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Ambrym, the Volcanic Island

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Ambrym is a volcanic island with one of the most active volcanoes in the country.  This volcano has a very large caldera that is 12km in diameter and has two very active craters: Marum and Benbow.  The Benbow crater includes two lava lakes near the summit.

The locals offer 2-day hikes up to the summit, but you can only hike if the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo Hazards Department deems it safe and a level 1 or below.  During our stay on Ambrym, the volcano was rated a level 2 so we were not able to even consider the hike to the summit.

Ambrym is the 5th largest island in Vanuatu and is a beautiful triangle shape. It is known for the very active volcano which dominates the island with its desert-like caldera. Small parts of the island are inhabited by locals and the rest of the island, the majority, is covered by a dense jungle.

We start off on Ambrym at the West side of the island at Lonwolwol Bay.  There is a lovely family here that runs the Lonwolwol Yacht Club.  They offer cultural events, host 4 festivals a year, and give tours of the famous Lonwol Lake crater.

Lonwolwol Bay

This bay has a very interesting history.  Jessie, the owner of the land, explains that in the very early 1900’s Europeans settled here and brought with it Christianity.  They established a hospital, several buildings, and a nice community.

However, the chiefs noticed that the locals lost their culture and respect of their heritage so they performed black magic.  This sorcery caused the volcano to erupt and completely destroy the Christian community in 1913.

So the remaining locals were able to re-establish their heritage and cultural ways.

Lonwok Lake crater

Prior to the massive volcano eruption of 1913, there was a lagoon where many boats and cargo ships would shelter within the protection of the island.  However, after the eruption, the open lagoon was closed off and became known as the Lonwok Lake crater.   It is said that it is so deep that you could put a cruise ship right in the middle and it would float.  This crater now serves as a place to swim and kayak.

Beautiful Garden

Jessie and his family now live on the edge of the lake.  They earn a living by offering cruisers tours around the lake and cultural events.  They also have a beautiful garden full of tomatoes, potatoes (regular, sweet, and kasava), pumpkins, cucumbers, salad, onions, carrots, and more.

We ask Jimmy to give a us a tour around the lake.  It took about 2.5 hours to do the 5.3km walk through the forest.  He showed us where the megapode and ducks lay their eggs, procured us some coconut cake, and protected us from 6 stampeding cattle (running from his dogs).

Craig’s Cove

Just around the corner is another anchorage called Craig’s Cove.  Supposedly they had a market which we wanted to visit. So my friend Chris on Moana asked me to join him on a dinghy adventure.  Craig’s Cove is only 3nm away so it should be “no problem.”

Famous last words.  The winds and the seas were showing off and causing havoc on our dinghy.  In retrospect, we should have turned around.  We ended up having 20+kts on the nose and 2.5-3m seas.  Which are huge in a little dinghy.  But we pushed on.

The top photo is before things got dicey.  Once we rounded the corner the $hit hit the fan.  But we arrived safely at Craig’s Cove.  I will skim over the fact that I fell in the water as we were beaching the dinghy (first time ever in 14 years).  There are two ship wrecks in the anchorage and the holding is supposed to be horrible (which is why we did not bring the big boats here).

We seek out the chief to ask his permission to walk around the village and he assigns three local boys to give us a tour.  They took us by the primary school, the church where we found a tam tam (tall, wooden, carved, slit traditional drum), the airport, the market, and the store.

Here are our fearless leaders (top left), a shot of the village and the airport.

Traditional Local Dinner

Jessie and his son Jimmy asked us if we would be interested in a traditional, local dinner on the beach for $1,000vt/pp ($10 USD) and we said “yes.”  By mid-afternoon, two more boats showed up so we invited them as well.

They started preparing around 1430.  First they prepared the loc (or lovo which is an underground oven).  They dug a hole, laid sticks and then rocks on top.  They set fire to it and let the rocks get very hot.  Then they laid banana leaves forming a bowl.  Inside the banana leaves the put bananas and pumpkin and then folded more banana leaves on top.  

