A storm brews over Santo Espiritu Santo, the largest island, being closer to the Equator, is much hotter and more humid than Vila. It is also more laid back, cleaner and has home comforts like ATMS, hostel type accommodation and internet cafes. My family hasn't heard from me since I set off on that rusty ship for Ambrym. My first excursion is to Surunda where James Michener lived. It's easy to get there but hard to get back until I run into Daniel, the driver we had on Ambrym. This happens often in Vanuatu. One reason for this is that marriage is patrilocal i.e. traditionally the bride goes to her husband's village, but then his sister has to marry one of her brothers to keep the numbers even and to help build alliances in a country where there are hundreds of different tribes. The result is dense networks of relationships which involve much visiting between islands. The serene house of author James Michener, wartime historian who wrote Tales of the South Pacific on whi...
Practising Geographer - nature culture places people