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I’ve written a lot about strange places in the U.S. this year — an airplane graveyard in the desert; a mock Iraqi village in the suburbs of San Diego; a town killed by a modern-day dustbowl two hours north of Los Angeles. But the strangest place I’ve ever been — the strangest and most beautiful, I should say — is a developing nation 1000km northeast of Australia, populated by the friendliest former cannibals you’ll ever meet, called Vanuatu. I wrote about it a little bit back in April, right after I returned from two weeks in country, but I’d had such a whirlwind trip, and taken thousands of pictures I’d hardly even begun to cull, that I needed six months or so to process just how profoundly different life in Vanuatu is.
It’s an archipelago comprised of 84 volcanic islands, each separated by many miles of shark-filled seas and unpredictable weather. Travel between islands is difficult and expensive, and as a result, to many of Vanuatu’s 200,000 citizens “international travel” means going to a nearby island every few years to visit cousins. They’ve had some exposure to foreigners — missionaries starting in the 19th century (some of whom were eaten); American soldiers during World War II, who established a base on the largest island to fend off the Japanese, stationed in the nearby Solomons; some British and French, who co-governed Vanuatu in a bizarre arrangement for many years; and tourists that come to a few of the islands nowadays (mostly from Australia, which is where they all assumed I was from). But even on the largest islands, which are mountainous and covered with tough-to-penetrate jungle, there are remote villages where locals have rarely, if ever, encountered outsiders. I didn’t make it quite that far afield, but I did find myself in a few off-the-beaten villages that were definitely not on the tourist trail, and luckily, I brought my camera.
There’s one main city in Vanutu, Port Vila, which is heavily westernized and caters to tourists who come in on cruise ships, and another large-ish town, Luganville, which is a few dusty streets of Chinese-owned shops, French restaurants and hotels catering mainly to scuba divers. Villages throughout the rest of the country rarely have electricity or running water, and though the people are very poor, they own their own land, and the rich soil and unspoiled seas make farming and fishing easy. Food that tourists consider delicacies, like coconut crab, mangoes, pineapple, and all manner of fish, are everyday dishes for the locals. A fisherman on Oyster Island at dusk:
Families make money by selling what they grow in village gardens at roadside markets like this one:
Cows are everywhere and beef is plentiful. The grass-fed, organic beef raised on Espiritu Santo is considered some of the finest in the world, and is exported to top-tier restaurants in Japan and Australia. What else would you expect from cows that get to hang out on the beach all day? I ran across these ladies while kayaking:
Of course, when a cow is slaughtered, nothing goes to waste. Fresh oxtail, anyone?
Pigs are a big deal on Vanuatu, as well. Pigs are a traditional form of monetary exchange, and the most valuable pigs are the ones with the longest tusks. PIgs whose tusks grow so long that they make a loop that pierces the bottom of the animal’s jaw — gruesome, I know — are especially valuable. Some pig jaws on proud display in an Espiritu Santo meeting hut:
Homes are made from branches and folded palm leaves, which are sturdy enough to keep out the most torrential rain, but tend to blow away during cyclones (which are frequent). Here’s a detail of the underside of a hut roof:
Here are a few views of typical Vanuatu villages, homes and a Catholic church, all woven from grass and leaves:
Christianity came with missionaries in the 19th century, and while churches abound, many villages still practice customary religions and black magic. There are also a number of fascinating cults on Vanuatu — especially on the volcanically active island of Tanna, where tourists come to ogle a lava-spitting mountain they call Old Man Yasur.
You can climb up to the rim of Yasur, which puts on a humbling show after dark.
I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to visit either of Tanna’s cult villages, the best known of which is the Jon Frum cargo cult. A white man known as Jon Frum (possibly “Jon from America”) supposedly visited Tanna sometime before the second world war, predicting that white men would drop from the sky with food and all sorts of goods — which is exactly what happened when the war began. When the Americans and their cargo left, the Jon Frum followers began praying to him, using faux American flags, red cross symbols, and military uniforms, hoping that more cargo from the sky would arrive. It hasn’t come yet, but the Jon Frum cultists continue to worship. (Jesus died 2,000 years ago, they like to remind us, and Christians are still waiting around for him to come back.)
