![\"Ireupuow](\"https:\/\/yachtadina.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Tanna-10.jpg\")
<\/a>Ireupuow Village<\/p><\/div>\n
Ireupuow soon got our attention. We thought houses made with palm tree leaves were largely a thing of the past. But here was the real thing set in lush green surroundings \u2013 dried brown leaf houses and dark mud pathways wandering here, there and everywhere. Life is largely subsistence living and, to be fair, the Ni-Vanuatu (people of Vanuatu) are extremely lucky when it comes to growing fruit and vegetables \u2013 we get the impression they can grow anything! Life is simple and a village may have a store or two for basic items like sugar, rice, oil etc. So with no markets, we need to trade. And it\u2019s so much more fun. More often than not you\u2019ll get gifts of fruit just for spending some time talking with someone \u2013 it\u2019s just so abundant and Adina was soon overloaded with mango, banana, papaya and pineapple.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Vegetable picking with Carolyn and Mary<\/p><\/div>\n
We met a lovely lady called Carolyn who told us she was off to her vegetable garden to get vegetables for the family and we were welcome to join her and her little daughter Mary. We grew extremely fond of Mary, she was always there with a big smile, always helping her mother. Each family has its own vegetable garden located on the outskirts of the village. It\u2019s great fun tagging along as you get to see more of the village, the neighbouring village, stopping off and talking to others. Arriving at the small allotment Carolyn started hacking, digging and just handing us stuff, \u201cThis is for you\u201d. We muck in offering to help. And this is how you get absorbed into local village life. The longer you stay the more they absorb you and we were in no rush. You meet more people, get invited to do things. It got to the stage Carolyn would just hand her baby over to Susie, \u201cSusie, I\u2019m just going to talk to my cousin, please can you look after Melissa\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Stanley in charge of the yachts<\/p><\/div>\n
Of course, it\u2019s not all picture perfect. We soon worked out our guide, Stanley, was making a little side profit on taxi rides to the main town, we learnt you need to get your goodies before you hand over anything in a trade, and in fact like anywhere else you travel, you need to wade past a few frontline sharks. It\u2019s a fact of life, some people think short term cash, some people have a long term vision and reap greater rewards. But by far the vast majority wanted a fair trade. People turned up at the boat with fish or fruit asking if we could please charge a phone or portable DVD player (no electricity but still some Japanese goodies). No problem. One man came with lobsters asking for 1 litre of fuel \u2013 bargain trade! He wanted to know if we had anything he could fix a hole in his wooden boat with. We gave him some wood glue, talked through how best to make the repairs and he invited us to his village offering fruit and vegetables in return. The Ni-Vanuatu we met were proud people and want to pay their way. We too like to give back as we get so much from them, beyond just the physical trades. And we\u2019ve learnt Ni-Vanuatus love a cake.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Mount Yasur blows!<\/p><\/div>\n
We set off on our Yasur volcano trip with Weery from the local yacht club and Stanley, our village guide. Bump, bump along the dirt roads, hand over \u00a340 and start walking to the rim of the volcano. You hear the volcano before you see it. And what an intimidating noise. A deep grumbling sound from its belly before it shoots another bowl of lava skyward. It\u2019s quite awe-inspiring and at the same time slightly terrifying. Stanley perched himself down on a bench and we wondered off walking along the rim of the volcano. We\u2019d arrived as the sun was setting but it was once it got dark that we really got to see the spectacular bursts of lava shooting up, golden and bright into the dark of night. At times the wind would blow and your reward was piles of fine ash all over you \u2013 a shower would be needed on our return home. Just fabulous \u2013 some marshmallows and a very long stick would have sealed the evening!<\/p>\n