2004-July
See also: || 2004 || view slideshow
Vanua Lava is the only island in Vanuatu with crocodiles in its rivers.
There are only five of them (crocodiles, not rivers), and the locals
take particular pride in them.
if you try to pass them in the pool. </li>
time of death simply by <i>looking</i> at fish remains. </li>
dance for them. </li><br />
This man, a neighbour of ours while we stayed in Sola, was the creator of
one of the best-known landmarks in Vanuatu: An eight-foot tall pig's tusk
(for reference, <a href="http://www.janeresture.com/vanuatu_pictures/tNew%20Hebrides%20Vanuatu%20RARE%20PIG%20TUSK%20CURRENCY%20usk.jpg">here's a real one</a>)
that stands outside Pekoa airport on Espiritu Santo.
The tusk is a little amusing at first, until you consider how it was made.
By way of a hint, there aren't many facilities in Vanuatu to create, for
example, fibreglas forms to mould the concrete. This man completed the task
without any tool more advanced than a machete.
He appears to be mentally impaired in some way, perhaps with some mild kind
of autism or Asperger's syndrome. He readily recognises and welcomes friends
and family members, but does not respond in any way to spoken or signed
language. He's a brilliant individual.
On our first full day on the island of Vanua Lava, we walked across it to the
small village of Mosinet. The entire population, about 50 people, was gathered
under a large mango tree.
When they first saw me coming, most of the children ran away in fear.
Their curiousity eventually got the better of them, and by the time I was
a safe fifty yards away, they began to emerge - speculating, I don't
doubt on what kind of strange beast is a white man.
I wish them luck with that.
The shapes may be familiar to western eyes, but a closer inspection
reveals that houses in the Banks group are unique in their materials
and construction methods. I spent many evenings marvelling at the ingenuity
that went into their roof making. The thatching on these roofs can withstand
hurricane winds. That's more than can be said for corrugated metal.
Jimmy, our project officer, came with Kibwana and me to Vanua Lava.
Here, he keeps a sharp eye out for crocodiles as he crosses the Silver
river, lunch in hand.
On our last full day on the island of Vanua Lava, Jimmy and I hopped into
the 20-foot open boat that had been chartered to pick up some friends
from the other side of the island. The man who operated the boat was known
to all simply as the Captain. I never heard him referred to by any other
name.
His father is fond of telling the following story: When the Captain was
born, his right fist was clenched tightly shut. His apu (grandfather), on
seeing this, intructed those present to open it carefully. The infant's
hand contained a small amount of water. "Taste it," said the apu. It was
as salty as the ocean.
There are times when it makes sense to go along with folk wisdom, and believe
me, when I saw the skill with which the Captain angled us through the
2 1/2 metre swell, I knew that, no matter what its provenance, this man
has salt water in his veins.
We spent a day in an open boat circling the island of Vanua Lava.
Evidence of vulcanism is everywhere in the Banks group of islands,
but the site of Ureparapara in the distance was probably the most
compelling.... The island of Ureparapara is an immense caldera which,
some time in the past exploded, cutting a huge channel in one side.
The result is a ring-shaped island with a vast deep-water harbour
in the middle of it and eight hundred metre cliffs rising on every side.
I have made a vow to myself to visit it next time I'm in Torba province.
When I was in Sola, I stayed in the guest house run by Robert and Sara.
Their oldest boy displays a stunning mix of Melanesian and Polynesian
attributes that make all of the locals so beautiful.
When I was in Sola, I stayed in the guest house run by Robert and Sara.
Their oldest boy displays a stunning mix of Melanesian and Polynesian
attributes that make all of the locals so beautiful.
When I was in Sola, I stayed in the guest house run by Robert and Sara.
Their oldest boy displays a stunning mix of Melanesian and Polynesian
attributes that make all of the locals so beautiful.
Cameras are an extreme rarity in remote Torba province. When people are
asked to pose for photographs, they often become <i>very</i> earnest.
When I was in Sola, I stayed in the guest house run by Robert and Sara.
Their oldest boy displays a stunning mix of Melanesian and Polynesian
attributes that make all of the locals so beautiful.
Imagicity | Photography - exotica, mundanity and wonders | © Dan McGarry
