Efate Island (Port Vila)

I visited Vanuatu from 16 to 22 June 2016 to see the land-diving ritual on Pentecost Island (which occurs on weekends in April, May, and June). I traveled to Pentecost Island on 18 June 2016 (one of the more memorable adventures I had), but I stayed in a hotel in Port Vila (the nation’s capital city, located on Efate Island) during my time in Vanuatu. The following are photographs I took while on Efate Island.

 

Looking at the resort on Iririki Island in Vila Bay.
Vila Bay at sunset.
The market in Port Vila.
Head dresses used for various ceremonies, on display in Vanuatu’s National Museum in Port Vila.
Tree fern grade figure from Fanla, North Ambrym (1984 AD).
Various masks in Vanuatu’s National Museum.
Small, traditional sail boats.
“Nivinmusi” mask, which denotes the rank of the deceased man whom it is placed in front of during the Nalawan Nemasien mortuary ceremony held 100 days after his death.
Tamtam (a slit drum) carved by a high chief from North Ambrym; on display in Vanuatu’s National Museum.
Vanuatu’s Parliament building.
Artwork on the side of a building in Port Vila.
Main street in Port Vila.
Pool of water toward the bottom of Mele Cascades.
Coconut palm tree with notches carved in the trunk to facilitate climbers in their quest for coconuts.
Small field recently planted at Mele Cascades.
Trail through banana trees.
Flowering plant from the ginger family.
Slide worn in to one of the tiers at Mele Cascades – unfortunately it was the dry season and therefore there wasn’t any cascading water.
Waterfall at Mele Cascades.
Closeup of the waterfall at Mele Cascades.
The jungle at Mele Cascades.
Clear, blue pool of water at Mele Cascades.
View of Mele Bay.
Emten Lagoon.
Starfishes in Emten Lagoon.
Smoke in Ekasup Cultural Village.
Man blowing into a shell trumpet at Ekasup Cultural Village.
Our guide at Ekasup Cultural Village demonstrating how a banana is scraped on a piece of coral; the scrapings are then dried and preserved for emergency use.
Small trap that uses coconut shavings as bait; it is designed to catch chickens or other small animals.
Split bamboo shaft with spider webbing between the split – this is used to for catching fish.
A woman weaving a basket while two men sleep.
Woman scrapping out the contents of a banana with a seashell.
Roasted food available for us to eat at the cultural village.
Large banyan tree at the cultural village.
Shelter inside the large banyan tree; banyan trees are used as protective shelters when cyclones hit Vanuatu.
Looking up inside the large banyan tree; many roots are cleared from the center of the tree to accommodate the shelter space inside.
Traditional dance at Ekasup Cultural Village.
The men at Ekasup Cultural Village playing a song for us.
Women weaving baskets at another cultural village at the southern end of Efate Island (near Narpow Point) – this was a stop during a tour around Efate Island.
Men dancing at this cultural village.
Shell ankle bracelets around a dancer’s feet.
The Blue Lagoon near Eton Village.
Platform and rope swing at the Blue Lagoon.
Schoolhouse at Epao Village – where some of the children sang a few songs for us on our tour around Efate Island.
Various fruits and nuts found in Vanuatu; drawn by the schoolchildren, this was on display in one of their classrooms.
Restaurant on the northeastern edge of Efate Island (near Onesua Village), where our tour group had lunch.
The coral with Emao Island in the distance; at the beach next to the restaurant near Onesua Village.
Fruit on a pandan (or “screw pine”) tree.
Pool at the hot springs near Quoin Hill.
Muddy flats at the hot springs.
Stream at the hot springs with Quoin Hill in the background.
Abandoned U.S. tank from World War II; located at the northern end of Efate Island.
Another U.S. tank from World War II, being overtaken by mangroves.
Beach just north of Manga’asi Village.
Looking out from a tree house at the beach north of Manga’asi Village.
View of Mele Bay at sunset.

 

An open journal or an exercise in narcissism.