Malekula, Vanuatu 2014

Malekula is an island that begs for a lot of time.  Unfortunately, as the winds continued to increase in strength right from the direction we wanted to go and we were feeling the crunch of having to get to Fiji to get hauled and catch our flights home, we could only make one stop at Banon.   Certainly not the highlight of Malekula, but a pleasant place nonetheless and we were met immediately on the beach by villagers who offered to take us up to their waterfall.   First we had to get permission from the waterfall chief.

Our guides carried machetes which were a big help in cutting through all the vines that clutched at our ankles along the trail.   We were not allowed to jump in the pool, though, as it was the water source the village drank from.    They identified flora along the way.   Here our guide opens up a cocoa bean.