Continuation from yesterday”¦..

“¦We were completely surrounded by the villagers, each of us having several weapons pointed at our necks and chests.

After a very long minute, the villagers spontaneously ran off down the road. We were told to have a seat on a bench. The villagers reappeared and danced several dances for us. The dances were different from anything we had seen before. Most of the group was in neat rows and danced in place, using their weapon as a prop. They all wore ankle bracelets of toasted nuts in the shell, which made a maracas-like rattling sound in time to the music as they moved their feet with the rhythm. There were a few lead dancers who danced all around and through the group mimicking animal movements. Each dance was for a particular animal. In this photo you can see the man mimicking a bird to the right. The music was rhythmical percussion instruments, with the dancers all singing along in a deep bass. The music was powerful.

After the dancing we were led to a nearby covered patio area. We were fed an appetizer of cabbage and sweet potato in coconut milk that was delicious. They also served drinking coconuts and kava. This was the most powerful kava we have tried yet. While we ate, a few of the villagers sang for us. This time the music was lyrical and happy, using mostly string instruments. The singing was in a falsetto.

When it was time to go, we were put into an outrigger canoe adorned with flowers and two men paddled us down the river to where our van awaited us. The ride was peaceful and the scenery beautiful.

We hopped into the van and went down the road only a couple of kilometers to a small restaurant in Sara Beach for lunch. The restaurant is a low bungalow similar to most of the homes we have seen around the south pacific. To our surprise, there are no interior walls and the floor is made up of the coral fragments that wash up on shore. The restaurant is right on the water and the view is absolutely spectacular. The food wasn’t very good. There was fried chicken and beef stew.

After eating, still at the restaurant, we were given a demonstration of how to open and shred coconuts that was very similar to the one we had seen in our tour of Tahaa. Although, in Tahaa it wasn’t explained to us that toilet paper is a waste f money coconut husks and leaves do the trick just fine.

We then continued north. The northeast tip of the island was an instrumental US military base during World War II. The American presence during the war has had a huge, lasting impact on the people of Vanuatu. We drove over the air strip and the guide pointed out all the buildings and facilities that used to surround the strip. Back on the main road, we went past some military vehicles poking out of the water near the shore. Apparently there was quite a lot of infrastructure then. Sadly, when the Americans left, they tore down everything they built and buried or sank everything they had brought.

The next stop was at the Port Havannah markets. In the middle of nowhere is a series of small stalls along the side of the road that sell a variety of souvenirs. There were a lot of seashells and WWII trinkets, especially old glass coca-cola bottles. They certainly are thick! One of the stalls had a couple of kiddy pools that had turtles in them. There was a mama and about half a dozen little babies. They even let us hold the turtles.

Our last stop was just a few miles from the “market” at a campground where “Survivor” was recorded a few years ago. This is the third “Survivor” site we have been to since leaving home. The spot is pretty. There are two islands across the way, so the water is nice and calm. They put out tea, coffee and cocoa for us and encouraged us to get in for a swim. Once again, none of us opted to get in the water because of the on and off again rain.

The road turned inland only a few miles beyond the last beach stop. The area out of town on this side of Vila has more development than the other side of the island. We passed several suburban looking areas, an industrial area, and some high dollar resorts.

All in all it was a nice tour and we were quite pleased with it. We thought it was good value for the money.