Culture and a cultural experience

We have to be up reasonably early as our first briefing is at 8:30, which means an early breakfast. The briefing involves the usual presentation on how to get in and out of a zodiac and how to wear a life preserver. The naturalists team are introduced, a very large team of 19 from a range of countries including France, Australia, New Zealand and someone from Ireland. They have a diverse range of backgrounds and should be able to provide us with excellent information about not just the area above but also what is below. Lastly we are given information about the Solomon Islands and how to be respectful. I realize how ignorant I have been about this part of the world, most of what we hear on our news relates to terrible riots. Once you get off the main island of Guadalcanal, there are a host of smaller Island provinces and a vast archipelago of tiny Islands. Today we will visit the first of these in Malaita Province.

Riding in a zodiac is always fun and that is our transport to the island. The locals don't have many foreign visitors and many come down to where our zodiacs are landing. The first part of the visit involves traditional singing and dancing. First the men, followed by a group of girls from the local school, boys from the same school perform, and finally women from the village. It is very entertaining and completely different to anything I have seen before. It seems like the whole village had come out to watch the performances and were as entertained as we were many of them taking photographs. This is something we saw in the Arctic when we visited Inuit communities they would put on a performance and the small town would turn out and watch it with us.

The village itself consists of huts made from sago palm leaves, it is very well kept and orderly. We were taken to the end of the island with a local guide. Her English wasn't great so we really didn't get that much information from her. We did learn they harvest seaweed for export. But it was nice that she was there. Ponant is careful and very mindful of is our safety. We have a small party from China which is somewhat puzzling given they have minimal English and no French. They have a guide with them who I presume is responsible for giving them all the information we have had in the briefings. The information flow does not seem to have been all that good because several of them were doing things we were asked not to do. One older gentleman was coaxed into a canoe by children. It was a small dugout clearly designed for children. He had a paddle but it quickly filled with water and the canoe sank and he was dunked in the water. The children of course found this very entertaining. I suspect there will be words spoken to the person managing the group.

Tonight is the first of the gala dinners and it's quite an evening. It begins with a welcome cocktail, introduction of the key personnel on the ship and an opportunity to have a photo taken with the captain, I skip this. The weather is warm, no rain so we are outside. We have been invited to join the captain's table for dinner which means very good service and excellent food and wine. We skip the entertainment and retire early. An early start tomorrow.Read more