NüfNüf Go Round

On my last full day (June 6), I flew back from Tanna to Port Vila—with a few uninvited guests in my backpack. Some cockroaches hitched a ride, courtesy of the bungalow I stayed at in Tanna. Yuck!

For my final night, I booked an Airbnb in Port Vila, and from there it was just a 35-minute walk to the Aelan Chocolate Factory. I didn’t book in advance and decided to just show up—and got lucky! A woman working there (who seemed pretty bored, to be honest) gave me a private tour. The tour itself wasn’t exactly mind-blowing, but it ended with a generous chocolate tasting—14 different pieces, all handcrafted in Vanuatu. Not bad!

The factory sources cocoa beans from four different islands: Espiritu Santo, Malo, Malekula, and Epi. They create chocolate with unique local flavors like coconut, kava (a mildly sedative root used in traditional ceremonies), ginger, turmeric, coffee, vanilla, chili pepper, sea salt, cocoa nibs, and nangai nuts (a nut native to Vanuatu, also known as Canarium indicum). All the dark chocolates are made with 70% cocoa and 30% sugar. Even though I’m usually more of a white chocolate fan (I know, I know—it’s not “real” chocolate), I have to admit they all tasted pretty nice!

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A Few Facts About Vanuatu

• Vanuatu is made up of 83 islands, around 65 of which are inhabited.
• The official languages are English, French, and Bislama.
• Bislama is a creole language based on simplified English. It borrows vocabulary from English and incorporates Melanesian grammar structures. Despite what I’d heard, it doesn’t have 120 dialects—though the country does have over 100 local indigenous languages, making it one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world.
• During World War II, Vanuatu (then known as the New Hebrides) was used as a strategic U.S. military base—especially the island of Espiritu Santo— because of its proximity to the Solomon Islands and the Pacific front.
• One of the most surreal snorkelling spots in Vanuatu is Million Dollar Point on Espiritu Santo. After World War II, the Americans had so much military equipment stationed there—trucks, bulldozers, tanks, cranes—you name it. Shipping it all back to the U.S. was too expensive, so they offered to sell it to the colonial powers at a huge discount. The British and French refused, assuming they’d just leave it behind. Instead, the Americans drove it all straight into the ocean. The site got its name from the millions of dollars’ worth of gear dumped into the sea—and now, you can snorkel right over it (didn‘t get the chance, unfortunately). Rusting machines lie scattered just offshore, slowly being claimed by coral and fish.
• A local in Santo told me that the invasive vine plant I saw everywhere on the island (see my June 4 post, “Snorkeling with Obstacles”) was brought over by the Americans to use as camouflage. Turns out that’s just a myth. The plant is native to the region, and its fast growth is just nature doing its thing—not part of a wartime strategy.
• On December 17, 2024, Port Vila was struck by a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake that caused significant damage to buildings, roads, and the airport runway, as well as the harbour—resulting in the temporary suspension of cruise ship visits. The disaster claimed at least 14 lives, left many injured, and displaced hundreds; recovery efforts are still underway well into 2025.

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Some Bislama You Might Enjoy

Here are a few fun Bislama words and phrases:
• Halo – Hello
• Plis – Please
• Tangkyu – Thank you
• Sori – Sorry
• Mi no save – I don’t know
• Mi glad tumas – I’m very happy

And here’s a cheeky bonus: “Baskit blong titti” – Literally “basket for breasts,” a humorous way to refer to a bra. Bislama is straightforward—no complex words or tricky grammar. It gets the job done in the most literal way possible!

And finally, a few low-quality pics of things that caught my eye in Vanuatu—when I couldn’t be bothered to pull out my proper camera.Leia mais