Hi..I'm Siva.. The one you are waiting for...
Whats your name..?
Oh Jack.
Jack. Can we leave..?
fine...
Saturday 10:10
It was a short trip from airport to the resort. It was so peaceful a place, less crowded roads (if you could call that a road) and pretty raw. I checked in at the hotel and I was amazed to see how professional they were. The receptionist gave a big lecture though.
Okies... so we won't have power after 10:30 in the night
and comes back only around 7:30 in the morning.
Okies... No fans/air-cons in the room. I don't mind that.
Generators will be switched on when power goes in the morning.
Fax will not work blah blah blah...
The room was pretty good for a night stay, roof made of coconut leaves and cozy, Windows on all sides and nice breeze. You wont even need an AC in here. not even a fan for that matter and the resort had a nice view of the beach from the dining area.
Saturday 11:27
I didn't want to waste much time in the resort, so took my camera and went out for a walk. Not many foreigners around and the place seemed like its your own. Walked for a few mins and I hit a beach. Tanna isn't famous for its beaches. The shores were ragged. It looked like solidified lava.
Saturday 11:50
Enters Jack 2
Hi...
Jack...
I'm Siva...
From India...
You are from here..?
oh oh.. that's your house...
so you look after those boats...
hmm... those belong to a resort is it..?
Is that your kayak...?
oh okies.. you go out fishing daily with that...
and the conversation continued for sometime about Tanna, Vanuatu, India and stuff. He was very happy to show around the place. Took me to Blue hole 1 and 2, the snorkeling place in Tanna and around the coastline showing different things...
Little Jack
More Jacks
I waved bye to everyone around and returned to my resort
Saturday 13:25
Hi... What time will be the trip to Volcano...
3:30...
Okies can you call me at my room around 3...
Coz its such a nice breeze and I surely might sleep. So pls...
Saturday 15:25
Hi Jack...
You'll be our driver and guide too?
Cool... How much will it take to the Volcano..?
2 to 3 hrs... that long is it..?
The road was as expected. No tarmac and all. But the winding roads, greenery everywhere and less people on the road made it a great trip. We passed through several villages which were so basic, there is no electricity, TV and stuff...
These girls were walking from the main town to their village...Around 8 hours walk...
Jack was pretty adept to that terrain. He drove fast when needed, and slowed before we could see the bumps. The ride in the ash plains was itself a great experience...
Saturday 17:49
Worse thing happened. The one I didn't want to happen. It was little overcast during the afternoon and suddenly it started raining. Everyone warned me that if it rains, you get to see only smoke coming out of the volcano and no chance of fireworks. I could see my 500$ melting in rain. I was literally praying and voila it stopped.
Moral of the story: God is there...
Saturday 18:13
We reached the base of the Mt.Yasur and started climbing. We could hear the eruptions from the base itself. I couldnt control myself. I didnt want another rain to come and spoil it. I climbed as fast as I could and there I was witnessing Nature at its best... Piravi Payan Adainthaen...
No words to describe it... It was such a wonderful experience. Standing on the rim of the volcano, heavy winds pushing you, watching the eruption and smelling sulphur...
Saturday 19:15
It got very dark soon and we started returning. It started raining again. It was pitch black everywhere. The lights in the 4WD didn't help much and even then Mr.Jack showed no signs of reducing the speed. I could hardly see a few meters but he was driving like a rally car. Nothing bad as I thought happened and we were back on the roads again.
Saturday 20:45
Jack asked everyone to let him stop for a bottle of Kava on the way to the resort for his friends. We stopped by at the dimly lit Kava shop. I didn't want to let the opportunity pass. Kava is the local drink and how nice it was to end the day with a sip of Kava.
...to be continued
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