Author: Pam
We made it through the night in rolly Revoliue Bay, but boy were we motivated to make a move the next morning. Lamen Bay was our next stop on Epi Island, a whole eight miles away. One could get used to these day hops. We weighed anchor at 0830 and drove two hours reaching Lamen Bay at 1030. There was not enough wind or time really for a sail. As we approached Lamen Bay a naval ship crossed fairly close behind us leading us to believe they were not planning on stopping. However, their next maneuver was to go in front of LL and head straight into Lamen Bay and drop their anchor. Lamen Bay is wide open exposed to the west, but you can get in close enough to be protected and thank heavens there was no swell. Besides the naval ship there were no other yachts anchored, so we scouted around and anchored a safe distance from the shore and the ever present bombies (coral heads).
About five minutes after we dropped the anchor a dinghy was headed directly at Starship from the Naval ship. They came alongside and without asking permission or identifying themselves three of the five of them boarded Starship. I was sitting in the entrance to cockpit and though I did not feel at all threatened, I did not invite them on board any further than the side of the boat where they were standing. They asked if we had a cruising permit and I said we have a sealed envelope to give to Customs in Luganville when we check out. The guy seemingly in charge asked me to write the name of the boat and the crew on his clipboard. Then the second guy asked to see our passports. They asked where we planned to check out and we said Luganville and they reiterated we need to visit Customs in Luganville and if we want to check out of Sola in the Banks Islands we must ask permission in Luganville. They disembarked and it looked like one of the guys in their tender took a picture of the boat, Rebecca confirmed later he did. They headed for LL and we called and gave them a heads up. We have not been boarded "at sea" since the California coast at the beginning of our trip, when we were boarded by the US Coast Guard.
As we are now full on into the island hopping routine, there does seem to be a routine developing, deploy the dinghy and head to shore to explore our new surroundings. So, after changing into our swimmers (as they say in Australia) we headed for shore for a walk and a swim. We had read in our cruising guide there was a resort, a high school and an airport, otherwise we didn't have much information. There were a couple of young men sitting on the beach where we landed the dinghy and I asked if it would be ok if we went for a walk. They basically looked at us with the deer in the headlights stare with a smile. We took that to be a yes and we headed off on a road inland turning onto a path we thought would head back to the beach. We passed a couple children, but otherwise there really wasn't anyone around. We also passed a couple of huts with the preverbal chickens and roosters roaming around, but we didn't actually see another person until we met Ron sitting with his shiny silver support cane on an upside down canoe. He was friendly, but also a man of few words and only one front tooth (according to Rebecca).
We are finding the people of Vanuatu to be very friendly, but also quite shy. It has been quite difficult to have a conversation. The native language is Bislama (pigeon English) and as in any language when they speak to one another it is with confidence. Many people do speak English, but not many with confidence. Therefore, they may be able to understand and speak English, but they often do not speak very loudly, making it difficult to hear their responses. I have also observed they ask very few questions. The children are openly curious with their stares, enthusiastic hellos and big smiles, but they seldom initiate any interaction or conversation, so far anyway. If you ask them, how are you? They will respond "fine" and flash a beautiful smile, but that is usually the end of the conversation.
After a swim at the beach we decided to head back to the boats for lunch and a rest after getting no sleep the night before. For someone who does not nap, I seem to be getting quite good at it, I slept all afternoon. We made veal with cream sauce and rice for dinner and enjoyed the peace and quiet of a civilized anchorage.
The next morning we awoke to discover a large square rigger had arrived in the night and was making trips to shore delivering the people on board. We had also watched a maxi yacht come in after dark and roam around looking for a place to anchor, my how the neighborhood can change in a few short hours.
We headed over to LL and hung out while Rebecca finished baking bread, which was fine with us since she had promised us a loaf. We were feeling especially lucky since we had had to throw almost an entire moldy loaf overboard. On one of the trips back from shore the 2nd Mate from the square rigger stopped by and asked if LL could possibly move in a bit closer, so they could get in closer and out of very deep water. He also invited us to join them on shore for a BBQ that evening, which we all thought sounded like fun. Graeme was more than happy to oblige and move LL, so he and Scott went off for a squiz in the dinghy to locate a good spot. That done, LL weighed anchor and tucked in a little closer to shore.
When the bread was baked we headed into shore for another look around and in search of the Sunset Paradise Resort, Scott was most likely hoping for a cheeseburger. We landed the dinghy on a different beach, which didn't prove to be a good idea due to the number of coral heads dotting the approach, definitely not nice for swimming. Graeme ended up pulling the dinghy around near the beach we landed at yesterday. On our way to meet him we met several guys who had been snorkeling and we quickly learned they were guests on the 105 foot square rigger, the Soren Larson. She sails out of New Zealand and makes a nine month passage through the South Pacific. She has 13 crew and up to 23 guests at any given time. She is registered as a training ship, but the guests are not students per say, it is up to you how much you want to participate (though they do help keep watch and do safety checks). The guests are on board for anywhere between 10 days and 9 months. I hope we get invited for a tour.
