October 11 , 2001 - Ni-Vanuatu Are in a Class of their Own

We are often asked by non-cruising friends "Where did you like most? What is the best place you have visited?" How can you answer a question like that? Everywhere has something interesting to offer and so often chance plays a role in determining how good your experiences are. So as a result we avoid rating places--well, we almost always avoid it, but it is hard to resist describing the ni-Vanuatu as the friendliest, most dignified and beguiling people we have had the pleasure to meet.

Magic is an important component in Vanuatu culture and it must surely be the case that the ni-Vanuatu have at their disposal a magic formula that has enabled them to remain immune to the influences of Western cultures both in terms of their traditional way of life and cultural practices, and their attitudes.

The people are shy, polite, and hospitable. We saw not a single act of aggression nor were we ever concerned about our safety or our belongings. Nor did we ever see envy or resentment despite the obvious gap between the material wealth of the villagers and the cruisers. To our surprise we occasionally met someone in a village who spoke exceptionally good English because they had spent a few years living in Australia or the UK or US. One man had been a senior computer programmer. These people had returned to their villages in Vanuatu because they had decided it offered a more fulfilling way of life.

The transition from modern city living to Vanautu village life is about as extreme as it gets. The villages have a very basic lifestyle. Water is taken from a river or a pipe drawing water from a stream in the mountains; food is cooked in hollows in the ground, and the living huts have no power, though sometimes the main hut has a solar panel to run lighting--but there are no books, videos or computers. Money has no value.

Other villagers have never left their own village and express no desire to do so--only dissatisfaction would fire such ambition.

	Sharing the catch.

Instead, a culture of sharing and contributing to the general welfare of the village prevails. Outrigger canoes laden with fruit and vegetables from the village's gardens are paddled by our boat and we are asked if we need anything. They do not ask for anything in exchange and when we ask what they would like they are sometimes too shy to ask for anything but are delighted by gifts of clothes. When we catch fish, which are invariably too large for us to eat, we take what we want and give the rest to the village. In the morning someone delivers a fresh loaf of bread to us. This is the life the returning ni-Vanuatu have chosen over the undoubtedly more material existence they experienced in foreign cities. And their happy smiling faces tell it all.

A few weeks in Vanuatu and you find yourself beaming smiles and shaking hands with everyone you meet, we noticed that a little of their character rubs off on even the most crusty and suspicious cruisers.