awo maewo

On February 6th we were sitting at my parents’ house, drinking my papa’s spicy pineapple homebrew and eating chicken wings. I got a call from Thomas- apparently Manaro has volcanic activity. Katie, a volunteer on Maewo, called our Country Director with this news. She told him that from her village, they could see lava shooting into the sky and bursts of light. I talked to her later that night and she told me that everyone in Baitora said it was the first time they’ve seen something like that. So I told my folks and they brushed it off, saying that the flashes of light happen when it gets too hot and that we weren’t in the danger zone. They are pretty practical people, so I believed them and slept peacefully. The next morning Grace, Kathleen, Thomas, Avery, and I were on a boat, evacuating Ambae to head over to Maewo. Nothing more had been reported, but Peace Corps has to play it on the safe side. Plus, Manaro is one of the world’s top 10 most dangerous volcanoes (whoops, sorry mom, did I never mention that?) so getting off the island “just in case” was fine with me. Even if it meant that all the manAmbae who heard we were leaving cheeked us for doing so. This was my first time seeing Ambae from the water! I’d been on canoes before, but this time I got to enjoy the whole panorama of the island in all of its beauty. It really is a stunning place. But sitting on top of it was an eerily fluffy cloud which looked like no other clouds in the sky at the time. The boat driver commented on this, too, saying he’s never seen a cloud like this sit on top of Manaro.

I just reread what I wrote and it’s a pretty heavy dose of spooky foreshadowing. So before you get too anxious, I’ll tell you know- nothing came out of it. Manaro and the toxic lake it sleeps in did not explode and Ambae still remains. For now…………..

ambae crew

thomas, avery, and kathleen

photo shoot

 

blue everything

We arrive to Narovorovo and settle in to a little island-style bungalow on the water. We make some lunch, explore a bit, and spend the day catching up. That night we grabbed kava in the village and did funny solar light introductions with the community. 

The next day Avery, Thomas, and I walked over to Phil’s village Nasawa. He showed us the caves that are close to his house. One has smooth, round rocks stacked on top of each other, placed strategically underneath dripping water. Over time, the water smooths down the rocks and created pseudo stalagmites. There were hundreds of them! This tradition has gone on for longer than anyone around could say. We also went to moon cave, a huge cave you can swim in. At the top of moon cave, there is an indention in the stone in the shape of a large round circle. The kastom story is that Tagaro (Ambae and Maewo’s god) would hang out in there. It was so bright in there and so dark outside at night, so he had an idea. He cut out a piece of the cave and threw it into the sky to make the moon. It’s true, too, so don’t try and rebuttal!

go pro at phils

inside moon cave

We got back to Nasawa and Phil’s mom had made us an amazing banana pie. We swam in his spring-fed shower and headed back to homebase. When we got back, Grace and Kathleen informed us that we could head back to Ambae! Peace Corps met with Meteo and the Office of Natural Disasters and nothing was showing up on the radars or in the equipment they have placed within the cone. Turns out that it must have been something atmospheric around the volcano versus being seismic. Yahoo! A few weeks later I saw Katie and she showed me the pictures she took of Manaro firing up- it was definitely something. I would have called the Peace Corps, too! That night we watched a vibrant sunset over Ambae and the next morning, we were on our way home. It poured rain the whole 1 ½ hour trip back, but it was a glorious break from the hot sun and drought we’ve been experiencing. Our unexpected little evacuation turned out to be a great visit to Maewo. Thanks Peace Corps for the free trip!

that's ambae back there!

heading home

wet

dry

Avery had told us that a Canadian named Dr. Jack and his family were in his village when he had to leave. Dr. Jack worked at Lolowai hospital for many years and was back to visit his host family, colleagues, and friends. They were set up for the week in house in Lolowai and saw us come off the boat. They offered us breakfast and coffee and we had a chance to chat about Ambae stuff. His daughter and her husband were there, too, just spending a few months on Santo doing a 6 month program on Santo for med school. She was a little girl growing up on Ambae and told stories of growing up here. It was so interesting hearing their perspective and experiences living on this little remote island 20 years ago and seeing the changes that have developed since.

I got back to my site bearing the gift of fresh mincemeat. On the 8th, school “started” back, but today was the 10th and no one was at school. They were let out because it was too hot and no one could focus. Plus, the first day of school here doesn’t get the grand entrance that we give it in America. Only about a third of the students come the first two weeks while their parents collect school fees. I told the teachers about the rain-drenched boat ride and they were shocked – no rain reached Northeast Ambae! And it has been that way for few weeks at this point. The school has drinking water, but many villages’ wells are dry. That night we had burgers for dinner and I shared my Maewo stories and pictures with my folks. So happy that it was a short trip and nothing too serious!