Vanuatu (part 2) - Swimmin' with the Fishies

Luganville, Santo, Vanuatu

The weather on Saturday, September 3, was cold and rainy. That kind of weather doesn't lend itself to outdoor activities.  So I took Matt on a walking tour of the town and we stopped in several stores just to see what they had. Quite often the store had what the store next door had.  But it was fun to wonder through them, chatting, holding hands and enjoying our time together.  Then we found out about snorkeling on the little island of Aore just off the coast of Santo. Because of the direction of the wind, the Aore coast was calm, so we borrowed some snorkel masks and ran to the little boat dock that takes us over to Aore island and resort. We made it, but just barely.  We were the last ones on the boat.

Being the last ones on the boat meant we were on the front row. Between the rain and the choppy water splashing up over the boat, we were getting soaked.  We didn't mind.  But then the salt water spray started stinging our eyes and making it hard to see. What to do, what to do...?
We wore our masks the rest of the way.  It worked like a charm.

When we got to Aore the water was indeed calm and the beach was empty.  Perfect.

We walked down the beach a ways and found a good spot that wasn't in front of the resort beach houses.  I think I've only been snorkeling one other time in my life.  That would have been somewhere around 1993.  It took a while to get the snorkel masks to work right and to learn how to walk with the flippers on. 

There isn't a whole lot of grace when wearing snorkeling gear on land.  Matt told me it's easier to walk backwards with the flippers on.  So I tried that and soon we were swimmin' with the fishies.  It's a whole different experience to move when you're in the water. Here we are taking turns going a deeper.  The water was much more clear than it looks here.


The water makes us look more pale than we really are... or maybe it's the lack of pigment in our skin.  It's hard to say which one.

Another lesson we learned right off the bat is this... it's hard to smile or to look cute when wearing snorkel masks.  We did our best.

This being our first experience snorkeling in the open ocean, we were pretty excited at seeing as many fish as we did.  I'm sure there are places in the world that put Aore beach to shame, but we loved it.  Here are some cute zebra fish (can you see all 5?) and a star fish that looks like it's trying to climb out of the coral.

 Here's a closeup of some zebra fish.  


Matt was super excited when he found this blue starfish.   It was as snug as a bug in a rug, or as cushy as a fishy in the coral.  He went down to get a closer look.

We ended up finding several more of these blue starfish.  They really are a beautiful color and a kind of velvety soft.


Matt brought one up and... put it on his head (of course...?) 

Here's Matt and the starfish saying "Hi!" (or "How!" depending on your nationality.)


I had my turn with the starfish, too.  Not sure why my hair looks blazing red here, but my Grandmother would have been proud.

We swam and snorkeled and enjoyed several hours of ocean and beach to ourselves.   We took the boat back to Santo island and headed to our hotel for some hot chocolate.  The perfect way to end a super fun day.

Vanuatu (part 1) - My Island Home

Once upon a time I was a missionary in the unique and beautiful islands of Vanuatu. I got home in 1999. When I left my mission, some dear friends from my first area gave me a going away gift of a parapara (aka lava lava) that said "Honeymoon Vanuatu." We laughed as we planned a return trip with my husband someday... I figure 12 years counts as "someday."

Matt and I had a simple honeymoon in Southern Utah when we got married. We planned on taking a trip to Samoa for two weeks for our first anniversary. My parents were serving a mission there and my oldest brother, Brett, and his family have lived there for almost 2 years and Matt hadn't met them yet. Unfortunately a few weeks before we were supposed to leave for Samoa my mom got really sick and after 2 weeks in the hospital she and my dad had to returned to Utah. We decided to change our trip and go to Vanuatu for a week and then Samoa for a week. Honeymoon Vanuatu, here we come!!!

It would be quite the itinerary to get us there...

Salt Lake City - Los Angeles -  Aukland, New Zealand - Sydney, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu

So, let's get to some pictures! We would be on 11 flights from beginning to end of our trip, so it seems appropriate to begin with pictures at airports. This is Matt and I in Sydney, Australia (after flight 3 of the trip). If you look closely at the plane behind us it is Air Vanuatu! We were getting all sorts of excited by this point!

After traveling for almost 30 hours we were in Port Vila, Vanuatu!! Gratefully Matt and I had both been able to sleep relatively well on the 13-hour flight to New Zealand. Turns out being able to lay on the person sleeping next to you makes for a better chance at sleep. Who knew? Here I am, happy happy to be in my island home once again.

We finally got through customs and were grateful that all our luggage made it through to Vanuatu. I was nervous to speak in Bislama, but when my friends Honore and Mary Tiasinmal weren't there to pick us up I had my first chance. A taxi driver asked us if we needed a ride and I said, "No." (that's Bislama for, "No."). But then I followed it up by asking if he happened to know Honore Tiasinmal (I love small towns). He did, but said he hadn't seen him at the airport. Shortly thereafter a van honked and a happy young man waved at us. It took me a minute to recognize the Tiasinmal's son Giovani, who was 5 when I was on my mission. Now he's almost 18.

