A day that started out overcast and humdrum turned out to be delightful ...
July 30th, Vanuatu's official Independence Day, was the last of several days of festivities all over the islands. We dinghied ashore and walked to the nearest village, where brightly festooned roadside vendor booths offered food and handicrafts. Music blared from loudspeakers at the grandstand while villagers milled about, enjoying their holiday. We continued our walk along the dusty road, which is being widened and resurfaced thanks to a grant by the US Millennium Fund, though few Ni-Vans seem to know it. Not very effective US PR.

A pickup truck flying a NZ flag stopped and offered us a ride, so we climbed aboard: two cheerful Kiwi couples were on an island tour and invited us to come along! Matty, a foreman for the road works, honked and waved at everyone we passed, many of them workers on his road crew. We stopped at another village in the midst of celebration, and met Noelle, a Peace Corps worker from Colorado who trains teachers. I was surprised that the Kiwis had never heard of the Peace Corps.

Then we drove to a large waterfront property that was once the rec area for US Naval officers. Tall Norfolk pines, albeit a bit crooked, have miraculously survived over sixty cyclones seasons. On the return trip Matty stopped often to show us remains of US tanks and other rusting debris sinking into the lagoon and mangroves, left behind when the troops withdrew. We returned the island tour favor by inviting our new friends aboard for a rum punch at sunset.