Tom, Tanna
03 October 2013 | Vanuatu
Heather Manfredi
Our next new friend in this lovely place is Tom. We saw him out paddling in his impressive hand built/crafted outrigger canoe and waved him over for a chat. He saw that we had kids on board and asked if Luca wanted to make a bow and arrow with him the next day and hunt pigs!! Well, you should have seen luca's face. We saw the bow and arrow that Tom used on his little boat and that is how they get their protein around here, no popping off to the supermarket for clingwrapped meat and fish. Looking at how fit these villagers were there seems to be a lot going for hunting down your dinner. Tom also plied us with some of his local spinach and island cabbage which are both delicious. We asked what we could do for him in return, but he didn't want anything and was about to go with a promise of bananas in the morning. He then shyly asked if I knew how how make banana bread. A previous yachtie had made some for him and it was a big hit in the village. I was more than happy to comply and had a family sized one ready for him the next day. We were walking around the island the next day so we missed Luca's pig hunting and bow and arrow making session, but when we saw Tom in the evening he paddled over with a beautifully crafted one for him (see picture). Isabella was of course a bit miffed that she didn't have one so I had to explain that the culture in these islands is for males generally be the hunters. I am not sure she bought the idea though!