Mt Marum Volcano by Axel and Gigi

Mt. Marum

by Axel

This was my first time backpacking, so for now it was my best time backpacking. For about the first hour and a half we hiked through the lush forest before entering the not too barren ash plain, where there were streams of ash between strips vegetation. After about 30 more minutes we reached the camp. In the middle was a bamboo hut with a palm frond roof.

We did another shorter hike to the caldera. The lava there wasn't erupting, it was more shifting around in every direction. The lava color constantly changed, mostly various reds, but sometimes a layer on the top would cool into a black lava rock, only to broken apart and melted again. We were lucky to be there on a clear day, so we could easily see the lava in the caldera. And because of clearness it didn't smell bad or choke us. There was also a new vent about 100 feet wide that opened about a year ago. On the 1,000 foot deep drop to the lava pits are lines of white quartz, which didn't match with the black sand around the rim.

We hiked back to the hut where our tent was set up. After dinner, just before we fell asleep, our crew member, JD, noticed an intense red glow coming from the volcano. Like I said at the beginning, it was my favorite backpacking trip, because it was my only backpacking trip, but I think it will also be my favorite, because it was awesome.

Hiking Mt. Marum

by Gigi

                As the dinghy pulled up to the beach I felt butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. I was nervous to go backpacking for the first time, to climb an active volcano and to look inside at the bubbling lava. Even though I'd been to an active volcano before, and trust me, that one was scary (think chunks of molten lava flying up at you every few seconds), I was still scared to spend a night sleeping in the shadow of a volcano whose glow could be seen even from the bay where our boat was anchored.

                My dad, my brother Axel, our friend J.D., two guides, John and Ruben, Cameron and Haso a scouting team for an upcoming Japanese documentary on Vanuatu, and I jumped in the back of a pickup truck that jostled along the bumpy road until we reached the trailhead. We jumped out and started along the trail with my dad, Axel, J.D. and me following John and the other's following Ruben. My backpack was full of heavy water, it was hard carrying it up the steep incline of the trail. The thick jungle, heavy packs, and steep trail slowed us all down and made us have to rest frequently. Whenever there was a gap in the trees a stunning view of the ocean and the sprawling jungle was revealed. The trail was lined with lush jungle, green everywhere you looked, and heard the loud song of the cicadas. There were tikis along the path, carved from palm tree stumps and covered in moss.

                After going down a hill, that I would later learn was the edge of the crater, the jungle opened up to an ash plane that at first looked like an asphalt airplane runway lined on either side by palm trees, ferns, grasses, and small pink flowers. We followed the ash, occasionally cutting through the bush to another runway until we reached the hut. The hut was a small house on short stilts that had a sign above the door that read 'five star motel, god bless'. We set up the tent behind the hut, ate lunch, and prepared for the exciting hike up to the rim of the caldera.

                After going along the ash plane for a while our guide led us up a dry riverbed dotted with small pools of water. From there the trail climbed up a steep ridge and the trees disappeared leaving only small scrub that eventually thinned out to small bushes scattered across grey ash. The ridge was thin, at some places only three feet across with forty foot drop offs on either side, and was only one of many that lead up the volcano, with deep valleys in between. If you turned around and looked you could see strips of dark grey ash separated by lines of trees and bushes, and an old volcano rising above it all, it's sides a blanket of green. From the top it felt as if I was a giant and if I stepped down the hills it would feel like soft moss under my feet.

                The moment I stepped close enough to see inside the caldera my jaw dropped and I was rendered speechless. The sides of the caldera were striped with white rock that contrasted with the gray-black ash that colored the rim. Thin lines of orange, pink and yellow ran in between the white, and colorful rocks broke up the darkness of the ridge. But the most amazing sight, the one that drew your eyes away from everything else was the glowing, bubbling lava at the bottom of the caldera. It looked as if it were angry and restless, shifting every which way, splashing up to splatter the sides of the pit with glowing red that quickly darkened into hard black rock. The caldera was a thousand feet deep and thousands of feet wide. There were two vents, we were looking into the big one and about a thousand feet away was a smaller vent that opened up in an eruption a year ago, and from where I was standing I could just see the red glow coming from it. It was one of the most stunning sights I had ever seen. Leaning over the rim of the caldera I could feel the heat radiating off the molten rock to warm my face and hands, I could smell the sulfur in the air and see the steam and ash rising in a dark plume into the sky.