Next come more rocks, more leaves and then it is topped with a burlap sack and left to cook for hours.  They used sticks that are split at the end like chopsticks to remove the rocks.

Dinner: fresh salad picked from the garden, boiled salad, yams, island taro, pork, & chicken.

After we all enjoyed our delicious dinner, they built the best bonfire.  We sat around and enjoyed the music and even had a little dancing.

Check in with us in a few days to see the beautiful bays we find in Ambrym.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred over the 4th of July weekend.  Did you discover the Mysteries of Maewo Island in our last blog post?

Loltong Bay, Pentecost

Island Life on Pentecost

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We head to Bwatnapne (pronounced bat-naap-knee) Bay on Pentecost, an hidden bay not on the guides.  It is a large, calm bay that we had all to ourselves.  The lush hillsides were covered in green vines that drape over the rocks, and trees forming these beautiful curtains.

Matt was able to get some great drone shots of us all alone in our big, beautiful bay.

We went ashore and were greeted by a few local children who were practicing saying “hello.”  It was absolutely delicious.  This village does not get many tourists so we were a bit of a curiosity.  Many people came out of their homes and children came out of their schools to greet us.

The main part of the town which is at sea level next to a luscious stream has a small “store”, a fuel station shed, 2 schools (primary and secondary), and a police station.  The villagers all live up in the mountains.

Supply Ships in Pentecost

On our second day we were surprised with not one but two “supply ships.”  The smaller one dropped off packages and two dozen bags of flour and rice.  The larger ship unloaded a barge and put a small container on top of it.  Both ships sort of landed on the beach to unload and load. 

The barge took on hundreds of pounds of kava root that they harvest on the island.  This is their main source of income.  They make $100-$150VT ($1-$1.5 USD) per kilo. They filled the entire container and then 6 gigantic bags full of kava root.  This ship comes weekly to collect the kava and brings it to Port Vila, Efate.  Kava is their natural version of alcohol and can be a hallucinogenic.

Loltong Bay, Pentecost

We move 8nm up the Pentecost coast to the Loltong anchorage. It is a beautiful bay full of several reefs and large bommies so anchoring was tricky but doable on a sunny day with a lookout at the bow.  One thing to be aware of is that several supply ships come and go during the week.  They mostly hover in the anchorage as small skiffs go back and forth to shore.  So, it can be tight when 2-3 ships come in at the same time.

They did have a small Red Cross center, but it was unmanned, had very few supplies, and only open a few hours a day.  They had a few “markets” that were stocked with canned goods, a few sodas, some oil, rice, and flour. 

One of their oldest banyan trees fell over a few months ago virtually blocking their beach and main road.  It was so sad to see as this tree had to be hundreds of years old.  It just got tired and decided to lay down.

The Lower Village

One of the villages in this bay is the sub-hub of the Vanuatuan government and it is also the main government location for the island of Pentecost.  Which is absolutely strange to us as the infrastructure was very, very rustic and minimal.

We visited the community center (top two photos) where they gather to work and share with each other.  The entire roof is being held up by tree trunks.  The engineering is fascinating to see.  We also saw their drums (large wood pieces carved out) (middle 2 photos) which they use for church and school. 

And surprise surprise, they have a turbine that supplies electricity and running water to the village!  Yep, that was a total surprise!  They have lots of spickets throughout the village where you can get fresh stream water and it is cold and delicious.  This was a first for us.  We have not seen a turbine power system on  Pentecost, or Vanuatu, or frankly any small island before.

In the afternoon, 3 supply ships came to drop off goods, rice, flour, and fuel.  The funniest thing about this delivery was the fuel.  They load gasoline in 200L (55gal) drums, then they dump them overboard. A skiff will pick them up and drag them as close to shore as possible and then the men come out and roll it over to the beach.

Hope you can read the sign (top right) it says “sanbich on sale.”  A group of kids who followed us around, a small market where they sold vegetables and pre-made lunch, and a beautiful banyan tree and men’s meeting house.

