Vanuatu!!!!!! Holy cow, what a place, so far. We thought we had seen dense jungle and witnessed some unusual culture but Vanuatu shows us that there is so much culture and Geography to see. Tanna is the island we first stopped at. Home to some Cargo Cult religions which I will share more about later (Google “John Frum) and the most active Volcano in the South Pacific. We spent countless hours in the back of a truck exploring the island (no busses or rental cars here) culminating in a walk up to the caldera of Mt. Yasur Volcano.
Yasur is a Strombolian type of Volcano that has been active for hundreds of years. It sits on top of a subduction plate and vents regularly, ejecting large lava bombs and ash. Strombolian volcanos are continuously active scoria cones with frequent, mild eruptions.
Major eruptions happen but are very different than volcanos like Mount Saint Helen or the Hawaiian Volcanos.
Mount Saint Helen is a highly explosive Plinian type volcano and Hawaii is an Effusive Shield type with large explose lava flows. (Your geology lesson for the day)
Anyway, we got to walk up to the rim of Mt. Yasur yesterday and witnessed a very active scene. Heat, sulfur gas, explosions, flying hot stones and sharp terrain were in our face. Freaking crazy. This wasn’t on our bucket list but definitely one of the highlights of this cruising season. Hot natural springs and vents are also around the island. Even our anchorage had vents and hot water emitting around the rocks. Swimming around these vents is at your own risk, as the difference between 85 degree water and 180 degrees maybe only a few feet away. 😳
This is the first of 3 of 4 more islands as we move up the chain of Vanuatu.
Notes on Tanna;
-no Malaria on this island
-no trading with the locals but “gifting”
-cooler here but hotter as we move northward
-the Kava is damn strong 🤪
-the tree fruits here would support this islands population x 3
-islands are more similar to the Marquesas.
-the Chinese are here and working hard.🤔
-everyone is so darn happy and happy to see you (most appear to be more height/weight proportionate than other Pacific islanders)
Our World Adventure 