Rano Island, Vanuatu

Vocabulary: Eris (hello), Ramsam (goodbye to one person), Ramsamay (goodbye to more than one person), Ramsamyo (sweet dreams), Ta (thank you).


Today we are on Rano Island, Vanuatu. The island actually has a pier we climb onto from the zodiacs...prior to this we have been making wet landings on beaches.

The Vanuatuans on this little island have started to create a tourism industry, displaying all the traditional crafts and dance and food preparation. We walk along the beach, looking at the women's craft stands where they show shell necklaces, woven straw bags and mats, ankle bracelets made from large seed pods and worn as part of the traditional dancing costumes, and hand carved replicas of outrigger canoes.

We follow a cleared path that makes a large circle inland, and enter cleared 'forest rooms' where different aspects of the culture are played out for us. We begin with some older men, dancing a public dance, anyone can join in. There is always one person making the tock-tock sound on a drum or tree or piece of wood, to create the beat. All the dancers are adept at dancing in unison - the choreography is sophisticated. The earth reverberates when all the pounding feet land at once.

The women, bare breasted and in woven skirts, come forward in two lines, shaking their feathered sticks, and weaving in and out of the lines. Their ankle bracelets, made from seed pods, create a soft shushing sound that accents the beat. After their dance is finished, we speak with them, and discover that most speak French and are more comfortable in that language then in English. They are charming and friendly and open.

We go to the Boabab tree and watch the sorcerer perform some 'magic' - simple tricks. We see a wall of flat stones, and learn that these are everybody's birth certificates - when a child is born in the village, s/he receives a flat stone and it is added to the wall. When that person dies, his/her stone is given to a relative. So they have birthstones, but not gravestones.

We watch the men dance. There is one dancer who is like a bird...his arms seem to lengthen and grow into wings. This is a powerful dance, with a loud and tuneful music behind it.

We see a woman weaving a mat...her hands and fingers work so quickly, she is like a loom. The older women are preparing a yam mash. After it is baked in the fire, shredded coconut is sprinkled on top... delicious. The coconut industry is their biggest industry...they burn the shells for fuel, they keep the coconut milk, they export the coconut oil to Europe.

In a funny way, this village is like a home grown Disneyland...everything prepared for the tourist, in easy bites. Seen another way, it is interesting to see how these people, on an island far far away, have chosen to present their traditions to foreigners. Our guide told us that the last cannibalistic meal eaten on this island was in 1913...not so long ago! We actually visit the "cannibal's room", and see real human bones in the fire pit. I wonder if they are the actual bones from that last meal, or where exactly did they come from?
Later, as we walk along the shore again, and take pictures of the houses made out of woven reeds, we see everybody has a cell phone. So, while there are clearly still people living, or perhaps just having knowledge of, the traditional life, modern 'civilization' is encroaching. Is there electricity? I don't know. Are there cell phones? Yes. Television? No. Radio? Yes. There are PVC pipes that drain the water down to the beach. Are there pumps? I don't know. The pipes used to be made of bamboo. Is PVC an improvement?

I see a grandmother walking with her toddler grandson along the beach. Every few steps he squats down and releases a turd. She folows behind and kicks the turd into the ocean. Jonathan says that the adage "The solution to pollution is dilution" is correct in this case, as E.Coli is rendered null in a large salt water environment.  Still, seeing this doesn't make me want to snorkel close to shore!

I meet Charles, who insists on giving me one of the beautiful Crown Conch shells. I tell him I have no more money, but he insists. He asks will I bring back a t-shirt for his daughter. I agree.

I go out on a dinghy with a group and Jonathan*, who brings us into small inlets in the bay to see what birds we might see. First we see some Giant Clam shells, which he tells us are disappearing. We see some large fruit bats, soaring from tree to tree. Maybe a Lorikeet as well?

As we travel back to the ship it starts to pour. This is nothing new, as we have been wet since we started in Fiji. It is so endless you can only laugh about it. No one has dry clothes, as they will not dry hanging in your room. Everyone's room and bath are like damp caves. Many times, you just want to swim back, as it might actually be warmer than sitting in the wind on the dinghy.

Jonathan tells us a story from growing up in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia when he was growing up there): He and a friend, both 12 years old, went crocodile snatching out on a river. Jonathan's friend held his legs while he leaned out of the boat and grabbed one, about 5 feet long, around the neck. He dragged it back into the boat, and flipped it upside down, in which position it becomes immobile. So they had the leisure to observe and examine it, before throwing it back into the water...as it flies through the air it starts gnashing again! As he said, 12 years old and incredibly stupid...and fearless!

