Thursday, October 27, 2011

Vanuatu

Hi! I'm in Vanuatu. Before I got here I had no idea what to expect. Would it be like Fiji or Tonga? Would it be anything like French Polynesia?

Vanuatu is a very interesting place so I'm going to give you a bunch of random facts about it:

We've gone to a lot of villages and have been given fish, paw-paw (papaya), pumpkin, bananas, and coconut by the locals in exchange for T-shirts, canned goods, and fish hooks.

Instead of the whole country speaking 1or 2 languages, there are over 100 languages spoken in Vanuatu! Each village speaks its own language.

The Vanuatu people used to name the months after different types of yam.

Every year at the yam festival, men jump off a 15-story tower with vines tied to their ankles to ensure the growth of their yams.

When we were anchored off a island for the night we saw flocks of Dugongs, They look a lot like manatees. ( I fail to see how old time sailors could have ever believed these blubbery creatures to be mermaids, what happened to the long flowing hair, the sleek,shiny tail?)

Another time on a island called Epi we saw so many sea turtles that I started ignoring them.

I wondered what Vanuatu was like and I found out that it is a unique place all of it's own.

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1 comment:

Lynne said...

Hi Maia,

The waterfall sounds incredibly beautiful and I love your random facts about Vanuatu.

I can't believe the men jump off a tower with only vines around their ankles. I am sure the vines are strong but it sounds like risky business to me!

Bartering with the locals must but a fun way to get to know people and to try new foods (and familiar ones).

Did you celebrate Halloween in some way? I had fun handing candy out to little kids. A few nights before we went to The Parade of Lost Souls, which was for families this year in my neighoubrood. The artists used many alleys for people to walk through. They borrowed garages to perform songs, mini plays, and puppet shows. There were lots of spooky props and plenty of stilt walkers. There were even zombies dancing on the garage roofs. It was a lot of fun.

Keep writing. While I might not always comment right away I love reading your blog. :)

Love,
Auntie Lynne