The American military left its mark on Vanuatu in other ways, too. Rusting quonset huts are everywhere on Espiritu Santo, and all the country’s few paved roads were built by the American government. This wide, pothole-filled road, for instance, is the remnant of a WWII airstrip. Calling it “paved,” however, is charitable — It’s in such bad shape that you have to drive in a zigzag pattern just to avoid the axle-breaking holes.
The Americans also introduced a species of fast-growing vine to Espiritu Santo, in order to cover their installations and hide them from Japanese air surveillance. Those vines covered much of the island in short order:
The locals I talked to weren’t bitter about the American military presence in Vanutu, though. If anything, they seemed grateful: “You are our big strong brother!” one man said to me, flexing a muscle. “You saved us from the Japanese, then gave us our country back!” Which is true, I suppose — whereas the French and British hung around and tried to run Vanuatu for more than a hundred years, the Americans came, established some bases, and left. Still, it was a novel experience, being thanked by someone abroad for something my country’s military did.
Villagers are nothing if not resourceful. Just as they’ll use American airstrips as roads, other goods have multiple uses, too. A baby named Florence enjoys an unusual tire swing:
Once you get away from the beach, getting around the island can be a bit difficult — rivers and tall, volcanic ridges are everywhere. But villagers, lacking concrete or asphalt, make do anyhow. This is a somewhat treacherous bamboo bridge across a river, on the other side of which is a steep ladder up a hill formed by branches.
Later, a villager took me to an amazing, bat-filled cave (too dark to photograph) followed by a great deal of scrambling over boulders in a rushing river — again aided by a number of seemingly death-defying hand-made bridges. (If you look closely, you’ll notice that my guide is wearing a Dora the Explorer floatie around his neck.
Finally, we floated down the river for a half-hour, nipped at by curious fish, walls of rock rising above us. Waterfalls and a riot of vegetation fell down from the cliffs above. It was, in a word, ridiculous, and the cheap waterproof camera I took this picture with does the scene no justice.
Families and kids are everywhere on Vanuatu; the population is very young.
Everywhere you go, kids follow, laughing and having fun.
It was unsettling at first to realize that even the smallest kids carried machetes with them almost everywhere they went. I soon realized that they were invaluable — the fast-growing jungle constantly needs cutting, and machetes can cut down coconuts and open them, and their blunt handles serve as hammers.
These kids were showing me their pet eel, which they’d grown to an enormous size in a small, waterfall-fed freshwater pond in their village. They used to have two but the other one had been stolen; the remaining eel was guarded 24/7 by boys with slingshots (and machetes, naturally).
Kids in Vanuatu, you won’t be surprised to learn, spend a lot of time in the water. Not only is the South Pacific warm year-round, but Vanuatu’s islands are dotted with magical “blue holes” — rain- and river-fed reservoirs of deep, cool, crystal blue water which provide drinking water to nearby villages and swimming holes for its young people.
After a snorkel:
After a scuba dive, I came up to find these boys playing on a rock jetty; they’d been following the divers’ air bubbles. My lens was wet, and the result is sort of impressionistic, but totally captures the feeling of the place.
We found this boy smiling at us from a hole in the jungle. A nearby adult explained that he’d just gone through his circumcision ritual, which meant he had to wear a namba (a huge penis-sheath), mud makeup, and hang out in holes for a week or so (this guy’s English was about as good as our Bislama, so I’m not totally sure on the details).
In short, Vanuatu is one strange and beautiful place, and it’s people couldn’t be friendlier. The South Pacific is a mind-bogglingly huge constellation of little island worlds, and though there are so many more to explore, I’m certain I’ll be back to Vanuatu one day.
You can find more photo essays on my website.
Comments (36)
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Wow! Beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing!
posted by Darlene on 11-20-2009 at 8:04 am
Ransom, I hope you realize what a wonderful life you have.
