My host mama Mary, lil brother Eddie, me and my mom
Well, that’s the end of the story of my mom’s trip to Tongariki but I’ll let her in her own words describe her trip out to my lil island in the south Pacific…
Light, electricity, hot running water, a toilet, a shower, a stove, a refrigerator, a washer/dryer, good cell service, internet...these are all the things we take for granted and Niki does not have in her village: Tongariki, Vanuatu. But, what she does have are people who are so hospitable and thankful that she is there to help them! All in a beautiful landscape of lush green foliage as the background for a severely impoverished village. It was a joy to be there with her and share in her simple life.
Leaving Los Angeles, I was fearful of the impending cyclones that were due to hit Vanuatu in the next few days. But, other than the fact that Air Pacific moved up my flight an hour ahead without informing me, I arrived in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, into the loving arms of my daughter! We hugged each other so tightly and realized how much we missed each other in the last six months!
Early on, we decided to spend several days in Port Vila before going to Niki’s village. We chose a beautiful island “honeymoon” resort called the Iririki. It was a wonderful place that provided Niki with some well deserved R&R...including some of Niki’s favorite things: a washer/dryer, a spa with all the luxurious treatments, and great restaurants set in the most beautiful surroundings! Port Vila was an interesting city of many souvenir shops where the hottest items were pirated DVD’s including Avatar, good restaurants, and a fabulous open air marketplace. We were able to visit the Peace Corps offices and I met many nice people...even went out with them to dinner at a pizza place on the beach. By far the coolest thing, was watching a movie projected on a sheet between two poles while rain poured off the roof in sheets! We also went to a Nakamal (which traditionally is an outdoor men’s club of sorts) with a group of Peace Corps volunteers and tried Kava. Kava is the island elixir which I think is supposed to have the same affect as Marijuana. However, for me, it had no effect...probably because Niki only gave me half a shell! I was blown away by the fact that you had to drink it, and because the taste was so bitter, you rinsed your mouth and spit it out in troughs that were on the sides. My Newport upbringing wasn’t quite used to people spitting loudly all around us! However, it was a fun thing to do and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations I had with Niki’s friends.
Well, it was time to begin my adventure to Tongariki! It rained constantly in Port Vila and we weren’t quite sure that we would even make it to the island. The air field in Tongoa was grass and the planes were grounded. But, as luck would have it, it all cleared up and we were on our way in an unbelievably old prop plane. I was sitting behind the cockpit and getting nervous because the wiring all looked frayed and the pilots didn’t look too knowledgeable. After a safe landing in Tongoa, Niki hired a truck to take us to the beach where we would take a boat to Tongariki. The boat ride wasn’t too rough and as we approached the shore of Tongariki, I could see many villagers who had come to welcome us. The waves were getting pretty rough and we weren’t sure how they were going to get the boat to shore. Pretty soon an outrigger canoe came to the boat and I was told to sit on the outrigger and they would paddle me to shore. Niki was laughing so hard and she took photos of the strong young men lifting me and the boat off the water to the shore! After all the introductions, we began our steep climb to her village in the pouring rain! The women whittled some walking sticks for me and hacked away the brush with their machete knives! It was quite an experience...I think Niki was proud of me that I made it up the hill!
Then, we came to Niki’s little compound of huts. Hers is, by far, the nicest in the village. She has three little huts: her living quarters, the cooking hut, and the shower/toilet hut...all connected by a black coral pathway and surrounded by a shrubbery fence. On the inside, the grass roofs were covered with colorful calico fabrics and shelving was crudely made with tree branches and wood planking. Niki was lucky because the Peace Corps provided her with a solar panel and she is able to have a low voltage strip light which is an enormous help to her. It also powers a charger for some of her electronic equipment: a Kindle, a DVD player, a cell phone, etc. She has the cutest little kitten, Leno, who keeps the rodents at bay at night. We could hear them rustling, but fortunately, I never saw one! Cooking on a grate over burning branches was not the easiest thing to do, especially with the smoke constantly getting in our eyes. Also, Niki is quite fortunate to have an outhouse where there is a toilet of sorts and a stump to sit on while pouring water over you for a shower.
