Cleone - in Vanuatu - Part 1,Tanna

We've just left Tanna, bound for Port Villa, the capital of Vaunuatu.

 

How often have you peered into the crater of an errupting Volcano?  Well in my case, never until yesterday.  And believe me, it's an experience which I recommend you don't miss.  In case you were wondering, they claim that the World's most accessible errupting volcano is in Tanna, though I guess if you are in Europe, Vesuvius might be a tad handier. 

 

We arrived in Tanna on the afternoon of 8th July in the sheltered but rolly bay that is the anchorage of Port Resolution at about 3pm local time.  It was well sheltered from the stiff easterlies we had encountered, but even so, a long swell entered the bay, which was never particularly comfortable.  We were all tired after the brisk passage from Fiji, and glad to get in.  Most of the rest of the fleet were already at anchor, but there was plenty of room for us deep amongst the other boats.  We dropped the hook in four and a half metres of water just near Quasar.  As we all danced and rolled around our anchors we were often close enough for easy conversation, but we never so much as touched eachother.  The Skipper - as usual - went ashore with the Ship's Papers and filled in rather fewer forms - there were only about ten sheets of A4 to complete this time.  Elizabeth and Will tidied Cleone up, stowed sails, flew the flags and had the tradional arrival beer.  All was complete by the time the Skipper returned for his!  We had an early night after a saussage and bacon supper, cooked, unusually, by the Skipper himself, and slept long and soundly.

 

Going to bed early was sensible.  Wednesday was busy.  First was the official welcoming ceremony, for which the village turned out in force.  Men, women and children in colourful traditional dress danced their stamping, processional dances for us in the village square before we walked in a straggling column with them to the Port Resoulution Yacht Club.  Here, the exchange of gifts took place.  I regret that we felt slightly ashamed of our offerings.  There is no doubt that our T shirts, tinned goods, fishing rods, pens, pencils and exercise books and so on were welcomed and would be put to good use.  But their gifts of fruit and vegetables for each boat were contained in freshly woven baskets, each beautifully tied with vines and decorated with fresh flowers.  And there were woven bags and bangles, pretty shells and flowers, too.  Finally we were presented with a live piglet, which Kieron accepted on our behalf - good manners forbade the refusal of any of these gifts, but imagine butchering that on Cleone's foredeck (by arrangement, this later formed a part of our feast - read on).  We were all very relieved when Andrew Bishop announced that World Cruising had, on our behalf, presented the village with a newly built hut, which he then formally opened.  Magnificently sited overlooking the bay, it will form part of the Yacht Club, and be available for paying guests there, with the proceeds going to the village.  It was a most fitting and thoughtful gift, and, we reckoned, suitably atoned for our poorly presented but useful bits and bobs.

 

Straight after the welcome ceremony and presentations (and lacking lunch) we set off in open-backed 4-wheel drive vehicles for our volcano visit.  There are only dirt roads on Tanna, and these are not in good condition.  But the driver could have shown Stirling Moss (or even Lewis Hamilton) a thing or two, and we made rapid, if uncomfortable, progress.  We made a short detour to watch some more dancing.  This time, it was men and boys only, and the naked buttocks and curious sticking-up-bits placed strategically on their tradional grass aprons left little to the imagination.  Having refused to buy any wooden trinkets (at least, Cleone's crew did), we were soon on our way again.  Magnificent trees lined the track, and there were numerous paths leading to little settlements.  Everywhere people stopped to wave and shout greetings - they are thrilled to see visitors here.  The track wound steeply upwards, and it got much cooler, especially for those in the back of the trucks.  Suddenly the lush jungle gave way to volcanic ash, and whisps of steam and smoke could be seen every so often alongside us.  Equally suddenly, we stopped; we had arrived just at the foot of the crater, about 300 metres above sea-level.  From there we walked steeply upwards.  It was getting towards twilight when we arrived at the top, and the sight that met us was, truly, awesome.  We were on the edge of a crater maybe half a mile in diameter.  About three hundred meters in front of us, and maybe three hundred feet below were the twin mouths of the volcano.  Every couple of minutes there was a tremendous roar from one or other or both of the craters and masses of red-hot lava were thrown into the sky, way above our heads.  Luckily there was a stiff breeze behind us, for smoked belched forth continuously.  Despite the breeze, ash rained lightly upon us, and there was a smell of sulphur, which intensified during the erruptions.  We were very glad that the Volcano was at State 2 (Safe), and not State 3 or 4 (Armed), but how do they know that the whole thing is not going to blow apart at any minute?  As it got dark, it became even more like Dante's Inferno, and sadly there is no way our photographs can do justice to what we were witnessing.  We remained mesmerised around the crater, acutely aware of our own vulnerability, and fascinated by the immense power of the natural world.

 

Eventually we were ushered away and back to our trucks.  By the time we got back, it was seven o'clock, and the entire village was already assembled.  An enthusistic band played a box-base, guitars and a banjo, and rhythmic and melodic singing filled the air.  Men, women and children were already dancing on the grass outside the Yacht Club (which is really part of the village), whilst others laid out the feast in front of us.  This included our late piglet (lamented by some), fish (fried and in garlicky sauce), chicken, taro, salad, rice, sago and all sorts of fresh fruits.  No alcohol was available (it is not drunk in Tanna), though we were free to bring and drink our own beer and wine, but the evening was lubricated with quantities of Kava.  Freshly woven plates were covered with palm-leaves, and for us visitors there were forks available.  It was delicious, and the singing, dancing and kava drinking went on and on, with everyone taking part, including many babies in the arms of mothers or fathers or sisters or grandparents.

 

I have to say we left early, partly because for the first time since leaving the Caribbean two of us were chilly.  Will held Cleone's head high, and left when the singing and dancing stopped at about mid-night.

 

We raised the anchor and left early this morning, along with a couple of our friendly boats.  It's another brisk, sunny, sailing day, with the wind at force 6 or so on our starboard side.  We are heading for a bay on the next island up, where we will spend a brief night in the company of Quasar, Kasuje and Asloare (unplanned, but all of us old friends as veterans of ARC 2005 or ARC Europe 2006) before heading on for Port Villa.  We wont forget Tanna, ever.  The Volcano, the stunningly beautiful bay and the wonderful welcome from the friendly people will always be with us.