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-20-2009 at 8:27 am
Very cool. I enjoy these interesting posts. I don’t think it’s so odd that you’d be thanked for what our military has done, honestly. Isn’t that kind of the MO? I suggest asking around the Balkans about how they feel towards US armed forces, especially in Kosovo. Ask a Pole or an Albanian. A lot of the rest of Europe has forgotten, but our military does far more good than harm.
posted by ElZarcho on 11-20-2009 at 8:33 am
I adore your pictures. When you first posted this essay I longed for more, thanks for giving us oodles more pics! I miss the time when I lived abroad and love being able to read about places you have been!
posted by megan on 11-20-2009 at 9:04 am
Keep up the excellent work. We all enjoy your work (especially the pics and captions).
posted by Ian from Baltimore on 11-20-2009 at 9:22 am
Next time you go, can I tag along? Ever since your first blog in April, I have been researching this place. The pictures are awesome, even the one with a disposable camera. You say it didn’t do the scene justice, so now I really have to see what it looks like in person because the picture is incredible!
posted by hyacinth on 11-20-2009 at 10:00 am
Ransom,
You are the reason I started reading Mentalfloss.. I look forward to your articles. You have such a wonderful way of explaining each place, I feel like I am actually there.
Keep up the great work!
BTW.. you really need to publish a book.
posted by Jennifer on 11-20-2009 at 11:20 am
Great photos, thanks for sharing. Looks like an amazing place to visit.
posted by Paul on 11-20-2009 at 11:32 am
Very cool. I knew nothing about the place, and I’d imagine not many people would know any more than they would have learned from watching Survivor. Keep the posts coming! And I agree, you should write a book about your travels.
posted by Molly W. on 11-20-2009 at 12:20 pm
I don’t know what’s so unusual about that tire swing. It looks like the ones at my grandparents farm in rural Nebraska.
posted by Lewen on 11-20-2009 at 12:21 pm
YES–write a book about your (new) travels
posted by Lulu on 11-20-2009 at 1:00 pm
Gorgeous pics! Thanks for giving me another potential travel destination some day!
Lewen, I thought the exact same thing- looks just like the tire swings at my grandpa’s house in Salt Lake City.
posted by LibraryGirl on 11-20-2009 at 1:04 pm
What an amazing article. The people that you describe really help to put your own life in check. Simple, happy lives. Not to mention how BEAUTIFUL it is there! Thanks!
posted by Lynda on 11-20-2009 at 1:09 pm
Thanks for sharing, great pics and story! Would love to visit!! Namaste, Mo
posted by Monique DiCarlo on 11-20-2009 at 1:25 pm
When I first visited Australia in 1986, my cab driver, a man in his 60s, thanked me for America’s part in keeping their country safe in WWII.
Not sure that would happen again today.
posted by Michael on 11-20-2009 at 1:57 pm
Thanks! This is wonderful.
posted by septerr on 11-20-2009 at 2:09 pm
I just love your posts! they are like a little mini vacation…thanks!
posted by angela on 11-20-2009 at 4:26 pm
Ransom, beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing with us places that we may never have the opportunity to visit.
Oh, I agree with Jennifer, you definitely need to publish a book!
Cannot wait for the next \trip\
posted by Izzi on 11-20-2009 at 4:43 pm
Thanks for another great post with cool pictures! I especially like the ones of the homes and other buildings.
posted by Leslie on 11-20-2009 at 4:45 pm
Great article, it looks absolutely beautiful there.
posted by ian on 11-20-2009 at 5:54 pm
That species of fast-growing vine introduced in Espiritu Santo is probably kudzu. The foreign vine from the Orient also blankets the exotic Carolinas uncontrollably.
posted by Rachel on 11-20-2009 at 5:59 pm
I think someone beat you to the punch about writing a book about Vanuatu, for a great read check out J.Maarten Troost’s Getting Stoned With Savages…you will laugh out loud when you read this!
posted by jodie on 11-20-2009 at 6:06 pm
Thanks, everybody!
@ jodie — I read “getting stoned with savages,” and it’s pretty great. he describes surviving a cyclone in vanuatu, which I’m very glad I didn’t have to experience. Also, Paul Theroux’s book “the happy isles of oceania” has a great chapter on vanuatu.
@ rachel — I thought it was kudzu at first too, but I don’t think it is. a relative, maybe.