After a swim we headed back to the boats for lunch and to prepare for our trip over to Lamen Island. The day before Sam had stopped by LL in his canoe and they had invited him on board. They learned 300 people live on Lamen Island, which is located approximately two miles across from Lamen Bay. The people who live there come across to the "Big Island" to work in their gardens. There is a primary school on the island and Sam said it would be ok for us to come for a visit. Apparently, the tuition is 1000VT ($10.00) per child per term. We planned to talk to the Head Master about sponsoring at least one child for a term and I gathered up a few school supplies and stickers to donate. We headed out in LL's dinghy, it would have taken a month of Sundays in ours. It was a bit choppy on the way over, but fortunately we managed to stay dry, the trip home was completely another story. We landed the dinghy on the beach and headed to where the sand stops and the rocks begin, this is where we would find Sam's house. Along the way we were stopped by a number of men who wanted to know our reason for being there. One of the young men offered to show us Sam's house and in about a second flat that meant several children and another adult male. Sam was home, but we clearly woke him up from a nap. He was polite and offered us a small bench to sit on. Graeme asked about visiting the school and Sam informed us the school was closed on Friday afternoons. He neglected to mention that yesterday during the discussion of when we would visit. Sam said he would take us to the Head Master's house, but he wasn't sure if he had gone over to the "Big Island" or not. Lamen Island is very pretty with lots of great, big trees and no cars. However, there are two mobile phone companies that have set up towers. It is strange to be walking through these very remote and rustic villages and see people talking on their mobile phone. Telecommunication really does seem to know no boundaries. Scott had a great time taking pictures of the kids playing in the water, they definitely are not camera shy. The Head Master indeed was not home and we had run out of conversation with Sam (we learned he had a kava hangover and was not feeling very chatty) so we headed back to the dinghy and roared back across to Lamen Bay arriving looking like drown rats. When we got back to Starship Scott rolled out of LL's dinghy and completed the task of getting soaked.
I did chores for the rest of the afternoon and Scott took a nap, he is even better at napping than I am. I prepared pasta with pesto to bring to the BBQ and we headed back in to shore a bit after dark to make new friends. When we arrived the BBQ was full of meat and the table full of food. Inside the yacht club there were several local children dancing to a DVD of island music they were watching on a small TV. Otherwise, there did not seem to be many locals around, however I suspect they were there in the shadows. We chatted with several people we had met earlier in the day about their experience aboard the Soren Larson and where they were going next. It wasn't long before chow was on and we all grabbed a banana leaf plate and headed for the buffet line. There was heaps of food, burgers, rolls, sausages, pasta bake, cucumber, tomato, our pasta, Rebecca's fried rice… I have never tried to balance food on a banana leaf before, though a little wobbly it did make a very nice plate. We all sat at the long table on benches in an open structure, under a thatched roof. When Scott went back for seconds and I went to lend my support, we met Tasso. We had read about him in the cruising guide, he owns the resort and yacht club. He had heard about these people who didn't see well and was very excited to meet us. He said he wanted us to meet his wife and son and in a couple of minutes he was back with them and two other family members. We had a very nice chat with him and he was thrilled we had chosen to stop in Lamen Bay. We had hoped we would see him again the next day on shore, but unfortunately we did not. As we were getting ready to head back to the boat, we were invited aboard the Soren Larson the next morning for a quick tour, they were planning to leave at 0900, yippee! Graeme, Rebecca, Scott and I climbed into the dinghy and headed back to Starship, the night was young and the moon was almost full. We sat in the cockpit under a gorgeous moon and shared some of our more intimate and personal life stories and our friendship bond grew a bit deeper.
The next morning we were up and ready to go over to the Soren Larson at 0800, that is when they said they would be finished with breakfast. She makes the second tall ship we have met on this adventure so far, the Picton Castle in Rarotonga (Cook Islands) was the first. The Soren Larson was built in 1949 and has undergone major rigging changes over the years. Her interior woodwork is absolutely beautiful, despite an interior fire at some point. The crew and guests were gracious and very proud to show her off to four wide eyed and admiring visitors. Our visit was short, we didn't want to overstay our welcome. I did have a quick chat with one of the crew as I was disembarking who is from Boston and is quite familiar with MDI, my little island in Maine. We both agreed we were a long way from home.
The rest of the day felt like a lazy Saturday. We went to shore and explored in the direction of the airport, hoping the shop might be open. It was no surprise to find that it closed. A light mist started to fall as we wandered along and observed more of the ease the children seem to have with just having fun. They were everywhere, swimming, canoeing, sitting on a tree branch, playing sports (we weren't sure what the game actually was), running, playing with a puppy and endlessly laughing and giggling. I can't think of many things that have warmed my heart in the same way. Before heading back out to the boats to prepare for our departure in the morning we found the water tap and filled up our four collapsible water jugs and deposited our rubbish in the designated spot.
After a stop by LL on the way to discuss our next destination and have a snack we headed back to Starship. We stowed the dinghy, made dinner and called it an early night so we would be rested for our next hop to Malakula Island the next day.
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