                We walked along the thin, dangerous rim, that had a steep cliff on one side and lava on the other and got to a wide flat ash plane that lead up to another vent that was steaming so much that I could see nothing except the smoke. Here the sulfur was choking, so I could not stay on the edge very long.

                When the sun was low in the sky, it was time for us to head back, we had to have enough daylight to return to camp, so we climbed back down the ridge, through the riverbed, and back across the ash plane to the camp. Once the sun had set and we had eaten dinner, I walked out to the runway and saw the bright red glow that the lava had cast over the shadow of the mountain. It was brighter than the glow of any city, it lit up the night like a thousand red searchlights all shining from the center of the volcano.

                In the morning we packed up our tent and sleeping bags and carried the considerably lighter bags down to where the car was scheduled to meet us. But when we arrived at the base of the trail there was no one there, so after waiting for an hour we had to walk down the road and eventually, out of water, tired and aching we reached town and were able to get a ride back to our boat. The moment we got to the beach I ran into the water with my clothes and shoes on not caring that they were getting wet because it felt so good to be in the water. That night I was the most tired I had ever been and fell asleep instantly.

                The hike to the volcano was wonderfully beautiful, and standing above melted rock from the center of the earth is something that I will never forget.


Check out the video of the bubbling lava
https://youtu.be/6BOI_NHXsN8

Oct 20-30, 2015 Oyster Bay - Ambrym - Tranquility Island

On October 20, my Canadian friend JD (John Douglas) flew into Luganville to join us. We spent 2 more days in Oyster Bay so he could have a chance to see some stunning snorkeling and so we could visit the RiriRiri Blue Hole with its intensely blue water. 

 The first morning JD was on the boat we were on deck enjoying our coffee when all of a sudden the entire boat began to shake. It sounded like someone had turned the engine on and it was running extremely poorly. There was a nasty grumbling emanating from the boat. We looked around and saw that the land was swaying around us and the cows were running. We were experiencing a 7.3 earthquake through the water. The other boats in the anchorage were equally shocked.

When we left the inner anchorage, we were a little nervous about the pass as we only had 2 inches to spare on our way in, well on our way out we had 0 inches. We touched bottom, but fortunately just briefly. On our sail to Ambrym, JD caught a mahimahi, so yummy eating for a few days.

The locals had this boat loaded down.

Gigi in the school in Ranon, Ambrym. We gave them some books and reading glasses, but as you can see they need a lot more help to have a better learning environment.

Ambrym is the home to the active volcano Mt. Marum. To visit this volcano there is a long hike and you camp on the mountain for the night. It took a couple of days to organize a guide, during which time Nirvana was spinning at anchor from the random winds. The anchor chain wrapped itself around the anchor and lifted it off the bottom. We found ourselves about a mile out to sea before realizing the issue. So that meant that one of us must stay with the boat while the others visited the volcano, so I volunteered and enjoyed a peaceful day and night by myself. Since I didn't go to the volcano, the kids have both written about their experience, and that will be the next post.

We knew that the sail from Ambrym to Port Vila would be upwind, but we tried to pick a time when it wasn't too bad. The wind was fairly light, mostly 10-15 knots although sometimes over 20 knots, but of course upwind. As we passed the Maskelyne Islands we experienced some rough seas from the strong currents, and took a few big waves over the bow. We had forgotten to turn the dorades around, so water gushed down below and soaked our bed and all my belongings beside it. JD took a big wave through the center hatch and was rudely awakened. We didn't get all the way to Port Vila because as we approached Devil's Point the wind started howling above 30 knots and the seas got quite confused, so at 1 am we anchored in Havana Harbor. The next day we moved out to Tranquility Island where the snorkeling is fantastic.

After a very lumpy trip around Devil's Point, we are now in Port Vila, planning to do a few boat projects, provision, and then head off for New Caledonia.

Cheers,

Julie

Oct 9-20, 2015 Luganville - Oyster Bay - Espiritu Santo Island

We spent 5 days in Luganville, more than we would like. Other than being able to buy food and extend our visas there is really not much attractive about Luganville. In World War II there were over 100,000 American in Luganville to defend from Japanese attack. The town swelled by more than 10 fold. There are some interesting artifacts left from the war. We snorkeled/dove on million dollar point, which is where the Americans dumped hundreds of trucks, bulldozers, tanks, etc. after the war because the ni-Van government was too corrupt to pay for any of it. There were also 2 ships that sunk there more recently. All of this was accessible from an attractive park on the beach. The day we went was extremely windy, so we went inside the thatched building to enjoy our picnic lunch.

