Vanuatu - Last one!

On the way back from the village, we dropped JJ off on the side of the road where about 10 men were waiting so they could go off and do a dance. This was just part of their daily life, nothing related to tourists or entertaining anyone, just one of the things they do for fun.

Here is Dan as we say good bye to JJ. I am not sure I mentioned this but he was chosen by his village, by the Chief, to be educated in English. He went to school on Santo Island, and then in England. He is the narrator for the series, Meet the Natives, both in the UK and the US. He still lives a custom life, although he and his family typically wear Western clothing except for special custom things, like this dance.

As we were driving back to the hotel, Happy asked us if we'd like to go to his village to see a traditional festival. Young boys in each village are circumcised when they are 4 - 6 years or so. Once a year, the boys that age are circumcised and then they each go off in the bush with their uncles, fathers, brothers, etc. and are separated from the women. Imagine what fun those boys must have with so much attention from their male family members. After a month away, the boys all come back and there is a village party where the women dress up, the men prepare fires to grill pigs, cows, and other food. This lasts all day. We were able to attend for about 15 minutes before the boys came back. It was amazing to see this.

Something about this blogger is being very uncooperative with my plans today. We will call this the final Vanuatu blog, and I will get the rest of the pics on FB. Thanks for reading all this. I know it was a lot!

If you can, go to Vanuatu!! Or, come to see us!