Epi and Efate Islands, Vanuatu (Aug/Sep 2012)

Epi

Our first stop on Epi was Revolieu Bay; a 55 mile sail from Havannah Harbor.  We anchored off of the village of Anduan.  The anchorage had good holding and was protected from wind but we still found it to be a bit roily.

While we were in anchorage, two supply boats stopped – this was the event of the week!  All the villagers came to shore to wait for the weekly supply ship to pick up and drop off passengers, crops and supplies.  

Our second stop on Epi was Lamen Bay - home of the dugong and large turtles.  We only saw the dugong once but we saw many turtles during our stay – one time on my morning swim, I counted eight turtles.  The turtles fed off of the bottom below our boat and came up frequently for air.  We met the village chief, Timothy, who took us on quite a hike to his vegetable gardens on top of the hill.  His family also joined us - wife Makin, son David, niece Rosey and many other family members.  All members, including the young children, carried machete knives so we were well taken care of with treats of coconut juice, cacoa, grapefruit and other tropical delights along our hike up to the gardens.  David and Rosey spent the afternoon on the boat eating lunch, kayaking and watching Avatar on our computer.

Efate

Port Vila, Efate Island was our first stop in Vanuatu where we easily cleared quarantine, customs and immigrations.  Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, sits on the water with a lovely view of the harbor.    This lovely capital city has an European (French and English) and Australian influence, complete with great pastries, Au Bon Marche and even banana splits filled with globs of fresh whipped cream.  Believe it or not, in this small country, 113 languages are spoken, including Bislama (pigeon English), English, French, Chinese and many more local island dialects.

Port Vila has kind of an artsy “reggae” feel to it, lots of musicians and artists with their hair braided in dreadlocks.  Many of the women dress in colorful Mother Hubbard dresses which are loose in form, similar to Hawaiian moo-moo’s but with puffy sleeves and many pockets.  Sadly many older women are missing a front tooth which is knocked out when married, fortunately this practice is fading.

We enjoyed the Vanuatan raised beef that has been aged properly; the great produce market with lots of garden fresh vegetables and fruits for sale.  We also found wrapped fruit bats (flying foxes) and laplaps (food cooked in ground oven wrapped in banana leaves) available in the market.  The prices for local goods were very affordable.

Vanuatu, formerly New Hebrides, became independent in 1980 when they got tired of Europeans and Americans claiming title to their land.  Up until 1980, there were two administrations (French and English), also referred to as the “condominium” government.   This meant a separate set of jails, schools, courthouses, hospitals, etc for each administration.

Vanuatu hosted the US Military during WWII and was the second largest base in the Pacific.  Throughout the islands of Vanuatu, there are many down airplanes.  We particularly enjoyed visiting the WWII museum on Efate.

After a week in Port Vila and replenishing our diesel and provisions, we sailed up to Havannah Harbor where we anchored off of a very friendly village.  We were escorted through the village by five year old Tanya after we had exchanged colored pencils, rice and tea for fresh fruit and vegetables.  This village was pretty typical of other villages throughout Vanuatu with terrific vegetable gardens grown high on the hillside above the village and beaches dotted with dugout canoes made by the locals for fishing and diving.