Lamen Island and the Maskelynes, Vanuatu

Our arrival at Lamen Bay, Epi Island was greeted by some windy weather. We encountered strong gusts and windy conditions for a few days in a row however we enjoyed taking advantage of this by experimenting with the recently purchased kite board kit, which led to aching bodies, hot tempers and many laughs! Our primary objective, as for most yachties stopping off here in Lamen Bay, is to catch a glimpse of the manatee like Dugong that frequents the waters here. He is quite tame and if you get down deep enough, whilst he is gorging himself on sea grass, you can pat him on the head, rub his belly, look into his calm, peaceful eyes and just plain enjoy yourself. This we did. Jim, Vicki, David and Dylan all had a great time with him whilst David was witness to the best part of the show when Mr. Dugong was rolling, spinning, lolling and generally mucking about. It was all great fun and a truly unique experience.

David, Vicki and Dylan chose to eat ashore at the famed restaurant which is mentioned in more then a few guide books. It seems the season for lobsters was rather poor as our 'Lobster' dinner turned out to be a little on the skimpy side in regards to the quantity of lobster. There were however excess rice stuffed lobster tails!! The live band was our first introduction to Vanuatu island music and we made the most of it. David made a new friend in a stray cat!

The best cultural experience whilst here was the Lamen Island cultural day. This little offshore island only about a mile out of the main bay (where the dugong stays) and is home to a vast proportion of the families who work land on the main island as gardens. This means daily commuting to and fro by means of paddling in the morning and palm leaf sails back West in the offshore breezes falling off the high mountain sides in the afternoon. Anyway we made a trip out to the island and were treated to a special day in the village, absolutely enthralled by the beautiful way of life of these islanders.

We had the honour of being witness to a pig sacrifice, which is not a random event in the islands of Vanuatu. Pigs are very highly regarded in the monetary system and social ranking system too. This means that they are only sacrifice as offerings to the Yam Gods, in order to escalate ones social standing, or as money in trading or bride price. And only as a last resort are they used to satisfy hungry tourists! The technique they employ to some may seem barbaric but is very humane and undertaken very speedily with the aid of a rather large rounded smooth stone and a few strong men. I will not go into detail but only mention that this method is rather humane and very brief and therefore you can all rest easy.

We watched the communal preparation of food stuffs that were to feed the guests who were going to stay overnight. Many varying methods were employed in preparing all sorts of industrious and interesting differing sorts of ground provisions, from Yam to coconuts, to slippery cabbage, to Chinese cabbage and so on. A fine feast was in preparation and as post lunch guest we enjoyed the freshly sliced watermelons, a selection of differing local fruits, freshly squeezed juices and freshly cracked nuts! A lovely spread of fair and one which we all enjoyed.

The village itself was considerably clean and the winding, cool pathway leading up from the beach almost a 1000 yards into the village centre was well kept, swept and trimmed. Saturdays is a communal day whereby all residents are responsible for clearing sections of the communal areas and so everyone is employed and also living in a healthy clean environment!

We were treated to many Kastom dances ranging from the women’s traditional games, dancing children, women’s chanting and Yam harvest dances and also Men’s dances. Later we were all invited into the communal hut and watched whilst a elderly man in his 80's started a fire from 2 sticks! A lot of effort is required and energy expended in performing this act but ultimately it allows for fire with which to cook, keep warm in the evening and fend off mosquitoes.

We were also shown the traditional college of magic, which had fallen into slight disrepair as no one was practicing anymore. However the belief and stories abound in flying scholars and teachers, curses, spells and magical chants for varying occasions. Not a place to misbehave let me tell you!

After this wonderful time we headed off to the Maskelyne group which is one area of well protected waters in the Vanuatu group. We undertook a dinghy trip around to various islands and enjoyed the waters, snorkeling, lunch on the white sandy beach under the grove of trees, watching colour-changing octopus. Also we collected our favourite hearts of palm whilst on this trip. It was most satisfying in all.