October 22, Port Vila Vanuatu

October 22, Port Vila Vanuatu

Port Vila is Vanuatu’s largest city. Located on the south coast of the island of Efate, it has been inhabited for thousands of years. The first Europeans, from Spain, arrived in 1606. In the 19th century French settlers established the municipality of Franceville, and declared independence in 1889 and became the first elf-governing nation to practice universal suffrage without distinction of sex or race.

France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the country and in 1906 agreed to jointly manage the archipelago. An independence movement was established in the 1970’s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was created in 1980.

Fish, taro, yams, papaya, pineapples, mangoes, plantains, and coconuts are plentiful, and there are almost no poisonous insects or reptiles on land or in the water around the island.

A total of 19 of us booked a private tour with Gilbert here; an all day around the island tour. Leaving Port Vila we went counter-clockwise around the island, making our first stop at a local “community house”. These are found in each village, and are where the village chief holds meetings and decisions are made affecting the whole village. From there we went to the Blue Lagoon, a beautiful small lagoon with crystal clear water and surrounded be lovely flowers.

As we continued around the island our guide pointed out the various agricultural areas where not only the fruits were grown but also the many cattle grazing grounds. Our next stop was at a local primary school where we met a few of the children and they sang some songs for us.

There is no government supported primary schools on the island. Each village has there own that is entirely supported by the village. The schools are very basic with no chairs or tables, and the children sit on a hard concrete floor. School supplies are very limited as well. Given all of that we were pleasantly surprised and the command of English the children had.

We also made a stop where we were treated to some local dancing and a demonstration on how they use all the different parts of a coconut. Nothing is wasted even the husked are used.

We made a lunch stop at a delightful little beachside setting, where we were served some local foods which were very tasty. After a couple of other “scenery” stops, we drove through the town and back to the ship.

The town itself seemed very crowded which given it’s the only real city on the island isn’t too surprising. We were just as glad that we went on the tour instead of going into town on our own. Unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to get to the post office so we couldn’t get stamps of the country. But we enjoyed the tour, and now it’s 2.5 days at sea as we make our way to Cairns Australia, our next stop and our tour to the Great Barrier Reef.