We were greeted into Vanuatu waters this morning at 7 am by a welcoming committee of at least a dozen sperm whales! These amazing animals can grow to more than 50 feet long and dive as deep as 6,000 feet or more. With a life span of more than 60 years, they are believed to have the largest brain of any animal on earth. As we watched them feeding around the ship, they simply had us mesmerized.
Still fascinated by this incredible sight, we later went ashore at Lelepa Island, where the revered Chief Roi Mata had died in Fels Cave more than 500 years ago after bringing peace to the islands, a respite from prolonged warfare in the islands. Fels Cave has a large domal structure, and unlike many caves, it is uniquely made of tuff, or volcanic ash turned to rock. Much of the landscape in the islands of Vanuatu is shaped by volcanic activity, since Vanuatu sits between large oceanic plates where one dives under the other, creating the conditions for volcanoes to develop.
While the natural history of the terrain was very interesting, the cultural significance was striking as well – the cave hosted a remarkable timeline of petroglyphs, from 3,000 years old to 450 years old. Before leaving Lelepa Island, we stopped to see the handicrafts of the village women who had come to the beach to greet us as well. Their beautiful baskets, woven from the pandanus leaves, became a souvenir for many of us. Some of us even got a lesson in how to actually do the basket-weaving.
Our afternoon was devoted to exploring the nearby coral reef between Lelepa Island and Éfaté Island. We saw a tremendous diversity of coral and fish species, including giant healthy colonies of lettuce-leaf coral, small young colonies of at least a dozen branching corals, encrusting and domal coral colonies, all of kaleidoscopic beauty along with all the surgeonfish, damselfish, butterflyfish, triggerfish, and other reef dwellers, such as the Christmas tree worms, which look like something Dr. Seuss may have invented. On several occasions, we did not need to snorkel to encounter marine life; the marine life simply jumped out of the water to show itself! Those who went on Zodiac cruises earlier in the afternoon were lucky to see playful spinner dolphins and strange-looking flying squid!
Often today, we discussed the subject of the destructive cyclone that pummelled Vanuatu in March 2015. We will be visiting one of the hardest hit areas, Tanna, on Wednesday and have already prepared some donations in the form of school supplies for the local children.
Our evening ended with Mike Greenfelder showing us footage he shot earlier that day of the spectacular underwater world we snorkelled. We are excited to continue our exploration of Vanuatu tomorrow, with river trips, World War II historical tours, bird walks, and more!