Sketchy lighthouse tower Axel and Gigi climbed

Gary and Gigi diving Million Dollar Point

Sam left us in Luganville to fly to New Zealand and explore that country. He was done hanging with old yachties. Later today we have an old friend of mine from Canada is flying in to join us, JD. He has been living in the mountains, Fernie, skiing and fly fishing for the last 20 years, and wants to get back to his sailing roots. He plans to be with us until NZ.

As soon as Sam left for the airport we headed north to Oyster Bay. We caught a massive yellow fin tuna on the way and have been eating like kings for 5 days off it. We initially anchored at the outer anchorage, but got the nerve up to move to the inner anchorage when we heard that there was a threat of a tropical depression/cyclone heading our way. Fortunately that fizzled out and we didn't even get any strong wind. The pass is narrow, shallow and filled with coral, so we waited until 1 hour before high tide and went for it. The shallowest part is right at the end and by the time you get there you are fully committed, there is no possibility to turn around or back up. Gary and Gigi were on the bow spotting the pass and I was driving. As I was calling out the depths my voice kept getting higher and higher as the water below the keel got skinnier and skinnier.  Ultimately we had 2" to spare. None of us are looking forward to leaving, but we plan to head out 30 minutes before high tide, maybe that might give us an extra inch or two.

Oyster Bay has lots of activities to offer, and a very secure  anchorage off the friendly Oyster Island Resort. We have enjoyed snorkeling the pass and outside reef, kayaking and paddle boarding the rivers, swimming in the blue holes, listening to music at the resort,...

We took the dinghy up the river to Matevulu Blue Hole. The jungle growth along the river is so lush it reaches out and grabs you. The kids found some vines to swing on. At the blue hole there is a massive banyon tree that you can climb up and swing from a rope into the water. There is a second blue hole up the RiriRiri River that we plan to explore today.

 

Yesterday we headed into Luganville to dive the USS Coolidge. This ship sank close to shore during WWII from a friendly mine, making it a great dive site. It is a very deep dive, so Axel could not do it. So Gigi, Gary and I dove twice on the wreck. On the first dive our guide lead us through one of the cargo holds where you could see bulldozers, boots, gas mask, etc. On the deck he showed us mortars and guns.

The second dive was inside the wreck to see the white lady artwork in the first class smoking room. She is at 130 feet deep and inside, so Gigi was nervous, but after the dive she decided it was one of the coolest things she has done. Gigi and I stroked the unicorn mane, Gary stroked her breasts. Also in this room were a few chandeliers and some light came in through the port holes above us. As you exit this room, you swim up through the elevator shaft where rays of light shine down on you. It was fascinating seeing the ship and all of the possessions that were left behind on her.

Photo of the White Lady (from the internet)

Calm winds and fair seas,

Julie

Oct 3-9, 2015 Asanvari, Maewo Island

This is our favorite anchorage in Vanuatu so far. It has a nice protected bay with pretty snorkeling. At the head of the bay is a sand beach from which the village stretches out. At the edge of the bay a beautifully landscaped waterfall cascades into the ocean feet from our boat, with a delicious restaurant next door.

We enjoyed a fantastic chicken dinner sitting immediately beside the waterfall. I don't think I have ever had a dinner setting with as much ambiance. We were all surprised at how beautiful the presentation of the food was considering it was cooked in a large cast iron pot over a small open fire under the tree next to the restaurant.

Many days we climbed up the waterfall to reach another swimming pool, and to hike to nearby villages. One day we were guided by Barry up the waterfall to spear freshwater shrimp. We brought our masks and snorkels and dove right in after the elusive shrimp. By the end, Gigi was getting really good, so she has made her own spear. For about 2 hour we actually hiked straight up the waterfall river, a very wet and slippery endeavor. Lots of fun, but not always the safest. 

 

 The lush water taro gardens.