On board with Olinne, immigration officer of Vanuatu

On island of Rano, Vanuatu

Children displaying local wares

Beauty

Chief (note pig tusk necklace) playing slit-gong drum

Speaking French with the ladies

*Jonathan Rossouw, expedition leader, expert in birds and reptiles, also extremely knowledgeable about mammals and coral reef fishes.

Travelling on the Clipper Odyssey, Day 3, November 24, 2010

Ambryn Island, Vanuatu

Children and Mothers of Ambryn

Ambrym is an island in the archipelago of Vanuatu (formerly known as the New Hebrides). It is well known for its highly active volcanic activity that includes lava lake formation. It is the fifth largest island of this country. Several times per century, Ambrym volcano has destructive eruptions. The summit of the volcano contains a desert-like caldera which covers an area of 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi).

Like many islands in Vanuatu, Ambrym has its own Austronesian languages. In the north is the North Ambrym language, in the southeast is the Southeast Ambrym language, in the south the Dakaka language, and in the west Lonwolwol and in the southwest Port-Vato language. These are all spoken by a few hundred to a few thousand speakers each.  These are some of the few languages in the world into which the Bible has never been translated. I contrast this with the ubiquitous presence of Christian missionaries here, whom many of the islanders resisted; instead continuing in their own animist tradition. Also, in case I haven't mentioned it, this is the area of the world where cannibalism has been extensive, right up until the early 20th century (1930s).

We snorkeled over rich black sand. Lively coral, a spider feeder, a nudibranch, an octopus.  Then I swam to the beach, where there were several hot spots in the water. A 104 degrees Farenheit  river poured into the ocean...muscle soothing, relaxing, floating between hot and cold.

John and I had lunch with Olinne, a customs inspector who had come on board. She is 46 years old, has 5 children, and a high school education. Her daughter is attending the University of the South Pacific, whose main campus is in the main city of Vanuatu. Coincidentally, Olinne comes from a family of seven, 5 girls and 2 boys, just like my family, and her birthday is January 27 (mine is January 21).

After lunch we were invited into a village to observe a male dance. Surrounding the near naked dancers, who wore only penis gourds and some leaves stuck into the back of their belts, were fantastical triangular masked creatures. All the dancers stomped, stomped, stomped in unison, so powerfully that the earth shook.

Rich coral in Ambryn

Nudibranch

Shipmate enjoying the hot spring off the black sand beach

The sacred Rom Dance

Rom costumes made from banana leaves and banana-fiber mask

The story behind the origin of the dance is this: A young girl made the costume and mask to entice the boy she liked. He killed her, stole the costume, shared it with his mates, and created the dance which no women are allowed to dance. How do you like that? Our resident anthropologist explained later that there is a strong division between the female and male realms here, and that the male desire for ritual and secrecy is based on jealousy of what the woman can do - create men!

The whole time we were in this little village, it was pouring rain. The dance was performed in the rain. I might as well have swum back to the boat.

Travelling to Fiji via Papeete and Auckland

Papeete Time....Auckland Time....Dream Time....Blog time! The past few days have been a blur of plane travel, with discrete sensuous moments of frangipani flowers and ukelele music at the Papeete airport, the mellifluous sounds of tahitian and french languages blending with the music and the fragrance.

The Langdon Hotel on Symonds Road in Auckland is just the place to collapse, relax, and restore. The club rooms offer a private lounge with breakfast, tea, fine wines and hors d'oeuvres. The pool, hot tub, steam room and sauna, all tiled with bronze and blue colored glass, make your revival complete.  Situated close to the hub of downtown Auckland - Queen Street and the Sky Tower - the hotel shuttle and free City Circuit bus make sightseeing a snap. Cuisine choices are mostly Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Italian - and all of it good. Auckland feels more and more diverse - immigration has doubled in the past five years.

Saturday at the Auckland airport was no fun...getting to the airport more than two hours prior to flight time, we still just barely made the flight. Standing in line for so long, the upside was we met a wonderful couple, Daniel and Gladys, who emigrated to New Zealand from George, South Africa, five years ago. They love it, and have never looked back. Their three children, after graduating from University, moved to Auckland also. They gave us lots of good information about South Island.

