Fwd: Vanuatu

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From: Peggy Hill <peghill6@gmail.com>
Date: July 3, 2012 1:33:11 PM GMT+08:00
To: Peggy Hill <peghill6@gmail.com>
Subject: Vanuatu

Hi and sorry its been so long
Ive booked Davids computer for a few hours as my handy dandy portable
and cute ipad has frozen.
We are on the island of Effete on Vanuatu. We arrived in New Caledonia
after 6?days of sailing from Opua ,NewZealand .We had a big
celebration dinner featuring the mahi mahi caught on passage by John ,
bread baked by Kelly with cousin  Vics sour dough starter she brought
us in NZ , bubbly and real lettuce in a succulent fresh salad.
We left that town Noumea after two red  tape days checking in and
checking out with customs,immigration and some frustrations attempting
to get our Indonesian visa . We anchored two more nights off coast of
same island hoping to catch a nice wind to the south island of Ilse
des Pines...  The second anchorage,in a deep Bay with nothing much but
a visible road and some abandoned metal somethings protected by a big
reef.was our jump off .John and Kelly ventured in for a hike and I
wanted to break into the realm of the ocean medium...wash ,check the
anchor,etc.It was cold,I was surprised and I was squeamish,so I put on
a wet suit. I went in,spent no more than 30 min.,it was fine. When K
and J returned,however,the local"jacq-Paul" said Oh,NO! Do not swim
here-anywhere but here,there are many sharks here,feeding on the baby
turtles...oh well,sometimes less info is more....We never made it to
the proverbial paradise of Ilse d Pines-wind harsh on the nose so we
continued on to Vanuatu,still a bumpy ride...missing also our next
destination of the most southern island of Vanuatu. We headed directly
to Effete....
Here,we are doing some provisioning both fresh market and supermarket
goods.Fuel,water ,laundry and we are informing customs of the islands
in the Van. group  we are about to go off and visit.
Olivia is safely "aboard: for her 2 week break from school. We will
sail up to the largest island north of here ,Santo,where Olivia has a
flight out ,she connects in Port Vila before leaving for Auckland.She
has already made friends and is off somewhere now with them.David met
the Dad,"Captain Rick"- a salty dog now a land lubber after some years
at sea-telling gruesome stories of cannibals in papa N Guinea,OK ..Ill
tell you one true tale,however 20 years old ;they used to tourniquet
the human (preferably white tasty victims) around the arms and legs
before they sliced the limbs and passed them around to the salivating
natives to be gnawed raw-God knows why?? At least boil them like the
cauldrons in the bugs bunny cartoons??

In Mele Bay we finally could swim,John caught,spear fished  a hearty
grouper,we saw a fire ceremony at The Beach Bar,In the mornings we
hear the children singing before school starts.We snorkel beside Hide
away Island and I spotted a sea turtle. We celebrated Kellys 23rd
Birthday on Sunday with a bountiful beautiful breakfast made by John
in two parts,first eggs and presents and second a cake John baked with
local passionfruit and banana ,topped with whipped cream. We packed a
picnic lunch and headed out to the pride of Effete,The cascade
waterfalls. It totally delivered,so intensely beautiful,nestled in the
jungle,the water a pale blue,temperate and fresh.The water springs
from the ground up above the bottom pools,many pools,big enough fro
sliding and swimming.We loved it. David and I ate while Olivia John
and Kelly walked up.We took our turn when they returned and I filmed
avidly as we walked.Such a paradise  .When we returned.The place was
empty,just employees cleaning.I assumed the three had walked back
knowing that John was taking Kelly out to town for dinner.In fact
Olivia was there waiting for us but had moved to another table and we
missed her.We were all the way back,along the road,along the
beach,enjoying the chill of the later afternoon stroll. When J and K
zoomed up in the dingy we were all awakened.  D and I quickly changed
into dry cloths and actually started running back on the road as none
of the ubiquitous buses were around....as we got to the round- about I
crossed the road right in front of a truck with the back loaded with
guys wearing soccer shirts(most of the men/boys do) The driver
exclaimed,"we have your daughter!" Drama halt...I never let my mind
take me down that worry road but despite,I realized  I had some
adrenaline coursing through....

