After 12 days on the sea we have finally arrived at Tanna. Its most well known attraction is the volcano, which is extremely active and very accessible at the same time. It’s worth adding that thanks to the recent changes you no longer need to visit the capital to legally enter the country. Town Lenakel has an official who checks passports, issues visas and inspects the yacht, if he decides to.
After landing our dinghy on the beach our lack of education and preparation became obvious. We expected Polynesian people but found Melanesians instead. This ethnic group has been living around New Guinea for about 50 thousand years. Whereas Polynesians came from the migration that started around 3-5 thousand years ago from Taiwan. This explains differences in skin complexion due to longer time spent adapting to the equatorial sun.
The first place we visited was a colourful marketplace just next to the bay. In the palm leaf baskets one could find tangerines, pumpkins, papayas, cassava, taro and other local specialities. In order to fund purchases we visited a local bank and converted some dollars into the local currency – Vatu. As soon as we got hold of it we bought a SIM card and attempted a contact with the world. A couple of days of delay must have made our parents pretty stressed! We let them know we are still alive and went for a dinner. Beef goulash with rice and a salad served next to the marketplace tasted great and really familiar! Longer walk around the area presented a more complete view of the town. We visited an ice cream booth, few small shops and a concrete pier for the ship transporting goods and people between islands.
Yakel Village
When we asked around what’s interesting to see in the neighbourhood, Yakel village was recommended to us. Families living there have decided to forego modern way of life and cultivate traditional lifestyle. Despite this, they are more than happy to show tourists around and cash in some dollars. Let’s hope the money will be used to diversify the diet and get some basic medicines for kids.
Women showed us how they cook laplap – a local equivalent of bread, made from grated cassava and coconut juice. Men on the other hand presented how to start a fire using soft wood of the banyan tree and the fiber of a coconut. Łukasz – captain of Indra – turned out to be the star of the show. He purchased a Koteka, a traditional penis sheath, put it on and joined the villagers in their chanting dance!
Vanuatu is easily the most exotic place we have visited during our trip. But this has only been the first glimpse into what we experienced there!
Days in Transit 
As said before, Vanuatu was definitely the craziest thing that happened to us during the trip 🙂
And YES, there will be cargo cult stuff, but before we talk about it there will be another one or two posts covering other things. Next post should be any day now 🙂
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