The healthy reef at Sawa-i-lau

The Clipper Odyssey in front of Sawa-i-lau  beach and cliffs

Fee and her pretty daughter, Fiji

In Raymond Burr's orchid gardens, Fiji

Hindu temple in Fiji

Sculpture at Papeete airport

John hard at work at the Papeete airport

On the plane, we sat next to Frank, who was going to Fiji for an 8-day dive vacation. He'll be doing three dives a day. And he had just spent 8 days driving around the South Island, so was also a font of information for those of us planning a trip around the South Island in the near future! A 4th generation Californian, Frank had the beautiful looks of a Spanish Grandee. He works in Pediatric Social Services for the U.C.-Santa Cruz and got the Farmer's Market program started for the poorest neighborhoods in San Diego. The immigrant population of Hmong, Vietnamese, Malians and others certainly can understand fresh food better than crap from McDonalds.

Deplaning at the Fiji airport, we were caught up by George Lake, one of the dive instructors on our trip, who had sat next to Daniel and Gladys on the plane, and they pointed us out to him. Since he's done this trip about 10 times, he guided us through Customs and Entry, and got us to the hotel just in time to catch the bus for the tour of Fiji before boarding the boat.

First stop was Garden of the Sleeping Giant, Raymond Burr's large estate of orchids - over 30,000 varieties. A gentle rain was falling, and the paths through the "groves" of orchids provided peace and grace. What a creation. In the lily pond was a Cane Toad, a pest not native to Fiji, which threatens the balance of the ecosystem.

On to a local village where we perused displays of crafts by the local women, and the men created the ceremonial Kava drink. I made a friend, Fee, who creates jewelry with black pearls.

A last stop at the home of Rosey, owner of the tour company, which commands an outstanding view of the ocean and surrounding islands. On the way up to her home, we travelled on a muddy road, with shacks on both sides, and numerous goats. Her house is of pretty stucco with lots of gardens and outbuildings, and two swings.

Fiji is known as the transition zone between Polynesia and Melanesia - two very different cultures and peoples. It is made up of 300 islands, only one-third of which are populated. Most of the other 200 will never be populated, as the government has a policy of protecting the birds and turtles, most of whom will not come back to lay their eggs on islands that have any human habitation. The Indian people came to Fiji in the 1870s to work the sugar cane fields, and, after the coup of 1987, have no political rights and can not own land. Yet, they are half the population. There are many Hindu temples on Fiji.

We got on the boat, got settled, had dinner, and went to sleep.

Sunday morning, Nov 21, we got up and discovered we were in the bay of Sawa-i-lau, one of those many Fijian islands. We went snorkeling on the reef, which was chockfull of corals, fish, and the first sea krait I ever saw - a 6 inch black-and-white striped snake, apparently very poisonous. It was traveling up and down the water column vertically, about 10 feet at a time. Giovanna Fasinelli, our resident marine biologist, also showed us a nudibranch, soft yellow with an orange outline.

Later, we took the zodiacs along the shore and observed the limestone formations and caves - the soft limestone erodes into weird mushroom shapes. The terrain of Fiji is not what I expected -- it is green and scrubby and rockier than I would have thought. There are 3 types of islands: Atolls, high volcanic islands, and Makatea islands like this one, where there are cliffs rising from the beach.

We visited a small village, and the choir sang hymns for us in Fijian (like Maori, mostly vowels). Sadly, it is obvious the little children are accustomed to tourists taking their pictures as they squirm about and try to look as "adorable" as possible.

Today is a sea day, with lectures. Giovanna will talk about "Language of Fish" and Jonathan, her partner and our resident ornitholigist and mammal expert, will talk about "Biodiversity and Melanesia".

Rio, Rio, RIO!

Graced with one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, Rio de Janeiro unfolds before your eyes as you drift slowly from south to north along the coastline. Miles of uninterrupted, wide, sandy beaches front an aggressively modern city with charming 'villages' spilling down the hillsides. We found out later that these picturesque 'villages' are the slums! Called favelas, the inhabitants have better views than the rich denizens of the apartment buildings in front and lower down. Once a favela is established with more than say, 100 inhabitants, the city/state provides electricity and water. Compare that to the Argentinian approach.

Having the beaches at the very front of the city means that office workers, residents, everyone simply goes to the beach...all the time. Wide paths cross the roads and parks and lead to the beach. Is it true that geography molds personality? I think people from the American mid-west and Rockies region are more open than East Coasters simply because there is more room. The Cariocas (Rio citizens) seem open, relaxed and friendly to me. Who wouldn't be with a beach for your front yard and massive gorgeous rock formations behind you?

