, meeting a few more Peace Corps volunteers, stocking up on souvenirs, drinking kava, eating some Olympic Burger, and last but certainly not least, washing-up with the first decent shower since Santo. Ahh, Vila!

Ambrym

Andrew Riha — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:14:34 +0000

In an attempt to remove myself as far from civilization as possible and to see the mystery behind one of Vanuatu’s active volcanoes, I arrived to the island of Ambrym after Pentecost via a small speedboat. The plan was relatively simple: hike from North Ambrym to West Ambrym via the volcano ash plain. In order to do this I needed a guide, and fortunately one of Mary’s papas in Pangi was from North Ambrym, and he referred me to John Koko (who also happens to be one of Mary’s brothers).

John lives in the kastom village of Fanla, and I spent three days here eating traditional food and drinking kava. I wished I had a book, though, since there wasn’t too much to do around the village, and I became quite bored. It’s no wonder the local kids (and sometimes teenagers) push around sticks with tuna cans attached as wheels for entertainment.

The hike from North Ambrym to West Ambrym was an incredible experience, but while we were actually marching through the endless ash and volcanic rock, I couldn’t remember a time when I felt so hot and thirsty. This day alone beget a number of stories… jumping headlong into some black sand that soaked us knee-deep in water, almost suffering from heat exhaustion, running out of water (twice), and escaping the bulls. Quite a bit of Type II fun (something not so fun at the time, but great fun in retrospect).

My remaining three days in Ambrym were spent in the small village of Emiotungun and Craig Cove. My flight from Craig Cove to Vila was delayed by a day, but eh, it’s Vanuatu, and you quickly learn to take such transportation issues in stride. As Mary said back in Pangi, “The boat will come… maybe.”

Pangi

Andrew Riha — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:12:21 +0000

After Ranwas, I spent my remaining time in Pentecost in Pangi (Mary’s village). Every Saturday in April and May, a cruise ship docks off the shore and thousands of tourists (mostly Australians) come to Pangi to see the land diving. (Pangi is one of the largest land diving villages.) This brings in a lot of money to the village, and some people get jealous. In Vanuatu, when people get jealous, a witch doctor throws a few stones into the water and conjures up some “majik” to make waves or rain. Thanks to the witch doctor (or El Niño), there were huge waves the day Pangi was supposed to welcome the tourists for land diving. The waves were so large, in fact, that the cruise ship couldn’t send its passengers to land and had to turn away. The land diving in Pangi was cancelled.

However, there are a number of villages in South Pentecost that host land diving festivals for tourists; almost all land diving that white people attend is now for tourists. The festivals still seem quite traditional, though, and we saw the land diving in a village near Pangi. As men jump from the rickety naghol tower, vines stop their plummet just as their hair touches the ground to fertilize the yam crops. Throughout all of this, men, women, and children of all ages sing and dance below the tower.

Apart from the land diving and occasional cruise ships, life in Pangi is very peaceful and relaxing. The epitome of this was a swim hole located in taro fields a short hike from Pangi. Imagine floating down the “lazy river:” an irrigation ditch a couple meters/yards wide that winds lazily through taro and coconut palms. You won’t find this place in the guide books, and if I’ve ever seen paradise, that was it. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of it… However, the pictures I do have show what sunsets, land diving, and the night life in Pangi is like. Enjoy!

Ranwas

Andrew Riha — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:22:03 +0000

After arriving to Pentecost, Mary, Brizz, and I caught a truck across the island to the village of Ranwas. Here we met Teresa and Rebecca for the opening of the newly built Ranwas school. (Mary, Brizz, Teresa, and Rebecca are all Peace Corps voluneers, and Ranwas is Teresa’s village.) As Mary’s friend, I was invited to join the celebrations as a special guest, and after a parade, I received a lei and a large pink basket as a gift at the opening ceremony. (Apparently pink isn’t a feminine color in Vanuatu.) After the ceremony, the village feasted and danced to string band. It was amazing, and perhaps a haiku (inspired during the ceremony) describes the day best:

Great experience
A phrase that describes today
I like pink baskets

The full kastom and very traditional village of Bunlap (documented on the Discovery Channel) was only a 40 minute hike from Ranwas, so Brizz and I decided to visit the following day. Our guides led us through some pretty remote bush, and the path become complicated and slippery after an unexpected downpour (one of the hardest rains I’ve ever seen). Fortunately, the downpour happened when we were close to Bunlap, so we took shelter in one of the chief’s kitchens with many other Bunlap residents; they were wearing (a lack of) traditional clothes and were amazed that I could touch the ceiling by just standing there.

Once the chief arrived, we delivered some photos as a gift from Teresa, and headed back to Ranwas to prepare for our trip to Pangi.

Pentecost

Andrew Riha — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:36:49 +0000

After Santo, I disappeared into the remote jungles of Vanuatu (and believe me, they were remote). First came the island of Pentecost (named after the day Captain Cook sighted it), known throughout the world for its tradition of naghol, or land diving. On Pentecost, I spent five incredible days hanging out with Peace Corps volunteers in the villages of Ranwas and Pangi, and each deserves a post to itself.

At this point, one might wonder how I got in touch with the Peace Corps volunteers. The answer is as simple as CouchSurfing and making one lucky (and expensive!) phone call to Pangi’s village phone to contact Mary, the Peace Corps volunteer stationed here since 2006.

Espiritu Santo

Andrew Riha — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:12:00 +0000

I’ve spent the past week or so doing some diving and taking some courses at Aquamarine in Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. Most of my dives were on the SS President Coolidge. It’s an amazing wreck, and some of the swim-throughs are quite spectacular…

One of the courses I took was my Wreck Specialty, which involved laying line through the Coolidge’s chain locker, taking my mask off (i.e., blinding myself), and navigating my way out. On another dive, I logged my deepest depth yet: 53 meters (174 feet). Great fun!