We stopped by the Tiasinmal's home and had a great talk with Mary and Honore. I have so many good memories of this family. Giovani had been my little buddy for the months that I served in that little branch. This family is the one that gave me the "Honeymoon Vanuatu" parapara. It was so good to see them again, doing well and enjoying their family.

I had only been able to give my friends in Port Vila a few days notice that we were coming. It turned out to be terrible timing for them because of conferences and meetings. It worked out fine because we flew to Santo (where I spent half my mission) the next morning and spent several days there before coming back to Vila for a day and a half.

So, on to Santo. We took a little puddle jumper over to Santo on Friday September 2. The flight is only 45 minutes and the plane holds up to 17 passengers. It wasn't a full flight... in fact, this picture shows the entire cabin and all 8 passengers!

We had a great view of Malekula and Ambrym (two other islands in the Vanuatu chain) as we flew to Santo. Look at that water!


Matt and I sat in the front seats so he could see out the cockpit window. There is no separation between the cockpit and the cabin so he was taking pictures of the instrument panel then zooming in to see the readings. We're coming in for our landing.

We took a taxi to Unity Park Motel, which is where another favorite family lives. Ian and Norah Mahit are the managers of this hotel. On my mission we stopped almost daily at the motel to use their bathroom or to chat with Ian who was in the branch presidency. He became Branch president a few years later and is currently the president of the Santo District. He is a kind and gentle man. I was so excited to see him again.

Ian thought it would be fun NOT to tell Norah that we were coming. She had opened a stall next to the market where you can buy a plate of her delicious food for about $3.50. He told us to go visit her and called to have her watch for some hotel guests who he'd sent over. She was leaning out her little window when she saw us. She waved kindly and then stopped abruptly. She yelled out, "Kas! Sista Mak?" (translated, that means "Good grief! Is that Sister Macdonald!?") It was a fun reunion and a yummy lunch.

One of the families I taught on my mission was Saksak and Fiona Gislapno. I had some wonderful experiences with them that taught me a great deal about the gospel.  They had no idea we were coming. A recently returned missionary named Charles works for Ian at the motel. He volunteered to show us the way to Saksak and Fiona's home. We talked with Charlie all the way there about his experience in joining the church, his mission, and what he's been doing since. He's quite a remarkable young man.

When we got to the house Saksak and Fiona weren't home, only a sister-in-law. We sat on a bench in the yard and she called Saksak. He couldn't believe we were there. He and Fiona were at a wedding, but said they would leave immediately (the ceremony was over, they were just eating). Meanwhile, we notice a young man with a beautiful smile watching us from the house. He finally came over and I realized it was Jack, Saksak and Fiona's son. He came and gave me several hugs and couldn't stop smiling as I introduced him to Matt. He's very shy and didn't say much, mostly smiled.  Here we are at church a few days later.

He was so young when I knew him, about 3 years old. I couldn't help but remember when I was a missionary and was called to the hospital by Saksak. Jack's sick body was limp in his father's arms. Within a short time the elders arrived, a blessing was given and the heaven's answered immediately.

When Saksak and Fiona arrived we had a wonderful reunion. We talked for a while sitting on a mat in the shade. They talked of challenges and blessings. It was surreal to be sitting there in Santo, on a mat with Saksak, Fiona, their two daughters Cinderella and Fiorella, and my very own Matt.

Saksak, Fiona, and Cinderella walked us back to the hotel.


We went to church on Sunday with the Santo branch. It was wonderful! They had Relief Society and Priesthood first. Matt happily went to priesthood and sat next to a friendly man who asked if Matt was a tourist visiting. Matt told the man he was here with his wife, who had served in Santo years ago. When he said my name was Sister Macdonald, the man was thrilled. It was Fred Manses, whose family was one of the early members in Santo. He and his wife Nancy found me afterwards and we laughed and talked about old times. Their son just returned from his mission and their daughter was there with her third child. I L-O-V-E-D every minute of it.  Here we are with Saksak and Fiona.  (It's a little blurry, but I just love them).
It was fast Sunday and we sooo enjoyed hearing the testimonies of the members. Matt was starting to pick up on some Bislama (we had been in-country for 3 whole days). There is a lot of Engish, but the accents and pronunciation can make it tricky to understand. I translated the testimonies but the spirit of the meeting needed no translation. It happened to be Father's day in Vanuatu on that Sunday, so there was a cake and a rousing chorus of "Happy Father's Day To You!" sung by the Relief Society sisters. Can you find Matt amongst the fathers? (Hint: He's wearing a white shirt).


We flew back to Vila on Monday morning.  We spent our last evening  in Vanuatu (Monday, September 5) at Family Home Evening with Mariella & Katimol Kaun, the Tiasinmal family, and Honore's parents. We loved it! Loved watching little Beverly (4 years) leading the music and switching arms when one got tired; loved hearing Honore's mother bear her testimony; loved eating dinner for hours because we were talking and laughing so much no one was eating; loved sharing a table with my husband and with these wonderful people, pioneers in their land. How I loved to be in my island home again and to share it with my Matt.  Happy, happy times.