The first thing we did in Rio was to go right to the top of Corcovado Mountain, where the towering Christ the Redeemer statue blesses the city below. This statue was a gift to the people of Brazil from the people of France (which I did not know). I remember seeing this picture in my 4th-grade geography book, and wanting to go to it some day. One more item checked off the bucket list!  The view of the city and harbor below is truly spectacular. Well worth the climb, which ain't easy. Somehow I missed the fact that there are actually escalators to bring people up!

The second thing we did was to go over the harbor bridge to another city (which is still part of the state of Rio). People who live on this side of the harbor actually have a shorter commute to downtown Rio via ferry than do city dwellers who must contend with traffic. The Museum of Contemporary Art is on this side of the harbor. Designed by the architect who designed most of Brasilia, this museum looks like a spaceship. I loved it. Like the Guggenheim in Bilbao, it has raised the level of design in adjoining buildings, so that even the apartment buildings are design statements.

The third thing(s) we did was: John went to Ipanema Beach to check out the famous Brazilian buttocks displayed in the national bathing suit, the Thong. What I like about the Brazilian women is that they ALL think they are beautiful, and they are. Fat, skinny, old, young, wrinkled, smooth......they all wear thongs. I went to Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf mountain), where I had a view of the famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches in the distance. It was too hot for the climbers to be out, but apparently this is one of the big climbing walls and usually dotted with climbers.

Rio is dazzling.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Montevideo, Argentina

"I see the mountain!" exclaimed the explorer Juan Diaz de Solis,  who first sailed into this large bay, and so named this capital city of Argentina. Of our group, I am perhaps the only one who really likes Montevideo - a little run down, a little decrepit, very alive, just............funky! I guess my aesthetic was set long ago in dear old New Haven, as my taste in cities definitely runs towards the shabby.

On this last day of Carnaval, that is Mardi Gras, many of the shops were closed, but all of the market stalls and eateries were open, with people chowing down on as much barbecue as they could handle on this Fat Tuesday. Tomorrow, the cathedrals will be full I'm sure.

The Old City is set on a peninsula between the waters of the bay and the river, Rio de la Plata. Lots of "Vende" signs, and boarded up buildings which, apparently, are slated to be 'Humanitarian Communes' or 'Artists' Cooperatives'. Security police are everywhere...well, I certainly felt safe. Children play soccer in the street, and in the numerous playgrounds.

Along the sea promenade, families, couples, and groups of young kids try their hand at fishing.

A bright, windy day... and lots of friendly people.

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Sea lions, penguins, southern right whales, orcas, cormorants, guanacos, rheas, sheep....Puerto Madryn is known as the 'Little Galapagos' of the Atlantic. The windswept plains leading down to the sea are a very different landscape on this eastern side of the Andes, much older than the hilly landscapes of Chile on the western slopes. The southern right whales mate here and give birth between June and mid-November.

A very tiny port town with some brand new apartments and hotels, Puerto Madryn is focused on preserving its environment for the safety and proliferation of the native fauna. The newest building in town is the Ecocenter, dedicated to Jules Verne, and displaying artists' responses to the native wildlife. My favorite was the red whale 'skeleton', made out of the trash thrown into the ocean that gets deposited on the beaches - tires, plastic bottles, shoes. Now, that sends a message!

For those of you who hang out in Monterey, the sea lion colonies here would be very familiar, but they are a novelty for me, and delightful to watch. So playful! The cormorants and sea lions coexist quite peacefully, and ignore each other.

One of the big industries is the wool from the sheep, very much in competition with Australia's wool export. We had the opportunity to spend some time at a local sheep station, Estancia San Guillermo. Their shearer is the second-fastest shearer in Argentina - having won that award last year. Shearing a sheep with today's modern clippers is a far cry from yesteryear's manual shears - the shearer dances a tango with the sheep, holding her close and lovingly, turning her body in a smooth circle to release the fleece in one piece.

The gaucho (cowboy) still herds the sheep by horse, and guanacos (relatives of llamas and alpacas) nose curiously around the station. The ranch is complete with several horses, a large tabby cat, and a puppy.

Yesterday we saw a rainbow, today the sun is shining, and I wish you all a Happy St. Valentine's Day!