@ several people — I guess I just haven’t seen a lot of tire swings! Maybe it’s not that unusual, after all.
posted by Ransom Riggs on 11-20-2009 at 6:18 pm
Growing up in Germany in the 80’s I would be stopped by lots of old ladies and patted, hugged, and given candy just because I was American. The young people were more resentful, but the much older people were always telling me how much they loved Americans for their help during and after the war. I’m lucky I understood German, otherwise it would have been unnerving. My mom had to alter the ‘don’t take candy from strangers’ rule to ‘don’t take candy from strangers unless Mom or Dad say it’s OK’ so that we wouldn’t offend the old dears.
posted by TooFewShoes on 11-20-2009 at 6:48 pm
Thank you! This was so inspiring and beautiful to me.
posted by OJ on 11-20-2009 at 6:58 pm
Great reportage!
My wife and I traveled to Vanuatu in 2001 to open a resort on the island of Tanna (the one with the most accessible live volcano) and never left. I travel regularly throughout the archipelago and photograph my adopted country (though life!).
If you want to see more on Vanuatu check out my image library on:
http://picasaweb.google.com/vanuatutravel
Tropical regards from the land of smiles!
John Nicholls
posted by John Nicholls on 11-20-2009 at 7:51 pm
Amazing pictures, I’m so envious. If you need someone on your next trip just to carry your bag or camera, I’d be happy to go!
I’ve added this to my list of places to visit.
posted by Lisa on 11-20-2009 at 8:54 pm
What a beautiful series of photos. Thanks for sharing.
I noticed several children in the pictures had reddish or blondish hair. Is that common?
posted by Rachel O. on 11-20-2009 at 11:19 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this – it was interesting especially as it gave me some insight into how you, Ransom, view the world. I think I learned more about you than about Vanuatuu :P (But not because your article was bad, quite the contrary…being in the South Pacific myself, it’s rather natural to already know much about the Islands)
posted by Bakedpotatoes on 11-21-2009 at 3:22 pm
Alo Ransom, thankyou for going to Vanuatu and showing the world how living in Vanuatu is priceless. I am a native Vanuatu or ni-vanuatu and moved to canada and now US with my Canadian spouse. Explaining Vanuatu to freinds sounds like a farytale till you see it for yourself like you did firsthand. Thanks again.
ta,
sammy
posted by sammy Raikatalau on 11-23-2009 at 2:06 pm
I have seen it for myself!! But my photos can’t compare to yours. Thanks for sharing.
posted by Ona Filloy on 11-23-2009 at 8:15 pm
Fantastic post, loved the pictures. It sounds like a real paradise. The island is full of happy kids, even the cows live idyllically.
One thing you mentioned was not being able to take pictures in a dark cave. Today there are cameras that can take pictures, in places you can hardly see. In fact the pictures frequently show detail you couldn’t see with the naked eye.
Look for cameras that have good ratings at 1600 or 3200 ISO, have optical image stabilization and lenses with close to 3 or less maximum aperture. My Canon Rebel XTI does a great job, but a new Canon, the S90 ,does a better job, cheaper and smaller.
posted by Stew on 11-30-2009 at 1:54 pm
Nice! I’m a Navy brat who used to live in Guam. Far different than Vanuatu but a gorgeous island all the same. Love your pictures!
posted by Jeannie on 1-22-2010 at 3:02 pm
It seems that there’s a lot of similarities among village in South Pacific islands, as the huts and the tire swing aren’t unusual where I’m from.
I love that blue hole of theirs though. It looks so peaceful and a great place for some R & R!
posted by Benny J. on 2-26-2010 at 2:43 am
The people of Tanna were featured on a show on the Travel Channel called “Meet the Natives” where they lived with various American families and were in search of a guy named Tom Navy.. It was actually a very good show and it showed what an amazing people they are.
posted by Joy on 3-9-2010 at 12:05 pm
I went to Germany myself, three years ago, when I was about 21. The old German ladies loved me! They patted my cheeks and my hair and talked to me in German, even though I didn’t understand a word of what they were saying. It was a great experience, my only regret was that my German linguistic skills weren’t better!
posted by Heather on 3-19-2010 at 10:50 am