Next day-jungle cook out. We had met Robert on the road to the
waterfall standing with a new soccer ball he was pumping. We chatted
and he proposed his island invitation;to follow him up into the jungle
and cook a feast Vanuatu style. All we needed to provide was the
protein,chicken?fish ?meat? We brought Johns spear-fished grouper
awaiting consumption in steaks in our fridge.   That night,much" white
man" narrative proceeded this agreement,for we did accept. We talked
about the safety of the fish,we bantered about the cleanliness of the
whole mysterious recipe and hand and health of our dear
guide,including his bad case of weeping conjunctivitis  .We thought
about his expectations ;were they monetary ? What could we offer?We
are all out of Canadian Maple syrup or any Mickey's of rum...etc,
infact all I could think of to spare was a good NZ chocolate bar... We
decided to relax,bring the fish and 6 cold beer in our cooler and to
loosen up....
The day was so perfect. It was a parable . We were late- Robert was at
home ,within the shanty town like village,surrounded by his wife her
Ma, scrawny dawgs and motley kids. All you need is a camera and you
are the pied piper...After some cute kid shots and happy smiley hand
shakes,we took back to the road and Robert ,like a chief had two boys
at his side with the knives they carry everywhere ,boys have
knives,machetes . All villagers," the  living" ,as they are mostly
unemployed,worship one thing,The Sun. We traversed the soccer field
beside the cemetery ,sacred land . All land -lush ...on to a path that
paralleled the more touristy waterfall ascent through he jungle.
Robert preformed,we felt like children as he showed us all the tricks
and costumes and musical instruments that all the ferns and leaves can
magically morph and amuse. Up and up we walked and gathered some food
for our feast;a green per shaped vegetable, "island cabbage"that
looked like random dark green leaves that Id seen in the market
selling in mammoth bunches...robert had brought with him a small sac
that contained salt from his kitchen and two water bottles,some
plantain,banana,tumeric in its root form,two cloves of garlic,an
onion.  We passed men tending very basic garden patches of
corn,papaya,banana.The only familiar fruit in season at this time is
banana,coconut ,grapefruit,pomelo and  papaya. Two fruits that
resemble apples AND a berry that looks like a fake raspberry-haven't
tried it yet
...reminds me-this is taking ages and Ive GOT to get up and off to my
list of duties!!!!!
  To continue:  We made it up to a beautiful clearing at the top
where we had a clear view of the bay where Rhythm rocked on her
anchorage and the reef , long beach and hide away island looked so
pretty.
We began to process the veggies by first cleaning our wear-Robert and
the boys gathered thick green bamboo stalks,coconuts for water,for
meat,firewood and big bright green leaves for
our cleaning.We set  leaves out ;water in one like a sink and a couple
to place the food.We peeled and cubed the food,the boys cut sections
of bamboo,for it was within these vessels that we were to stuff this
food and to steam over the open fire the ....Robert grated coconut,the
turmeric and created a cream squeezing the pulp into a coconut
shell,we dipped the food before we  stuffed it  into the pieces of
bambooo. We were presented with green coconut with straws made from
some plant,also cop sticks and coconut shells were our utensils . I
love it!
The meal,decanted from the burning hot stalks onto more clean big
green leaves was an exercise in practicing presence patience and
restraint,let me tell you....Oh,yes,I forgot there was also
banana/p;antain sliced,with the peel in a stalk and cooked like the
rest.It was so good,almost like a sweet squash. We ate with amused
hungry gratitude. A very wonderful experience and a first for us on
our travels so far.
I really must go. Ive not written much to many for so long. Blog
fizzled out without the help of my ipad notes..Our plans are to join
this rally,the," sailindonesia " rally,starting at the end of July. To
be in Thailand for Christmas..
I miss Philippa so much who is working in Miami this summer in her
field and spending time with Joey Sterns and his fab family-who I
haven't even met yet. I miss Jeremy so much working in Toronto,sailing
Flying Cloud and cottaging on Edge. Missing Joey,just starting his
grand finale of high school in T.O,having had a 5 week visit with
Magali of Monaco...I miss Ma and Pa, bro ( see you in NOVEMBER) and
sis(when and where!?),et al...all family,girlfriends and buddies so
much.
Hope the full moon is bright for you,summer is fun and restful,
Lots of Love
Peg