Pos 13:32.49S 167:20.48E

Lurup Bay

 

Thursday 3/10

 

We took off for a good sail north to Ureparapara. This is an old volcano where the wall has collapsed. when we arrived there we sailed in to the old crater and anchored at the bottom end outside the village of Lesereplag. We were soon surrounded by villagers in their dugouts. We also saw dugout kayaks, something we haven’t seen before.              told us that they had adapted this from the Solomon Island that is the next Island group to the NW. These kayaks are faster and safer in the open sea when they go fishing. 

 

      

 

    

 

When we went ashore to visit the village, the first thing we saw was a kayak being worked on at the beach. For the first time we could actually see a dugout being built. It can take several months to make one kayak or canoe, depending on what type of wood is being used. The best ones are built from hardwood.

 

  

 

   

                 Master boat builder in action.                                                                            An adze for cutting out the inside.

 

We checked out the small village and                      hand made wood and stone carvings.

 

    

                      The village hall outside                                                                                               and inside.

 

    

 

 

We found out that the daily football game was starting a while later and went back to pick up some cold beers and the rest of the crew.

The game started with the young ones and by and by the older players joined in. We enjoyed sitting at the grandstand and chatting with the locals.

 

   

 

   

 

One of our hosts John  asked us if we wanted to drink some Kava when the game was over. As the game dragged out we were getting hungry and retreated to the boat.

Then after dinner, when we are sipping on a glass of wine, out of the dark comes John in his canoe. He brings with him a full bottle of Kava and the party is on!

We learnt from John that there was some sick people in the village, especially a man with an infected tooth. We collected a bag of pain killers and antibiotics and sent it with him when he went back. promising to go in in the morning to explain how to use the medicin. They did not have any doctor on the island , just a empty first aid box.

When we anchored there was this little house built on top of a coral head near us and we were told we could use it if we wanted, so the first night Tif and Diego slept there and the second Alice and Sanna.

 

   

 

In the morning the girls went ashore to explain about the medecins?. They came back and reported that the man with the bad tooth was in a bad shape, his whole face swollen. Hopefully our antibiotics will help. Unfortunately there was nothing else we could do for him. We gave away the rest of our writing supplies and some clothes and said farewell to these lovely people, living in a remote end of Vanuatu.

 

Lars