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(click on a place to go there) The real adventure starts here... San Cristobal Island is about 80nm long, but all we ever saw is the glimpse noted above. We added the pointer for those who might not see anything here but storm clouds. This is our first glimpse of Guadalcanal, a small group of islands on its SE corner. We wanted to stop and rest but we couldn't raise the sail again if it ever dropped and hadn't checked into the country, so we motorsailed on. After a while the sky began to clear, which was a blessing because our chart information was very sketchy. We started to make out the actual coastline, which was important because there were reefs further off the island. This is a view of the NW coast, about what the Marines would have seen in 1942. Their landing was on the flat coast seen on the left, where the Japanese were building an airfield. Above you can barely make out the capital city of Honiara. It was built on the remains of the US military base after the war. Honiara is actually much smaller than the former base. The vital Henderson Field is just off the left side of the picture on the very flat ground. Here's a ray of sunshine! We arrived just at sunset. We might have been earlier but the capt had to go aloft in a bosun's chair to pull the sail down. When we arrived we had no idea how or where to anchor west of Point Cruz. We looked for a leading light but weren't sure what we saw. As the anchorage is surrounded by a reef this was no small matter. But, we made it! Here's the old tub moored to the seawall, the accepted method in this harbor. Note the small fishing boat off the port side. We discovered that staring is the national pastime of Solomon Islanders. There seemed to be one guy assigned to watch us at all times. We know they're just curious, but it gets rather creepy after awhile. At one time a large, double-decker boat was on our starboard side. Half the crew climbed up to the top deck so they could look down into the cabin. You felt like you were in an ant farm. What is this? These are NZ Army troops, part of a military presence in the Solomons. What you can't see is they carry machine guns, loaded machine guns. Why are they here? Because in April rioters burned down the Chinatown section of Honiara. All is not well here, but there has been no disquietude since we've been here, just lots of staring. This is the main market in Honiara, looking at the watermelon section. This is the Point Cruz Yacht Club. Not too many yachts, but lots of drunk expats. It was handy in many ways. Here's the admiral wearing her new hat. All she needs is a Margarita, but this is the Solomons, not Mexico. We spent the usual time after our arrival checking in and trying to get things fixed. We finally managed to spend a day sightseeing the WWII battlefields, but decided to put that stuff on its own page, named simply Guadalcanal Battlefields. After leaving Honiara we motored to Tulagi, which has a lot of history since it was the colonial capital of the Solomons. This is Tulagi Harbor. We were aware that most of the old capital had been destroyed during the war, but were shocked at what was left, which is essentially nothing. Here are the first real natives coming to greet us. The admiral is a sucker for kids, so she gave them peanut-butter sandwiches. What she did not realize was that the area had, oh, a few hundred more kids, all of whom heard they could get peanut butter sandwiches. As a result, we had a cloud of canoes about us 18 hrs a day. This was our introduction to the real Solomons. This is the bar at the hotel in Tulagi. It's small and very well guarded. Here's some kids on the street; note the blondish hair, which is quite common here. This is the entrance to Mboli Passage. It's a narrow stretch of water between the two main islands in the Floridas. It looks like a river, but it's really just a long, narrow strait. Here's a father-son canoe paddling down the Mboli. Here we're being chased by some kids. These kids are trying to peddle shells as we pass by, but it's hard to stop. These girls have arrived with flowers. They mean business, literally. After leaving the Mboli we sailed to the lovely, uninhabited island of Anuha. Here's El Tubbo in yet another paradise. There we were visited by a family where the baby, dressed in her Sunday best, was being shaded by her older brother using a defunct umbrella. This is typical Solomons. After a couple of days in Anuha, we learned there was yet another cyclone nearby, named Yani. So, we decided to head west, sailing to the island if Vatilau, aka Buena Vista. Here's a greeting party from the village. The naked little girl facing is young, but she can already paddle and bail the dugout. While there we met a really great guy named Clement Kola. He is 76 and a retired chief of the village, just real salt-of-the-earth. He used to operate a tiny eco-resort but raiders from the neighboring island of Malaita came and demanded money. When he couldn't produce any they burned it down. That was in 2003, when troops finally came from outside to quell the anarchy. This is his granddaughter Mary. Like most islanders, she loves to have her picture taken. While we were there we were invited to a feast, which was celebrating the opening of a new primary school. These guys are dressed for the occasion. These girls are greeting the honored guests. For some reason, we became overnight VIPs, probably because we knew Clement. Here's some girls doing "kastom" (traditional) dancing. Here they're bringing in sacrificial pig. However, not to worry, the pig was very much alive and even tried to run away during the ceremony. Here's a proud dad. Note the red teeth from chewing betel nuts. Not only does it hideously stain the teeth making one appear to be a vampire, but it severely rots them as well. After a few days we departed for the Russell Islands, about 45nm west. When we arrived we had the usual greeting. This time we handed out balloons. The funny thing was, the kids immediately began to untie them, which you can see the boy at left-rear doing. The kid in front of him is making a gesture, but it's not what you think. Note the older girl in this canoe. She's Polynesian, not Melanesian. Polynesians were brought to the Russells to work in the giant copra plantations run by the Lever Brothers soap empire. Most of the islands here are densely planted with coconut palms. These are some palm-oil tanks in Yandina, the administrative center of the Russells. It's a real dump, nothing but smiling kids and barely a store. When we asked for diesel fuel, they just laughed. We were told it used to be better but the Malaitans came and burned it down. Malaitans are the Vikings of the South Pacific, i.e. they're great boat-builders who like nothing more than to go about pillaging and looting. They have invaded just about every island here and are feared by the natives. This is Linggatu Cove, a former US PT-boat base; it's been going downhill ever since. You think we might have learned after Tulagi, but this time the admiral handed out balloons and "lollies" to the dozen or so kids we first met. The jungle drums must have throbbed, because we were suddenly surrounded by dozens of canoes, each with 3-5 kids, all expecting the same party favors. We were overwhelmed. So, we bravely went below, hoping they would disperse. Wrong. They proceeded to swarm about the sides trying to peek through whatever portlights they could pry their eyeballs into. You haven't lived until you've been lying naked in bed (too hot for modesty), only to hear the sound of breathing a few inches away. You turn and are face-to-face with a 10 year-old trying to push his head into the interior. The admiral went outside to politely remonstrate with the water-urchins about the propriety of such voyeurism, but remonstrance is not effective when said urchins really don't understand English. The next day was better. We discovered whole families outside, waiting patiently with baskets of vegetables in hope hope of being rewarded with luxuries such as crackers, one per person. We just didn't have the "stuff" aboard to really satisfy hordes of people who are utterly destitute. Note the girl in the white top. The "top" is really a pillow case with holes torn in it. These people wear nothing more than filthy rags. The other girl, named Jeanette, is another example of blond Melanesians. We couldn't take the pillow case, so Vera gave her a nice, long-sleeved top. She snuck off to put it on. Her hand gesture was due to the fact that we couldn't get her to smile for the camera. So, Vera tried to make a smiling gesture with her hands; the girl imitated it. We loved the people in Linggatu but the flies were too numerous to endure. You could swat 2-3 with one stroke, then more would arrive to feed on the bodies of the fallen. Gross. So, time to move on. There was no wind, which you can see in the Doldrums-like sunset above. We had to motor to our next destination, which we'll call Solomons West.
Copyright © John & Vera Williams 2000-2020 All Rights Reserved
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