As you may have heard, Nichole and I are planning a trip to the mythical islands of Vanuatu in late August. I thought it might be a good idea to provide a little information on where this place is and also confirm that it truly does exist - even though no one's ever heard of it.
Vanuatu is a country made of 82 separate islands scattered throughout the South Pacific, East of Australia and North of New Zealand. It also happens to be a place where I spent nearly 2 and a half years in the PeaceCorps. Just getting to Vanuatu is an adventure within itself...
After nearly 30 hours of travel from Grand Rapids-Chicago-LA-Auckland, I found myself in the capital “city” of Port Vila, a tourist destination and popular cruise ship port. From here I hoppedon a small plane that fitting roughly 12 - 20 passengers for a nice 45 minute ride to an outer island all the while praying the rattling I heard was nothing serious.
The security in the airport and on the plane was virtually non-existent. I got on with other locals... they were carrying large bush knives.... onto a plane with an open cockpit where it’s not uncommon for the pilots to allow passengers turns at flying the plane.
The plane landed on a grass runway after circling one time so the airport employees could first run all the cows off the field. The airport, if you want to call it that, was the skeleton of a building that was burnt out in a land dispute about 5 years earlier. I'm assuming that's what we'll be welcomed by during our visit later this summer.
Needless to say, it isn't exactly a cruise ship destination anymore. From here I jumped in the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser, one of roughly 10 -20 trucks you might see on the road. When I say the road what I really mean is 'The Road' because there is only one of them on the entire island.
The plane landed on a grass runway after circling one time so the airport employees could first run all the cows off the field. The airport, if you want to call it that, was the skeleton of a building that was burnt out in a land dispute about 5 years earlier. I'm assuming that's what we'll be welcomed by during our visit later this summer.
Needless to say, it isn't exactly a cruise ship destination anymore. From here I jumped in the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser, one of roughly 10 -20 trucks you might see on the road. When I say the road what I really mean is 'The Road' because there is only one of them on the entire island.
While piled in the open bed of the truck with people, produce, and livestock we drove 3 hours and through 5 rivers to get to my little village. Again, I don’t mean drive over 5 rivers, but literally through them. There are no bridges.
Finally, I arrived at the village. It resembled a village from the set of King Kong. There are bamboo houses with thatch roofs surrounded by coconut trees and never ending green foliage. There's a view of the ocean with an active volcano on a nearby island about a mile away. It is a stunningly beautiful place to live. On the other hand it doesn’t have running water or electricity, and gets hit by hurricanes more than any other place on earth. You win some and you lose some I guess.The view was one thing, but the people there are a whole other story.
When I walked into the village there was a cry of “WHITE MAN!” and the entire village gathered just to stare at me. It’s like a cross between being a celebrity and an animal at the zoo. They would laugh nervously every time I moved a muscle and nearly came out of their bodies when I spoke their own language. Now I can relate with how the lion feels with visitors to the zoo - hoping I will walk around my 'cage' and maybe even let out a roar.
As for the kids, there was one of two responses. First, I found very quickly I have the ability to induce fear into the hearts of 3-year-old children - I didn't know was possible. They would look at me and I watched as a look of absolute horror slowly take over there face. They screamed and ran from me. The second reaction was the opposite - they wanted nothing more than to touch my skin. I would sit down and constantly have kids touching my hands, arms, and hair. I assume they wanted to make sure I wasn’t a ghost. Better safe than sorry.
Arriving in one of these villages and meeting its people is an interesting experience that Nichole will soon get to have. There aren't many places like this left in the world where you can find such remote and isolated people and such stunning untouched beauty. I can’t wait to share it with Nichole and to feel the flood of memories and nostalgia that will undoubtedly come along with it.
{ JMK }
