Port Vila, Vanuatu
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Quick summary
Vanuatu was formally known as the New Hebrides until their independence in 1980.
When the first Europeans arrived on the shores of Vanuatu in 1606, the islands were inhabited by tribes that commonly practiced cannibalism.
Most cannibalism was a result of tribal warfare, though missionaries also made it to the table. Some tribes believed consuming human flesh would give them magical powers, others just enjoyed the taste. White folk, apparently, weren't considered a delicacy, as they tasted too salty.
In 1839 the first two British missionaries from the London Missionary Society arrived in Erromango Island and were promptly killed and eaten.
In present time, throughout Vanuatu, cannibalism is long gone and the locals are anything but hostile. Indeed, Vanuatu with all its colourful history, legends and customs, offers much more than just a tropical island getaway.
Time Zone ~ GMT +11 hours
Geography ~ 82 islands (of which 62 are inhabited)
Currency ~ the Vanuatu Vatu
£1 = 154 vt
Population ~ 267,000 (all islands)
Capital City ~ Port Vila
Official languages: French, Bislama, English
Our Budget ~ rooms: about £30 a night
~ food: £15 each per day - it's not cheap here - luckily breakfast is included in our room price,
They drive on the right - the story goes that as it was jointly run by France and England, the French insisted on driving on the right and the English insisted on driving on the left. Utter confusion! so in a bid to sort it out, everyone agreed that the next car that came off the boat would dictate what side of the road they would use from then on. It was French!
Mount Yasur
We loved Vanuatu.
When we arrived at the airport there was a big sign saying "voted the happiest Pacific Island". And it certainly is one of the happiest we have been to. It is a heck of a long way to go but in our opinion, it was worth the trek at least once.
We loved ~ the people - just so friendly everyone always had time for a chat
We didn't like ~ Tara Beach road - just one of the worst roads ever but there was absolutely nothing else not to like
The people ~ As we have said above they are some of the friendliest ever. Wherever you went people said hello and everyone waved to everyone in a car and cars waved back at them whether they knew them or not
Food ~ A real Aussie influence and pizza/burger type of culture here so
not easy for vegetarians. . However if you could find local food, it was amazing and great for vegetarians. They had lots of potato and vegetable dishes and their own style curry - which has to be one of the nicest dishes we have ever had. Not spicy just flavoursome and just plain gorgeous! Local dishes also include plenty of chicken and fish for the meat eaters too. A lot of the local food was in a coconut sauce. Delicious!
Transport - Good transport thanks to hundreds of these little minivan buses that bomb around everywhere. you just flag a bus down and it takes you where you need to go, but you may have to go somewhere else first to drop other people off en route.
Things which will remind us of Vanuatu ~ Volcanos, little black dolls with scary faces
Would we recommend it? Yes definitely and we would love to go back again one day (after we have seen the rest of the world)
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