Mysterious Cave

We heard about a “mysterious cave” in Loltong so we asked Matthew and Mary Bule at the Loltong Bay Beach Yacht Club.  The yacht club was destroyed in the last cyclone but they still offer lovely services such as tours and specialy cooked local meals for the cruisers. 

They introduced us to Glenda who became our guide and storyteller.  She said that her husband Derek was told the story from his father, Patrick.  Patrick had a dream in which Moltobo uto visited him and told him about the hidden cave in which he lived for many years.  The next day, Patrick went to where Moltobo uto told him and dug out the opening and discovered the cave with tools (shells and carved coconuts), weavings, and sand drawing inside.

This is Glenda who gave us the tour. Before we entered we rubbed a plant that is believed to have special protection powers.  This was to ensure that the spirits of Moltobo uto and his friends remained friendly with us.

Moltobo uto was the first man to live on Pentecost.  He lived alone in this cave for a long time until he heard singing coming from a tree.  He went to explore and discovered a snake who said he had been living inside the cave with the man for many years. But he lived really high up where the man couldn’t see him.  Later, a mother chicken  joined them but she does not tell us where she came from.

The belief is that he and his friends (the snake and chicken) spirits still live in this cave.

The cave is covered in gold flakes that shimmer when you shine a light on them. It was so very pretty.

Sand Drawing

Our first sand drawing in Vanuatu!  There are 3 beautiful sand drawings inside the cave.  The first (top left) has 3 smaller drawings.  The far right is the symbol for Pentecost and the far left (is the symbol for fishing, it is a bird).

The second drawing (top right) is the “bowl” where spirits go to pass on to the next stage of life.  When someone dies they walk to the “point” where they have to leap into the bowl.  If they do not leap or if they encounter someone on their way to the point, they have to return to life.

Sand Drawing #3 represents the kava ceremony.  The cups and bowl are used by the elders when they are thinking.

The Tools

While Moltobo uto lived inside the cave he used sea shells to carve coconuts and open fruit (pamplemouse, bananas, oranges) like silverware.  The cow tusks provide protection for the spirits and the top left photo shows you where the snake lived – way high up in the cave where Moltobo uto could not see him for many years.

The popo shell (top right) is used by chiefs to signal to the village that he is ready to prepare for a festival. 

The three stones are part of the black magic ceremony and are used by the elders to bring rain and or storms.  Moltobo uto carved three walking  sticks.  He had a vision of a snake and carved it on the head of one of the sticks before he met the snake.  It is believed that is how the snake was summoned to come out of hiding.  The bottom left photos are the weavings of the clothes worn by Moltobo uto and also worn by Glenda our guide.

Local Dinner

After our wonderful Mysterious cave tour,  Matthew and Mary served us a traditional tasting dinner where they provided 12 different tastings.  Man oh man we were stuffed when we left.  Everything was incredibly tasty.

We really loved how they explained what everything was (all local produce, all grown in their garden, or caught in their bay).  They then explained how it was prepared.  It was a delightful evening with extremely delicious food.

We had a wonderful time on the island of Pentecost!  The land diving in Wali Bay, the beautiful waterfalls in Waterfall Bay, the hikes and gorgeous landscape of Bwatnapne Bay and then the mysterious cave and lovely dinner of Loltong.  

Our blog posts run 1–12 weeks behind actual live events. This blog post occurred at the end of June.  Did you see all of the surprises we found on Pentecost in our last blog post?

A Death Defying Leap: Land Part II

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In southern Pentecost, the locals believe Naghol (land diving) will bring them a fruitful yam harvest, good health, and prosperity to the community.  In addition, Naghol is an act of courage for the men and a right of passage for the young boys to enter manhood.

Be sure to read Part I of our Naghol / Land Diving Series called “Naghol, the Birth of Bungee Jumping.”  

Please be aware that there is nudity in some of the images below.

Ceremony Day

We had several of our cruising friends join us for this monumental occasion.  We all anchored in Wali Bay on the southern end of Pentecost.  From our anchorage we could see the tower – how exciting!

