Santa Ana Island, Solomon Islands
During the night, the wind and currents were not in our favor, and we were delayed a bit with our morning plans. But this allowed time for Bob to educate and amuse us with a great presentation on Pidgin English, “Evri samting yu wantem save long Bislama be yu fraet blong askem” (Everything you wanted to know about Bislama but were afraid to ask).
Shortly before 10am, we passed through a narrow break in the fringing reef at Santa Ana Island, just off the larger island of Makira. Inside this protected harbor, our Zodiacs made landfall on the sandy beach at Ghupuna village. Our first impressions were surprise as painted warriors charged out at us with alarming cries and decorated spears raised, threatening us with their traditional greeting. These startling theatrics were quickly forgotten as we walked up the beach where beautiful decorations of flowers, some in banana tree trunks and others as spirals of hibiscus in palm fronds, lined our entrance to this lovely village. Our path into the village was bordered by islanders who had set up a shopping mall of local carved handicrafts. Most notably, here we found a multitude of unique carved fishing floats, as well as a variety of shell products.
This path through the thatched roof village led us to a field where the dance performances were held. There was a wonderful variety of dances and dancers, and all of us, travelers and locals alike, enjoyed the performances. The dance with the mud men was particularly interesting. The local villagers were frequently hooting and laughing, and many times we wondered what they found so funny. There was also a terrific band of young men playing bamboo pipes of varying sizes ranging from small handheld pan pipes played by mouth and larger ones on stands played with what appeared to be old flipflops (thong sandals).
It was a quick turnaround for those who went on the long walk after lunch. It was an easy walk through groves of palms, ferns and morning glory vines to the village of Natagera. On arrival, the walkers were surrounded by young boys who wanted to play, mimicking the dancers and the earlier threat welcome. The children were eager to have their pictures taken. The Chief of the village greeted visitors to the Spirit House. (Sorry, no women allowed inside.) The Spirit House is home to carvings, skulls and bones, and containers shaped like canoes with the ash remains of earlier village chiefs and warriors.
Snorkelers and divers had a lovely afternoon under fair skies at a wonderful spot just outside the entrance to the reef. As we sailed from this delightful bay, David Doubilet impressed us all with a slide show presentation of his beautiful and dramatic underwater photographs from coral reefs across the Pacific.
During the night, the wind and currents were not in our favor, and we were delayed a bit with our morning plans. But this allowed time for Bob to educate and amuse us with a great presentation on Pidgin English, “Evri samting yu wantem save long Bislama be yu fraet blong askem” (Everything you wanted to know about Bislama but were afraid to ask).
Shortly before 10am, we passed through a narrow break in the fringing reef at Santa Ana Island, just off the larger island of Makira. Inside this protected harbor, our Zodiacs made landfall on the sandy beach at Ghupuna village. Our first impressions were surprise as painted warriors charged out at us with alarming cries and decorated spears raised, threatening us with their traditional greeting. These startling theatrics were quickly forgotten as we walked up the beach where beautiful decorations of flowers, some in banana tree trunks and others as spirals of hibiscus in palm fronds, lined our entrance to this lovely village. Our path into the village was bordered by islanders who had set up a shopping mall of local carved handicrafts. Most notably, here we found a multitude of unique carved fishing floats, as well as a variety of shell products.
This path through the thatched roof village led us to a field where the dance performances were held. There was a wonderful variety of dances and dancers, and all of us, travelers and locals alike, enjoyed the performances. The dance with the mud men was particularly interesting. The local villagers were frequently hooting and laughing, and many times we wondered what they found so funny. There was also a terrific band of young men playing bamboo pipes of varying sizes ranging from small handheld pan pipes played by mouth and larger ones on stands played with what appeared to be old flipflops (thong sandals).
It was a quick turnaround for those who went on the long walk after lunch. It was an easy walk through groves of palms, ferns and morning glory vines to the village of Natagera. On arrival, the walkers were surrounded by young boys who wanted to play, mimicking the dancers and the earlier threat welcome. The children were eager to have their pictures taken. The Chief of the village greeted visitors to the Spirit House. (Sorry, no women allowed inside.) The Spirit House is home to carvings, skulls and bones, and containers shaped like canoes with the ash remains of earlier village chiefs and warriors.
Snorkelers and divers had a lovely afternoon under fair skies at a wonderful spot just outside the entrance to the reef. As we sailed from this delightful bay, David Doubilet impressed us all with a slide show presentation of his beautiful and dramatic underwater photographs from coral reefs across the Pacific.
