A Ride on a Coconut

I don't know how many times I can repeat myself before my rambling starts to sound like a broken record, but I'm going to say this again anyway. We are pretty lucky. We've been retired for about a year and a half now, and almost every day brings us something great. We've been able to see and do things that most people only dream about and we've been able to see and do these things with someone we love. Every once in a while, we have a day that stands out as being extraordinary. Today was just one of those days...actually, 3 of those days in a row.

On day one of these 3 extraordinary days, we set sail for one of the outer islands in Vanuatu called Ambae. We had a full day of open ocean sailing to get here. For you sailors out there who are reading this and wondering what it's like to sail in the mighty South Pacific, one word comes to mind...idyllic. This is not like sailing in the Puget Sound where you are bundled up and clutching a cup of coffee to stay warm in the middle of August. Nope, this is the tropics where there is a warm stiff breeze that had us racing between islands. The sea is a deep, rich blue unlike any water I have seen anywhere else. There are flying fish that scatter across the surface of the ocean as we charge through the ocean swell to our next destination. Yeah, it's definitely idyllic...and extraordinary. Day one of the three extraordinary days: perfect sailing...check.

Ambae is a rugged island with a steep semi active volcano smack dab in the middle of it. In the middle of the volcano there are 3 high mountain lakes which are heated by the thermal activity of the volcano. One of the 3 lakes will on occasion actually come to a boil, so no swimming in that one. Surrounding the volcano is an incredibly lush and beautiful jungle with villages scattered throughout the rugged landscape. A handful of years ago, the volcano started to rumble which forced the evacuation of the almost 6,000 residents of Ambae. The volcano ended up sputtering and didn't have a full scale eruption which thankfully allowed all of the residents to come back home.

Day 2 of the 3 extraordinary days had us exploring this volcanic island. The island has a dirt “road” that almost circles the entire island. One one section of the island, the terrain is so rugged that the road becomes a foot path, so circumnavigating the island is not actually possible by car. And really, cars aren't on the island. The few vehicles that are here are all high clearance 4 wheel drive trucks, because the “road” is more like a collection of deep ruts, deeper potholes, and steep hills that all become nearly impassible when wet.

When we landed our dinghy on the island, we had a choice of going left or right. We could hear faint singing way off in the distance if we went left, so that was the obvious choice. After about a half hour of walking the road which took us through scattered rustic villages that seemed empty, we came to the mother-load. It seemed that every villager on the island was at a huge celebration and we just happened to be lucky enough to stumble into it.

We ran into an older gentleman from a local village on the road that invited us to be a part of the celebration. “Plees, plees, come, come” he said in broken English. You bet we're coming! We're not going to miss this. We walked up a trail to the large open air meeting house and outdoor area where everyone was gathered, people were lounging on their handwoven mats in the grass, there was singing and dancing, and we were welcomed with open arms.

This was a religious “graduation” ceremony that brought people out of the woodwork. Villagers came from other islands to be here and celebrate as well as show off their dances that are only done on their island. There was a huge feast of taro root, island cabbage (I don't remember the local name), and roast pig that was generously pushed in my face by multiple villagers. I was told by another person with broken English “we would be honored if you eat.” Ok, I'll eat.

I felt a little out of place taking food from people who had next to nothing, but how could I turn them down if they would be honored? When I walked through the line for food, I was met with smiles, giggles, and extra helpings of taro root. I'm not sure if they thought I looked hungry, but the taro root was piled high. It seemed that the women who were serving the food all wanted to give me something, so by the end of the line, I had a years supply of taro root on my plate (the plate was actually a large leaf...awesome!)

There was another interesting thing that we spotted at the celebration...3 white people. That may seem like a racist finding, but trust me that it's not. It's just that we seem to be the only outsiders here, so a white American is something that you notice rather quickly. These 3 white folks were part of the Peace Corps (Alison, Thomas, and Grace...all amazing people doing amazing work). They had all been working on the island for a little while now, so they knew some of the language and the customs and they were nice enough to share the info with us. We ended up hanging out with the white folks, I mean the Peace Corp Posse (PCP) for a few hours and had a great time learning about not only the local customs, but the work these 3 were doing. We were even invited to visit the local elementary school that Alison has been working at to see her work in action. Day 2 of the 3 extraordinary days: celebrating with the locals and the PCP...check.

The school that Alison was working with as part of her Peace Corp project was about a 5 mile walk through the jungle from where we were anchored. The walk would take us up a series of steep ridge-lines that took us past ocean overlooks, remote villages, and a huge crater from an ancient volcano. About an hour and a half into our walk, a pickup truck showed up and offered us a ride the rest of the way to the school (every truck here is a taxi and you would be amazed at how many people can fit into the back of a little pickup truck).

