We had a very calm trip north to the island of Epi and we headed into Lamen Bay because this bay was noted for having friendly Dugongs which are similar to our Florida manatees. We had the harbor to ourselves and found the locals to be very friendly. They would sail and paddle their dugout canoes between small Lamen Island where they lived and the Epi mainland where they worked in their gardens. All the people and children were welcoming and seemed intrigued by us white-skinned Americans. We enjoyed one couple that used a large palm frond fixed vertically in their dugout as a sail move swiftly across the bay.
We met a lovely woman who invited us to see their village on Lamen Island on the following day. We met her as she asked and we found the island to be a clean organized village. All the paths were lined with coral stone walls and no trash was seen. She hand picked pamplemousse and tangerines from her yard garden and she introduced us to other families that provided us with fresh snake beans and bananas. She showed us how they dried copra (coconut meat) in special racks and baked bread in large ovens heated by wood fires.
She pointed out several varieties of cotton trees. The tree produces three-to-six-inch long, elliptical fruits. These fruits contain many seeds surrounded by a dense mat of cottony fibers. The tree gets its common name from these fibers which rain from the tree when the fruits ripen. The fibers are almost pure cellulose, buoyant, impervious to water, and have a low thermal conductivity, but they do not lend themselves to spinning. Called Kapok in Asia, the fibers are used for insulation, padding in sleeping bags and life preservers. Here in Vanuatu, the cotton is used for stuffing mattresses and pillows.
She showed us several types of nuts to eat that were quite good. She stood by a stone wall and opened about a dozen nuts with her machete and wrapped the nut meat neatly in a large green leaf and tied the package with a palm "string".
We spent several days snorkeling here and saw lionfish, clown fish and the biggest moray eel we have ever seen. Kim found it and it must have been 10" in diameter and 5 feet long! We never located any dugong but will forever carry the memory of the friendly people we met.
Tom
4 comments:
Hi, I started following you a while ago but been otherwise occupied recently. I've spent the last few days catching up with your news and wow, what a time you're having! Looking forward to the next installment.
an up date on Kim please. That's not a fun experience.
Pat
Kim has recovered and had been fine for the past couple of weeks.
Great blog - fascinating trip.
FYI - Kidney stones may be an indicator, with high calcium blood levels, of hyperparathyroidism. Along with stones come osteoporosis and maybe lack of energy, headaches, depression, sore bones, cranky and bitchy, heartburn, etc. Julie found out 1st hand and they removed one (of the 4) parathyroid. Reportedly, most USA doctors do a poor job of diagnosing parathyroid problems.
Frank
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