Geography Lesson, Lamen Isl

Hello All,
We had a really great time yesterday on Lamen Island 1 mile across from there we anchored the boat. The position of the Island is 16 35.19S 168 08.18E. We took the dingy across to see the small village that is there and say hello. The Island is surrounded by a reef so we had to pick a spot where the waves were not breaking, always exciting dealing with reefs. When we got to shore we took a walk around and passed by the primary school. The head master teaching there said hello and invited us inside to meet all the children. He asked us to sit in front of the class room and tell the kids where we are from and what its like to live there. After we told a few stories and explained what it's like to live in our countries he asked if we knew how to play a guitar, I told him I play a little so he handed it to me and said, play something for the kids. I just kept it simple and played a verse and a chorus from "Knocking on Heavens Door" That was a lot of fun and the kids got a kick out of it. The head master then started playing "Country Road" and all of the kids were singing along with him, as we were singing I was replacing "West Virginia" with Vanuatu, Everyone laughed very hard.
After all of the fun the head master gave us a tour of the village. He was born and raised there and after a few years of teaching around Vanuatu he finally got to teach in his own village and he is loving it being back home. He told us the history of the Island and showed us the house where he grew up and introduced us to a few of the Dug out Canoe builders. They are carved out of a big tree and shaped into a boat and then an outrigger is added. They are not very big boats, about 10 feet long. It takes about one month to complete one and it lasts about 3 years before it gets rotten. Some try using paint and epoxy to make them live longer but most just build a new one in 3 years. We thanked him for the tour and we headed back to the boat before dark.
This morning we pulled up anchor and headed for the South East Corner of Malakula Island 19 miles away. There is a group of Islands here called The Maskelyne's. They are a very small group and are very low Islands with reefs around them. We got over here at 1530 and anchored in Gaspard Bay just as you enter the group, our position is 16 28.38S 167 49.18E We will be here just for the night and then move 5 miles to a place we were told was awesome.
That's all I know for now so I will talk to you soon.


PEACE