VANUATU: Aneityum

Sometimes it still seems magical that with a couple of dacron triangles on a hull, we cross oceans...

After eight days at sea, we made landfall at Aneityum (Anatom on French charts), Vanuatu’s southernmost island. It felt like...another South Pacific island: palm trees, warm breezes, the constant roar of surf on nearby reefs. It didn’t feel like home, because it isn’t, but it did feel deeply familiar and very comfortable to be back in this part of the world.

Postcards from Aneityum:

Second Wind, a local boat,
a local man, a sailor
(behind the camera)

Paths between parts of the village

The best-stocked store we've seen anywhere

Boys with their individually decorated toy boats...

...and playing with their boats in the creek

Meanwhile, girls take care of the younger children
while their mothers are cooking and cleaning

A traditional home along the creek

Community message board under a banyan tree

Remains of an old mission
Cannibalism was common throughout Vanuatu,
and several missionaries were killed and eaten

Note how well groomed the pathways are

The local primary school
This village also hosts a large secondary school;
secondary education is not required, and students from far villages--and even other islands--
pay to board at them

Ben, the principal, was glad to have us play for the children

They had never heard a violin before and were a delightful (and delighted) audience

We were delighted as well, given pamplemousse (large grapefruit, one of our favorites)
as thanks for our little performance

Cruise ships stop at this particular bay about once a week, which unquestionably impacts the village. When we visited the chief to pay our respects, he said that the ships “are both good and bad, like anything”. Though most passengers only visit an islet in the bay dubbed “Mystery Island” to sit on the beach and purchase locally made handicrafts, the village is relatively well off: the schools and store are well supplied, there are several newer style buildings and even some electrical lighting. (The steps in the foreground assist the disembarking passengers who choose to visit the village itself.)

These boats are used for fishing most of the time,
but also ferry cruise ship passengers to the reef for snorkeling,
and transport villagers to Mystery Island for the handicraft market

Sunset from our cockpit

Next stop: Tanna Island, about 50 miles to the north. Meet you there!