Saturday, May 05, 2007

3 May - at last to Tanna? I need a lie-down…

Pentecost having finally bitten the dust due to a waterlogged airport, I have finally managed to find a way to get to Tanna. I’ve managed to get the last seat on the early morning Air Vanuatu flight, non-stop to Tanna International, where I will be picked up and taken to see the volcano… on Saturday. I can only hope that all goes to schedule…

So, another lazy day by the pool but, by way of variety, I took the opportunity to further de-stress with ninety minutes of massage, courtesy of Sabrina (not the teenage witch, although she does possess magic in her hands!). Relaxation is now so ingrained that I actually fell asleep for a few moments…

And then to dinner, and the hotel were laying on a Melanesian Feast. Who could resist, especially as it gave me a chance to try something new, rousette, or flying fox. This is, I’m led to understand, cute and furry, but then, so are llama and reindeer, and I didn’t hesitate to eat them. For the record, cooked in red wine, flying fox tastes a bit like kidney to my mind, and would probably make a great pie with steak. There was also poulet fish, so called because it apparently tastes like chicken. I’m not convinced…

We also had dancing from a group from the Banks Islands, in northern Vanuatu. I’ve never been terribly keen on this sort of voyeuristic ‘tourist experience’, as it gives a feel of being put on for the cameras, so to speak. In reality, these dances are done with only friends and family present, and the joy with which such occasions are celebrated makes them truly special.

It was therefore a pleasure to find two of the dancers playing table football in a corner of the hotel on my way back to my room. It would have made a great picture to see these two young men in tribal outfits playing but I decided that it would be just too intrusive.

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