Ureparapara – An unforgettable experience
For Voyage Crew Karen from the USA, the Banks islands of Vanuatu
on Voyage 239 were a vivid experience

"As we sailed up the spectacular Lorup Bay we were met by a flotilla of canoes, some with outriggers but most were kayaks piloted by young boys and men grinning from ear to ear, - what a welcome to this enchanted island.

This volcanic island, a huge fallen-in crater which forms the bay has little flat ground and the edges of the caldera rise steeply to over 300 metres. It seemed a great deal more when we slogged up to the ridge through the thickly forested, slippery, near-vertical tracks in the humid heat! It gave us considerable respect for the islanders who regularly saunter up and over the ridges to gather fruit without even breaking out in a sweat. The view from the top was superb but we did wonder it is would be possible to rig up a ‘flying fox’ to whiz back down – it would have been awesome but sadly probably technically impossible.

The warmth and friendliness of the islanders are what made the experience wonderful. They seemed a hard working and cohesive community and most had no experience beyond the island and only primary school education, - their current teacher, Evelyn, is an islander with secondary school education and one week’s training to be a teacher. Nevertheless she was very bright and capable and all the children respected her.

Their working clothes were somewhat threadbare (as is the case with many farmers in the UK!) but their ‘Sunday Best’ is very colourful. They wear a motley collection of donated tee-shirts (some with highly inappropriate slogans for a deeply religious community) with brightly coloured skirts for the women and girls, and shorts for the men and boys. Many of the girls had tight pigtails or ‘sprouts’ in their hair tied with coloured thread.

They take great pride in their village and it is kept neat and tidy with a village gardener appointed to look after the many brightly coloured foliage and flowering plants round many of the houses. Many of the houses looked new and had been made with the walls plaited in fancy patterns and some had mosquito screens in their windows. Some of the houses had been constructed on stilts, an expensive luxury to protect against flooding which was beyond the economic reach of many. There is even a reasonably flat football pitch – with one good post, which doubles up as a ‘festival’ ground and a grandstand has been erected.

The pitch was put to good use with a fast and furious match between the crew of the Soren Larsen and the islands. Our young and extremely fit team were at a considerable disadvantage having ‘sea legs’, not used to playing in bare feet and in such heat and put up a brave show though lost 2-5 I think. Nevertheless the enthusiasm of the fans (on both sides) made for a noisy but great fun afternoon.

Father Roy, the Anglican priest in the village is a strong influence in the community with all but one family regular churchgoers. The Sunday morning service at 7am was an amazing 2 hour experience, with the unaccompanied singing nearly raising the roof (literally). The service was in a mixture of English, Bislama and local dialect and I couldn’t help but wonder what the islanders made of references to Philistines, Sons of Zion and the like.

There was considerable ritual and the priest wore the full Anglican vestments and the service was obviously sincerely conducted. The children were very well behaved and everyone seemed very cheerful at the end of the service.

The highlight of the visit was undoubtedly the feast in the second evening of our stay. The women of the village had surpassed themselves producing a wonderful array of foods, many of which were unfamiliar to us but very tasty. The kava was relished by some (but not by all!) and the string band ensured that most of us were swinging to the Vanuatu beat with great gusto, the old and young, islanders and crew all together. One of our crew is an expert fire dancer and totally owed the islanders with his spectacular exhibition. The next day all the young boys were avid listeners to his tutoring sessions and going around swinging makeshift fire balls.

Perhaps next year it will be part of the ‘kastom’ dance! These are fascinating and so different from ones on the other islands. There is a special ground with a totem for these dances and a leader who beat on a drum held by a little boy. The initial dance had the dancers dressed in grass skirts, fronds of palm leaves and anklets made of hard nut shells which ‘chattered’ rhythmically as they stomped round the leader. The next dance had the dancers wearing gorgeous helmets which were decorated with wooden painted fish and others with feathers. These are completely unique as each person makes his own helmet. Their skill in woodcarving was evident in the many mementos that we brought back with us. Not that we need anything to remind us of the island, - I’m sure all of us will remember it forever."

Karen
Vanuatu Banks Islands.

Read Jerrry's Account of the voyage here

Soren Larsen will be visiting these destinations again -