How do you spend your 47th birthday in Vanuatu? Attend an official village ceremony complete with warrior dance, taste your first Vanuatu kava at a kava bar called a nakamale (pronounced knock-a-mall), and invite all the boats in the anchorage over for a BBQ. Pretty awesome day!
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| Bear's awesome carrot cake |
It started at 6am with Bear standing beside my bed whispering, “Mom, I need to start your cake. Where’s the recipe?” Followed five minutes later by, “Mom, where’s more sugar?” and each additional five minutes aanother question of that nature until I was wide awake and up by half past six. Bear made a carrot cake from scratch, complete with cream cheese frosting – he even has a "war wound" from the carrot grater as evidence of his efforts. It was awesome! He did an amazing job with very little help except for anti-spillage supervision from Dad. I was very impressed!
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| Warrior "attacks" dignitaries |
At 7am, some villagers came by to ask us to transport some big kahuna officials who were flying into the airstrip on Mystery Island for the grand opening celebration of the new police station in Analcauhat village on Anatom Island. So Eric and Bear followed two local panga boats in our Boston Whaler to the islet to meet the plane. About twenty officials, most from the main city of Port Vila and some from Australia who funded the program, arrived for the day-long event. On the beach, we watched the ceremonial warrior dancers greet them as they disembarked from the launches, then followed along on the village tour. We were invited to participate in the lunch and dedication of the new police station which was a one-cell, cement building built to withstand a category five cyclone (which hit often in Vanuatu). It was interesting to watch the pomp and circumstance of a country's ways in this type of event. It was not dissimilar to a US dedication in that there were several (boring) speeches by people dressed to look important.
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| Jo, Ann and Jackie getting drunk on kava |
In the early evening, we went ashore to the nakamale where we found some local men grinding and straining the evening’s kava. In Fiji, kava is a nightly social event where all the men in the village are invited to participate around a single bowl that keeps getting refilled and drunk until it’s gone, which could be gallons. There is no charge per person. In Vanuatu, kava is a drink served like an alcoholic beverage where you order and pay for a bowl in a bar. Vanuatu kava is much stronger than it is in Fiji, so one or two coconut shell bowls is usually enough. I only had one bowl and I could really feel its affects. I felt woozy drunk and a bit nauseas. Eric and Jo had three bowls and were pretty much stoned. Our friend, Jackie who probably weighs 110 lbs, felt very ill after one bowl. It tasted better than Fiji kava but not good enough to drink again!
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| Eric made BBQ ribs for Ann's birthday |
Then several people came over for a BBQ. Eric made BBQ ribs at my request and they were delicious. My only request for a birthday present was to not have to cook, so I did nothing. It was a great birthday!
Posted by Ann
