During our brief stay
in Vanuatu, we wandered around the charming village of Port Resolution for a
few hours while waiting for the truck to take us to the top of Mount Yasur, the
active volcano. Although we found the local population to be somewhat
more reserved than their neighbours in Fiji, they were still very friendly and
welcoming. It was a particularly charming village, well laid out, well
maintained and chock full of bananas, papaya, guava, almonds, and all the local
root vegetables.
The glow of Mount Yasur was apparently
what attracted Captain James Cook on his journey to the island in 1744, so I
guess it's been quite a sight for many years now. The level
classifications of 0 to 4 are an indication of how active and how dangerous it
becomes. The normal level of 1 is what we experienced.
Vanuatu, formerly New Hebrides, is a series of 82 small
volcanic islands, with a population of only around 225,000. There are
several active volcanoes besides this one, as well as a few underwater
ones. Volcanic activity is common with an ever-present danger of a major
eruption.
It was first claimed by the Spanish in the 1600's but a
French/United Kingdom consortium took control and Capt Cook (he seems to have
got into everywhere around these parts) renamed it the New Hebrides which
remained until they gained their independence in 1980.
In our short time there, we discovered that the local
school was English but also heard that some of the islands still taught in
French. With New Caledonia's French population so nearby, that seemed to
make sense.
PHOTO
GALLERY:
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