Digicel, a cellular communications company, came to Vanuatu back in 2006 and made a significant impact on the country, installing cell towers on all the major island and now touting a 80+% coverage of the population.
They installed a tower in South Tanna, that was subsequently pulled down by irritated locals who thought that THEY should be receiving royalties (ah, land disputes, a-whole-nother OMV post topic). Consequently, there is no cell reception in Iatukun Village. Unless, of course, you are willing to climb to the tip-top of the breadfruit tree on Tom's property, where, on a clear day, you can get one or two bars on the Telecom Vanuatu network.
Knowing that Tom often calls me from up there, I decided to give it a try during my recent trip to Tanna. Chalk it up to a testament of my love for Shawnda? I climbed up to the top of the tree, swaying in the wind and able to see for miles and miles (including the ocean and the storied Yasur mountains), and my knees were literally weak with fear. I couldn't decide whether to hold on tighter to the phone or to the tree. It was great to hear her voice, but it was a short conversation (and my only one of the trip)!
My heartbeat has increased just blogging about it ;)
In the national language of Vanuatu, Bislama, you will often be asked “afta?” - which means “and then what?” We originally set up this blog to chronicle our time in Tulwei Village (NW Malekula Island), and those archives are still available. Now that we're back in the capital city of Port Vila, we will continue to keep you updated on "...and then what?". We'd love to hear from you as you have comments, and invite you to check back in often. Thanks for your prayers and support! God bless...
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