Written by
Gil Theriault
Travel writer and photographer
from Quebec, Canada
I come from a tiny island in the Province of Quebec, Canada.
Weirdly enough, when I got to the other end of the world, in another
tiny island, I found the very same convivial ambiance that made my
native place, Magdalen Islands, one of the most popular tourist
destination in the east of Canada.
Ni-Vanuatu people engage
conversation easily with a perfect stranger. And if you still
worrying about cannibalism, a local told me: “No problem man, I ate
the last one yesterday!” In the same week, I learn the sea lovers
shouldn’t be afraid of shark when they swim in the pristine water
surrounding the islands: I heard the alligators ate them all. With that
sense of humor and kava, the traditional and euphoric beverage, no wonder
they were crowned the happiest people on Earth in 2006.
And I guess
waking up every morning in the luxurious setting of this tropical island
doesn’t hurt any. I only spend a short time in Vanuatu and stuck to the
island of Éfaté. Even then, I had the occasion of visiting the inland,
abseiling the waterfall, walking the canyon and river,… and
submerging myself in that impetuously fertile and generous environment.
Imagine that 83 times. In a world where you buy African djembé in New-York
and eat Mexican food in Paris, it felt great to discover a country still
proudly carrying a heritage hard to find anyway else. Of course, you can
also find modernity in Port-Vila, but even if the capital keeps you on
international ground, there is plenty around to satisfy your appetite for
difference. And then again, happiness keeps a universal taste.
If
there’s no place like home, I have to admit, after years of traveling
around the globe,
this archipelago did feel like it. I got so
jealous of hearing the locals calling home what
I would call
paradise that I thought about settling down for awhile. Moving experience
did I said?
On behalf of Gil, the Vanuatu Tourism Office would like
to thank The Moorings Hotel, The Edge, Ekasup Cultural Village, Vanuatu
Cultural Center, and Ambroisa Restaurant for assisting in this famil to
promote Vanuatu abroad. You can view Gil's story here.
