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travel
The Ngol (land diving) is a tradition on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. I learned about it watching a documentary one evening in my little coastal apartment in Northern California. And I thought, what if I could go there? Then, I did! This post describes the adventure.
After my Pentecost Island trip was cancelled last minute, I headed to Tanna to stare down into the belly of a volcano.
My flight to Pentecost Island was cancelled last minute, calling for some creative rescheduling and a new flight to Tanna, an island with much traditional culture and an active volcano you can watch from the rim. At the airport, waiting for my departing flight, thousands from town gathered to see the late president's coffin off to Banks, his home islands. The only indication of "security" was twenty feet of yellow tape condoning off one place in the airport driveway. I arrived about three hours early for my flight--because of the Coffin Procession--and eventually, I felt overwhelmed. All around me, babies were roaming in little friendly gangs, unaccompanied by adults. Every adult there knew every third person or so and the crowd was a tangle of handshakes and salutations. I saw one policeman and he didn't have a gun. Where was the crime? The security threats? The fear? The cultural differences were so many and nonstop.
The Eton Blue Lagoon is fed by an underwater spring and saltwater from the ocean. The rustic and incredibly well-maintained tables, bathrooms, and changing houses are managed by local village guys. Read about how one of them taught me how to climb trees again!
On the way to Vanuatu, three planes and twenty hours in the air, I felt a familiar combination of excitement, self-doubt, and absolute certainty that this was where I was meant to be. I touched down and Port Vila was far less developed than I expected and the people and tourists are open and warm. Click to read more about my first impressions.