We got to the school just before lunch time and were treated with waves and giggles and smiles from the cutest kids you've ever seen. We were invited into the classroom (actually I invited us in forcefully...thanks for letting us in Alison!) and were sang to by the class. We each gave the kids a quick presentation about ourselves, our name, favorite color, favorite animal, and where we are from. We learned the words for all of those things in their native language. Our good friends Larry and Karen brought with them a beach ball globe that was used to show the kids where we were from and how far away it was to sail here. The kids seemed to be enthralled in the fact that this sailboat has brought these people all the way across the Pacific Ocean to their island and to their school. The beach ball globe was a huge hit and soon the entire class was chasing the ball around the entire school.

Alison gave us the grand tour of the school, her tiny home, the school's gardens, and the local hot springs (it drained into a tide-pool and was cooled by the ocean...awesome!). She told us about the local village customs, introduced us to some of the locals, and showed us her hole in the ground (bathroom). We were told about which plants do what, how to make coconut oil, and she showed us some of the other projects she was working on (water conservation, sanitation, and about reusing plastic bottles as building blocks).

We were overly impressed, not only with the 3 members of the PCP (the Peace Corp Posse, Thomas, Grace, and Alison), but with the work that they were doing. It may have seemed to them like they were fighting uphill battles for tiny gains, but our feelings are that the PCP is making huge strides in the peoples lives they are serving.

If all we did on day 3 of the 3 extraordinary days was hang out at the school and get the grand tour from Alison, it would definitely still be an extraordinary day. But what made this day better than just about any day that I can remember, is what happened on our walk home from the school.

We left the school grounds shortly after school was out which put us on the road behind all of the kids. Most of the kids come from villages high up on the mountain, so they have anywhere from an hour to hour and a half walk home...and it's up a volcano and through a jungle. Tell that to your kids the next time they complain about the 5 minute walk to the bus stop. We were about 50 feet behind a group of about 15 kids as we made our way back to the boat when I noticed a small boat that was hand woven from jungle leaves in the middle of the road. When I picked up the little boat that was made by the kids for us, the group of kids smiled and giggled and pretended like they didn't know where the little woven boat came from.

After I picked up the little boat with a smile on my face and said a quick “look at this!” to Brenda, the kids all scattered into the jungle and came out seconds later with handfuls of leaves, twigs, and grasses for more building materials. As we walked, a kid would give a quick glance over his/her shoulder real sneaky like, and drop a new creation in the road for us. After the treasure was found, that kid would dart back into the jungle emerging with handfuls of more building materials. They made us intricately woven bracelets, rings, headdresses, balls, windmills, baskets, flowers, and even eyeglasses. Each time we picked up a new treasure, they would all giggle and smile to themselves still pretending they had nothing to do with any of it.

Our little treasures were amazingly creative, intricate, and beautiful. And these kids whipped them out fast. As fast as we could pick these things up, they were making them. As we walked and got to various trails, the kids would peel off and make their way home up the mountain, and as they would turn to go home, they would give us huge smiles, waves, and giggles. After about an hour and oodles and oodles of treasures hanging from our wrists, heads, backpacks, and pockets, the last group of kids made the turn to head up the mountain.

It was one of the funnest and most memorable experiences Brenda and I have ever had and it will be what sums up our time in Vanuatu. The people are what make this place incredible. Sure, there are natural wonders, amazing beaches, and excellent diving, but what we will remember most after we leave, is how friendly and welcoming the people have been to us outsiders. We have been to villages where people are living off the land in grass huts, with none of the comforts that us 'Merican's view as necessities for survival, such as running water, electricity, a big screen tv, or even a pair of shoes, but they are happy. They have a sense of community that is almost unheard of in the big city, and they are thrilled to show it to us and to share it with us. Pretty amazing.

Shortly after the last of the kids left us on our walk home, a coconut truck pulled over to offer us a ride. What is a coconut truck you ask? Well, that's simple. It's a truck full of coconuts. And we got to ride in the back with all those coconuts. Sitting on a pile of coconuts while driving down a series of ruts and potholes through the jungle was the icing on the cake. It made day 3 of 3 extraordinary days just that much better.

Day 3 of 3 extraordinary days, a grand tour, treasures, and a coconut truck...check.

That's me with the PCP.  From left to right, Alison, Me, Thomas, and Grace.  They are great peeps.

The class with the Globe Beach Ball.  It was a huge hit!