Blogs from Vanuatu, Oceania - page 13

Travelblog July 2009 Part 3 On our first day in the Pareo Valley our team split forces. One group headed up the steep North side of the valley to survey the villages there while another group stayed on the valley floor for the villages there. Another group yet stayed with our newly laid camp. The hike up the North side of the valley is a very steep climb. The distance as the crow flies is less than 6 miles, but you’re also moving from sea level to well over 2000 ft in elevation. We knew better than to carry full packs on the hike so we kept things light and carried only water and other necessities. Reaching the first village up the mountain gave us one of the better experiences of the week. I’ve eaten a ... read more

All volunteers assembled, we were ready to head off. Some had come before others, but time was of the essence and much training was to be done on the fly. We had a fire-building seminar on the beach the day before leaving and the camp pots had been broken in. The volunteers were fit, the hikes ahead were rough, and thankfully the maps were still dry. Before we drove off into the sunset and away from Luganville, however, there was one little hiccup. Our transport for the run had fallen through and a new ride had to be arranged. The company quoted us at 100 bucks, but when the driver showed up he wanted 150. And he wasn’t going to leave when we needed him to. I moved on to option C. I love plans, I ... read more

I flew with Air Vanuatu from Brisbane to the capital city called Port Vila in the republic of Vanuatu. Let me first tell you something about the country Vanuatu before talking about my first experiences. The country consists of around 80 islands and has a total population of around 210.000 people. It has a tropical climate and lies in the South Pacific region. The first settlements of the French and English started in the 18th century and in 1906 the Anglo-French Condominium of the new Hibreidess was created. That means that British and French nationals had equal rights and retained their home country’s citizenship. Local people were officially stateless. Vanuatu became independent eventually in 1980 and is a member of many international organisations like the U.N, the French league of nations and the Commenwealth. The main ... read more

sher gave me the go ahead to publish this one, that she wrote about a month ago. while we were away, i received a couple more in the mail :). also, watch for a guest blog soon, written by none other than: me. oh yes, a firsthand account of our maewo experience. enjoy-b Disclaimer - This is a long one! We recently attended the all night dance on the eve of the 100th day of the dead who I have written of before. We walked to the site in the dark around 7:30 at night and were not surprised that we arrived early. The men who would start the dance were still drinking kava. As we waited for them to arrive, we chatted with some women and ate a second small dinner of boiled taro, island ... read more

sher snuck one in on me. we leave for new zealand TOMORROW!! sooo excited! one more blog before i sign off of my duties for a while... - b 29 may 2009 i write the date and wonder, "could it be that only one year ago we were rushing around tending to last minute wedding details and in the company of all our family and friends?!!" and then i marvel at our rather adventurous first year of marriage. wouldn't have it any other way! but enough nostalgia, i've got to buckle down and write this blog so it can be sent with a volunteer who is soon leaving for ambae and going to carry our mail to a more efficient post office. we've just come back from a three day trip to naone, the village next ... read more