The people of Tongariki are so gracious. On my first night, several women representing the different villages came to welcome me with gifts of island dresses, calico fabric, and food. Niki’s host mom, Mary, was in charge and she was so nice! Every day, they brought us food...mostly lap lap, which is made of white yams. I couldn’t believe that my picky eater daughter loves it and I, who usually eat everything, just couldn’t get used to it! They brought us so much of it and bananas that at night when everyone was asleep, Niki and I would sneak out and feed it to the pigs! They eat totally off the land and the sea with a small amount of protein from the chickens that freely walk around and the pigs for huge celebrations. I am concerned that Niki is not getting enough protein and I hope on her visits to Vila, that she purchase some canned goods to provide her with a more balanced diet. One night, we were invited to have Kava with her host family. Here, however, the Kava which is extracted from a root was made in the old fashioned way. Men chew the root and spit out the juice into a bowl. Then, the juice is mixed with water and strained. Needless to say, drinking this Kava was a little sketchy. But, I couldn’t insult my hosts so I took a deep breath and swallowed! This was a little stronger than the Kava in Vila so I did have a little buzz!
We had one sunny day and I was able to do a walkabout of her dispensary, the school, and visit another village. The huts were not as nice as Niki’s and the brick houses had corrugated metal roofs. All in all, it was definitely the conditions of a third world country. However, I was struck by the sense of family and the hospitality I received from everyone. Tongariki is lush with beautiful views of the surrounding islands. The water is very clear and is colored in shades of aqua to dark blue.
Afterwards, it continued to rain and rain and rain some more... I eventually missed my flight to Vila because the grass fields in Tongoa were flooded! I chose Air Pacific because it was the lowest fare...however, because I missed my flight, they were going to charge me as much as my RT flight for my new one way trip home. Fortunately, David was able to talk them into just charging me $450, but I assure you if I had chosen Air New Zealand or Quantas, they would only have charged me the customary change fee. It was a good lesson for me!
The additional three days gave me more time to spend with Niki and we had some amazing conversations. I have never felt so close to her or so in tune to what she’s going thru...it has totally been such a blessing to be with her! But, you can only play so many games of rummy, watch a lot of DVD’s and read all the magazines possible until you start to get cabin fever. I was ready to go home...but maybe that was not meant to be. It still continued to rain! One of the highlights was going to the New Covenant Church on Sunday. It was a very spirit filled service...with singing loudly and with great verve- it was definitely a joyful noise unto the Lord! They all said their prayers out loud and at once...Niki said, “It must be like the way God hears our prayers!” I, of course, was the guest of honor and I received more island dresses and fabrics. They did a robust laying of the hands on me for a safe journey home and I felt truly blessed to be there on that Sunday!
Come Monday, it was still raining and, unfortunately, Niki and I had to put Plan B into action. We actually hired a helicopter to come pick me up and take me to Port Vila. Thanks to David who made all the arrangements, I was finally going to leave Tongariki. The villagers were all excited and Niki said I would be talk of the village for many years to come! When it arrived, I said a tearful goodbye to Niki but I was comforted to know that I would be back in July with the rest of the family. This was just a special time for the two of us!
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I enjoyed my time with my mom and was really appreciative to have the extra days with her and most importantly glad that she could experience it all.
My dad arrived on May 8th after a long delay in Fiji, however I am so glad he made it. His first few days unfortunately had to be spent in Vila on his own since I had a PC In-Service Training to attend. So, while I was listening to quest speakers from various aid organizations and departments in the 
Ministry of Health my dad was wondering the streets (really though Port Vila is really small – only 2 main streets). But once my training was over we headed off to Espiritu Santo – a large Island North of Port Vila, Efate. We stayed in Lunganville where the US had a large military base during WWII. Santo is known for their diving, however neither my dad nor I are certified. Instead we hiked through the jungle to Millennium Cave. The cave got its name because it just opened in 2000, before locals believed it was taboo to go inside since evil spirits lurk in caves. Well no evil spirits just lots of water and some kind of crawfish. In order to get to the cave we walked about 2 hours in the bush, over bamboo bridges and down ladders to the mouth of the cave. Once inside it’s almost an hour walk though knee to waist deep water. The cave is huge and when you look up you can barely make out the roof and you can see bats fluttering around. The walls are smooth but carved in waves. It was definitely a site to see unfortunately the water was fairly strong and I was more worried about getting carried away then enjoying the scenery. Once out of the cave the river winds back towards the start of the trail. We were supposed to ride inner-tubes down the river but since the current was too strong we had to hike back around the cave. The weather held up just until we reached half way back to the care and then buckets of water rained down on us. Around 6 pm we got back to the hotel soaking wet, cold and completely exhausted. 
