A Day on Tanna

I got up at 6am to catch a 7am truck into Lénakel, the main town, so I could take some more cash out from the ATM (as I didn’t have enough for the volcano excursion with me), and buy some water and snacks/groceries. I also wanted to charge my phone as the solar power wasn’t working great as it had been quite rainy.

After 2.5h or waiting at the bottom of the hill where the truck was supposed to arrive, no such truck ever arrived. Thankfully Mai waited with me so I didn’t feel like I was totally stranded waiting for truck that would never come haha. At around 8:30, a truck passed by, not the original one, but he was going to Lénakel and said he would drive me. He said he would do it for 750VT but Mai said no I told him 1000, so he should pay 1000. A bit strange but I didn’t mind paying a bit extra to get into town.

First we drove up to the village thought to pick up more people that were coming with. We waited around for about 45min as everyone got their things together and loaded up into the truck. They were headed into town for a marriage ceremony apparently. It was raining quite hard by the time we left, but I was sat in the cab of the truck so stayed dry. The back had no covering though so everyone had umbrellas and buckets up but were still getting wet. They passed all their phones and papers from their pockets to the driver to keep dry in the cab.

After the hour long drive into town, he dropped me off at the ATM around 10:30 and said he could give me a ride back in half an hour if I was ready. I was planning on being in town longer than that so I could charge my phone, and I figured if I did that I’d have to sit though the ceremony which would have been cool but I didn’t really feel like doing, so I told him to not wait around if I wasn’t back here in half an hour.

After taking over CA$350 worth of Vanuatu cash out of the ATM, I stopped by the currency exchange place and asked them to charge my phone. The guy working there was happy to, but he said they close at 12, so definitely be back to collect it before then. He took it to the back office to charge as I went in search of some food— I hadn’t really eaten anything yet as I got up so early.

The one restaurant that seemed to be open had apparently just closed their kitchen when I asked for a plate. I figured they just didn’t want to serve me, as people were still sitting and eating meals, but maybe they had actually stopped serving.

I stopped by a couple different little stores to buy water and cookies and cans of sardines and mosquito coils. I went back to the currency exchange place, ate a can of sardines for lunch/breakfast, and used their bathroom (which seemed to be someone’s bathroom beside their house behind the building). I got my phone back with 81% and then went to wait for a truck back to Isaka.

I missed my ride back by about half an hour, but that’s okay I was expecting to. Turns out though that not many people are going all the way to the other side of the island on a Saturday. At least it’s not a Sunday lol. I met two guys who were also headed that way, and had been waiting for an hour or more. One of them had helped me get a truck to Isaka yesterday and recognized me! His name was Luke and he works at the Volcano Visitor centre, so he gave me some tips on how to get in for cheaper, just say you’re a “volunteer” and they’ll give you a 6000VT admission instead of 8000VT!

Eventually they flagged down a friend of theirs who was headed to the south of the island who said he would drop us off at the volcano, a bit further then where they were headed. Isaka is about a 5km walk from there, which I was happy to do.

We left Lénakel and they all started smoking cigarettes in the truck, and offered me one. When in Rome— or Vanuatu. Then the driver lit up a joint lol.

A beautiful drive down the coast to the south of the island. They dropped me a Luke off at the volcano entrance, and we walked together for a bit before splitting ways as I followed the map to Isaka, walking through a few decent sized rivers as it had been raining all day.

Finally got back home, and as it was only 3pm, I chilled for a bit and walked around the village, before having dinner with Mai.

Unfortunately I had left my passport in my pocket while it was raining and the photo got a bit water damaged:/ hopefully not too much to hinder travel but I’ll stop by the Australian consulate when I’m back in Port Vila to check and see.

Volcano day tomorrow!!Read more