The following day Barry guided us to the bat cave. It was a little more than 2 hours up, and some places were just slippery mud, so Barry cut a notch in the mud with his bush knife. The jungle we passed through was extremely lush, filled with gorgeous tropical plants and tempting Tarzan vines. These vines are used by the locals for the land diving, the precursor to bungy jumping, but way more dangerous.

The cave was huge and bats tiny. As we entered we could hear the squeaking of their sonar, then as we shone our lights up we could see the whole ceiling moving. The guano made walking very slippery. The far end of the cave opened up to the jungle above and down into a very deep abyss presumed to lead down to another cave that exits further down the mountain. We didn't get too close as we didn't want to be the first to test the theory. Near the exit of the cave was a squat tunnel, where Gary, Axel and Sam ventured, as they entered thousands of bats came flying out, scaring all of us. Our guide picked up a bat and put it in the kids' hands, they said that was the highlight for them. They had soft fur and seemed to be shivering when we held them, then they would fly off inches from our faces.

Although the hike down was easier, we were all exhausted by the end of this 5 hour adventure. Definitely more tired than if we hadn't had ciguatera, but happy that we had gained back most of our strength.

 Before the hike we had asked about getting some bread, we were told the official baker was out of flour, but Barry's brother would ask around for us. When we got back Sam and I had to walk into the village to get the bread made for us. Bob made it in a large cast iron pot with wood fire both under and on top of the pot. Because he had made the bread specially for us, we had to buy the entire batch, all 27 little loaves, more like large buns. It was incredibly good, fresh from baking, we were starving from the hike, so we devoured half of it right away.

 The people of the village have been extremely friendly and have offered lots of services, such as laundry, which I jumped on immediately, and vegetables for sale. Gary and Sam were offered kava, and Gigi and I tried a little. The kava in Vanuatu is much stronger than in Fiji, here it really affects you. Sam couldn't talk straight after 5 cups.

We have met some very interesting people, especially the school teacher, Charity, and he husband, Justin, who is on the elected chief for the southern portion of the island and represents it in parliament. He has a tough job being the liaison between the village life and the politicians in Port Vila. He was extremely interested in the fact that I study air pollution and climate change. They know that they should be concerned about climate change, but they don't know what it is or how to deal with it. I went to the school to talk to all the children and the 3 teachers about climate change. My lesson was received well, but I hope it didn't scare them too much. I explained the science on a high level and tried to emphasize the importance of preparing for changes, but not panicking about the changes.

While I was in the village one day I saw all the school children receive immunizations for measles and rubella. They have a dispensary, but only one nurse for half the island, so she is really busy. I gave her a few pairs of reading glasses, since she sees the people that most need these items. I also gave Justin and Charity each a pair and they had tears of appreciation as glasses are hard for them to come by and both of them like and need to read. Axel generously gave Barry his machete, since Barry's was almost worn out.

Gary helped a few of the villagers solve their boat and solar panel issues. When they found out what he did for a living, he instantly became a very popular guy. Sam and he took Justin out fishing and caught a big eye tuna. We tried a little tuna already, but tonight will be our first fish dinner. Since it is a pelagic fish, we should be all good.

We had a very rewarding visit to the village of Asanvari, between its spectacular natural beauty and amiable people. We are all a little sad knowing we may never see this place again, but happy to have been fortunate enough to get to know the people of Asanvari and understand a little of their concerns and pleasures.

Calm winds and fair seas,

Julie

Sep 24 - Oct 3, 2015 Maskelynes and Pentecost

Sep 25-30 Maskelynes

Sep 24 we sailed from Efate to Epi and spent the night, then headed out in the morning to the south end of Malekula, which is known as the Maskelynes. Here we celebrated the most important day of the year, or so we are told by Gigi, her 13th birthday. It is hard for us to believe, but this year Gigi became a teenager. I made Nanaimo bars for her dessert, but she did the creative decorating.

We anchored in a peaceful bay near Awei island, where we were visited by many traditional canoes. Two days later we moved to Gaspard Bay to see the dugongs, and were very fortunate to see many. Dugongs are close cousins to manatees. The big difference is that a dugong has a tail like a whale, and unlike manatees, dugongs do not drink fresh water. I tried my hardest to get a photo of one, but they surface very briefly and are afraid of humans in the water, so you can't get close snorkeling.