We arrive on shore to a beautiful welcome display created by Elleen Wano, the Londot Village spokesperson.  If you are in the area during April, May or June and want to see this spectacular ceremony, contact Elleen Wano (elleenwano66@gmail.com) or phone +678.766.1274, +678.567.3932.  

She gave a beautiful welcome speech, a highlight of her village, Londot, and a brief history of Naghol.

Then we all made our way up to the tower.  I was so excited and nervous and overjoyed to be able to witness this rare public display of the Vanuatuan culture.  The dancers are from the Bunlop Kastom village (settlements, without modern technology who try to live as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago). Traditionally, the women do not wear anything over their breasts, but many opted to cover themselves with leaves for modesty in front of the tourists,

Just as we are all getting settled on the side of the hill, as nobody wanted to sit on the benches down below (except the locals), the Bunlop Kastam singers and dancers started chanting.

The men are dressed in their traditional nambas (penis sheath) and they hold sticks.   The women are dressed in grass skirts and some have leaves covering their breasts (but traditionally they are bare chested).  

The namba is a leaf that is wrapped around the penis, then around the waist. They are easily removed and replaced throughout the day.

The men and women chant and sing during the entire ceremony.  They provide strength and support to the jumpers and praise to their gods. 

The chief of Bunlop Kastom Village was also the constructor of this tower.  He oversaw the entire ceremony and stood by the tower as each jumper leapt off their platform. 

First Jumper: 6 year old Boy

The first jumper was a 6 year old boy who jumped off the first platform.  He did not seem to phased by the height or the incredible feat he was about to perform.  He bravely stepped forward and leapt off the platform.

Second Jumper: 12 year old Boy

The second jumper was a 12 year old boy.  This was his first jump and unfortunately the fear took over.  It took him quite awhile to actually take the plunge and when he did – he did not jump properly.  He tucked his feet under him and jumped in a seated position which garnered lots of laughs from the locals.  The real problem was he could have been seriously injured as he did not have the proper form, but in the end he was alright.

Third Jumper:  Mid-20 year old 

Our third jumper was much more experienced, had perfect form, and received lots of applause.  He truly is head first into the ground and somehow he walks away uninjured.

Fourth Jumper:  Mid-30 year old

Now the fourth jumper went to the 2nd tallest platform and managed to do a little show boating prior to his jump.  He waived his arms in the air as he praised his gods and chanted along with the singers just before he plunged to the ground.

Final Jumper:  The Champion

There is a Naghol champion and he belongs to the Bunlop Kastom village.  We had the extreme pleasure of seeing him jump and he did not disappoint.  He casually walks out to the edge of the platform as he addresses the crowd and praises his gods.  He chants and sings and manages to balance on the edge of the platform for well over 2 minutes.

Then with expert precision, he dives straight off the platform (horizontal to the floor), before gravity takes over and he goes head first toward the ground.  He does appear to be a little phased once he is helped up and walks away. But, in the end he was fine and the spectators were enraptured by his jump.  Elleen, the spokesperson was saying how the villagers would be talking about this dive for a very long time.  It is understandable why he is the champion of the Pentecost land diving (Naghol).

Matt Climbs the Tower

After the ceremony, they allowed the male tourists to climb the tower.  I was really hoping to be able to do so as well but that was not happening. Matt said that the branches were a bit rickety and wobbled a bit, but he was able to climb to the top for the view.

Matt’s view from the top of the tower looking out and down.

Meeting the Bunlop chief and performers.

We caught up with the ladies.  I wish they did not have a frown on their faces as they have lovely smiles, but alas that is not their way.  They were absolutely curious to see the photos afterwards and giggled as I showed them (bottom left photo).

Matt and Rena enjoying the ceremony.  Elleen, in the red and white dress behind Rena, looking over all of the guests and ensuring their safety and enjoyment.

It was an absolutely memorable experience!  We hope that you enjoyed this blog, learned  little something along the way, and are as impressed with these brave young men from the Bunlop Kastom village as we were.  

Don’t miss Part I of our Naghol / Land Diving series.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred toward the end of June.