This tiny island called Mystery Island, or Anelghowhat by the Vanuatuans, is about one mile in length, and quite narrow. It is surrounded by coral reefs and home to parrot fish, moon wrasse, sea cucumbers, as well as corals and anenomes. There is a legend here that in the 1850's Australian men captured local natives to transport them from this island to Australia's Queensland sugar cane plantations. During World War II, the US Army developed an airstrip so they could utilize this island as a re-fueling station. That same grassy airstrip takes up the center portion of this island.
There are no people permanently living here, but when a cruise ship arrives, natives from the nearby and larger Aneytium Island come here to offer tours, island clothing, handicrafts and beverages. Another service offered here are the massage tables like we saw on Dravuni Island.
It was written in the port guide that there is no electricity, running water, and internet or cell phone service. We would discover after we arrived there that is not exactly correct. This was our first visit here, so we did not know what to expect.
The ship arrived early, and dropped anchor around 7am. The tender boats were lowered and were ready to go. Shortly after that, the cruise director began calling tender tickets. The weather appeared "iffy" early in the morning as there were light showers passing over while we ate breakfast. It sure dropped the temperature, which was nice. The heavy muggy humidity has left us for now. We did hope the sun would peek out, as that makes all the difference with the color of the water.
There were shore excursions here like two tours that ended up at the larger island to meet the Chief and his warriors. They taught the visitors all about survival on these islands and the history of cannibalism. On one of these tours, they took passengers into their homes, talked about arranged marriages, and displayed their gardening and cooking skills. The other three tours were water-related with glass bottom kayaks and snorkeling. Fairly expensive, for one to one and a half hours, these tours ran from $80 to $100. These same excursions would be available directly on the island, and we are certain the prices were much less.
So we went over around 10:30am, after all of the tender tickets had been called. Much easier than fighting the crowd that insists on being first. All aboard was 4:30pm, so we had plenty of time. The ride was fairly short, and despite some wind, it was easy getting off at their new pier. There were more folks relaxing on the sandy beaches, than in the water. The beach was not the same as the beach in Dravuni. Here there were huge areas of coral and volcanic rock, so unless you were prepared with aqua shoes, getting in and out of the water could be dicey. Even those snorkelers who wore flippers had a difficult time with the sharp rocks.
Once off of the pier, we saw numerous stands of souvenirs and tour offers. A band of singers welcomed everyone with island music. We took a right turn to get out of this crowded area, and ran right into Howard and Gyl, who said they had been here years ago. Back then, it did not look like a mini-Disneyland. It was laid back with a few tents of treasures….not like what we saw today. Touristy is the word for it. Oh well, can't blame the locals for wanting to make a few bucks, as you can take it or leave it. All we intended to do was take a walk and get some photos.
One thing that was stressed with the island was that there was no protected bay like on Dravuni. This was open to the coral reefs and strong currents. For that reason, some of the upper part of the island was off limits for swimming. Unfortunately, not everyone saw these small signs. We learned this fact by watching the lecture on the island before arriving here. Not a problem for us, as we did not go swimming today.
Now on the subject of no electricity. This island had solar panels, water tanks, and we did see people using their cell phones. Whether they had wifi, we don't know. When we reached the grassy runway of the airport, we saw two tall communication towers. There was even a local worker climbing one of them for a repair, we assume. What we did find were well maintained sandy walkways, clean sandy beaches, outhouses, and even small individual cabanas to rent near a few bars with drinks. Part of the beach was covered with volcanic rocks, exposed from low tide. Difficult to walk on, but probably not as hard as walking on the sand. Sand that is not wet is not favorable to a knee problem. Just took one of us longer to circle the island.
As far as wildlife is concerning, we may have seen one bird. But what we did spot were many giant spider webs with some fierce-looking spiders in the middle. One had to be careful going through the palm trees and brush to get to the surf, because these spiders had webs everywhere.
Yesterday, while hiking back in Port Vila, we met a nice staff member that joined the ship the previous day. He is the new acupuncturist, and said his contract will see him through the end of the world cruise and more. He is from the state of Oregon, and seems happy to be onboard. His services will begin tomorrow, the next sea day. Anyway, we ran into him again on Mystery Island, and he said he is ready to go, and over the jetlag. Of course, he has youth on his side, which really helps.
At one of the souvenir stands, we did find a very nice t-shirt that was hand painted. Probably will have to hand wash it to preserve the painting on the front. The rest of the items were the same as we saw in all of the Vanuatu ports, although some things said Mystery Island on them. And near these stands was the highlight of the island…..a huge cooking pot for cannibal soup. If you wanted a photo taken, it would cost $5.
The clouds were beginning to move over the area again, so we decided to go back before the tenders got too busy. Back on the ship by 2pm, we went to the Lido for our salad and pizza lunch. No dining room or Pinnacle lunch once again. At least that gave some of the crew a chance to stretch their legs and go swimming for a few hours. The ride back took a little longer, because we had to wait for another tender to off-load their guests. The wind was blowing good by now, and transferring to the ship was slower. Better safe than sorry.
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing on our veranda, and working on photos. There was a sail away gathering at the aft pool, but we went up to deck nine to get some better shots of the islands. Once the ship turned around to leave, we knew people might blow off of the Seaview pool area.
Dinner time had yet another fish entrée called opakipaki or something close to that. One of our waiters said it was OK, but not all of the early diners raved about it. Then Tama said it was good, so he did bring the chicken Caesar salad, but he also brought the fish dinner. Turned out to be excellent…more like a seasoned mahi-mahi. Dessert was a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream with one small but rich chocolate cake.
Something we have just recently noticed was that the after dinner treats of mints, dried prunes, ginger, and dried apricots are no longer manned by the uniformed "yum-yum" person by the dining room entrance. Tama said he may be there on the lower level, but now they wear the dining room vest like the assistant waiters. Another longtime tradition has bit the dust.
The ship has traveled as far west as it will go on this trip. So tonight, we began the first of the clocks ahead for one hour. We really don't like this, but what they gave us with hours back, they are taking them away now.
With a couple of days at seas, we will be re-energized for the ports in Tonga.
Bill & Mary Ann