 We arranged with 2 other boats to go together to see the Kustom dancing on a nearby island. Frank, off Another Adventure, kindly took us, along with Sicki and Deter from Tomaro, on his boat to the island of Uliveo to see the dancing. We definitely got a unique cultural experience. We were not sure what dance they were going to perform until we got there, and it ended up being the small namba dance. The namba refers to the penis sheath that they wear, and the descriptor 'small' means that the scrotum is not covered. What Gigi and I found interesting was that the men didn't seem naked to us mainly due to the paint they had all over their bodies and the intrigue in the expressive dancing they did. The dances represented things that are important in their lives, such as paddling their canoes, using a bow and arrow in a big hunt, paying homage to the wind, …

We liked that the old guys were the musicians, so they could still participate. After the dancing they offered us a coconut treat, a mixture of coconut milk, roasted coconut and young coconut (which is gelatin like). They also let us take photos with them. That was when Gigi started to get embarrassed. Gary and the oldest guy, who told us he was 100 years old, got some good banter going back and forth. Sam asked if he could get a namba, and managed to obtain the bark belt, but the guys told him he had to climb to the top of a coconut tree, gather the youngest leaves and make his own sheath, as that was a very personal item. As of yet, he has not managed to climb a coconut tree, so we are all resting easy knowing he is not going to stroll to the breakfast table in a namba. Although the same cannot be said for Axel. When we got home that night he made his own namba out of star spangled duct tape. Needless to say there have been a lot of namba humor on the boat, and Gary keeps threatening Gigi to walk her to the first day of high school in his namba. Gigi is not amused.

Sep 30-Oct 3, Pentecost Island

We had a very pleasant sail to Homo Bay where we met up with Lumbaz. We were not thrilled with the greeting we received there from the locals, so the next day we headed just 4 miles up the coast to the village of Hot Water. This is not a good anchorage, as there is not even an indent in the coast, but there is a sand bottom with good holding and the wind wasn't too strong, so it was fine. Lumbaz wanted to stop here as they knew someone in the village. Gary and Sam joined Lumbaz ashore immediately after anchoring. They didn't come back for hours as they were given the warmest welcome. The village was preparing for a big church fundraiser the following evening, and they had just slaughtered a cow and had begun cooking it. They tried the delicious beef, drank some strong kava, and met everyone in the village.

The following day we toured the school, saw how they prepared the food and the girls cleaned the church for the celebration. Janet, our hostess, showed Genie and me how she made the local delicacy, loplop. It is made from grated cassava and coconut milk, wrapped in special loplop leaves, cooked over hot coals and covered with hot lava rocks. It is delicious, but very dense and filling.

The church celebration started at 6:00 pm and people from all the nearby villages came. There was singing, dancing, skits and a sermon. Every village performed at least once, but generally several times. At 8:00 a local parishioner got up, and we thought it was over, but not so, he had everyone do some stretches, then straight into the second half. The kids were trapped inside the church, and the look of desperation on their faces was classic. Eventually they escaped outside, but they did such a good job at sitting quietly through the performances, some of which were really bad, and most were in bislama. At this point our hostess, Janet, went and got our dinner packets which were wrapped so nicely in loplop leaves and tied with a vine. Awesome presentation. Most of the packets contained meat with loplop, although some came with yams, and some with rice. The food was incredible. After a big meal and more skits in bislama, we were ready to head out to the boat, but that was when the minister started his sermon. After 20 minutes of sermon, we decided that we couldn't last through the entire service. We reached our limits at 3 and a half hours of church. Our friends on Lumbaz decided to stay, but even they had to bail after 4 hours. I guess it eventually ended after 4 and a half hours. That was a marathon church session.

 The kindergarten class room

 Children looking into the kinder class over the calk slates they use for writing.

 Janet unwrapping the loplop, her oven is immediately behind her.

Luna reading to the local children

 Our poor kids trapped in the church

 Some of the better performers.

My dinner packet.

Dinner - beef and loplop in coconut milk.

 The ladies with the loplop packets at the church

The village as seen from our boat. It is not very big.

Oct 3rd we sailed to Asanvari at the southern end of Maewo Island. This is an incredibly picturesque anchorage, well protected, has a waterfall flowing into the ocean feet from our boat, with a great restaurant beside the waterfall. We have just started to explore this place, but we all agree it may be the nicest place we have been in Vanuatu. More about Asanvari next time.

Calm winds and fair seas,

Julie