On to Panasia

Thursday, 20 September to Sunday, 23 September 2012

We had a leisurely sail under jib only for the 10nm from Duchateau to Panasia, arriving all together to be guided by dinghies through the narrow entrance to the lagoon.

Charts can't be trusted up here

As we rounded the sheer limestone cliffs of Panasia which rise out of the deep blue ocean, we were stunned by the picture postcard turquoise water.

Only a few families live on the island however for our visit a large group of Brooker islanders came via sailaus and motorised long boats. Bananas, paw paws, lobster, pumpkin and corn were traded.  The school children from Brooker came to perform a ‘sing sing’ for us, beautifully dressed in grass skirts and lovely leaves. 

Woven headdresses with delicate chicken feathers surrounded their heads and they waved their leaves rhythmically while they sang and danced. Everyone enjoyed meeting them and their families afterwards and hearing a little about their lives.

On Friday we visited the skull cave on Little Panasia. This was a short dinghy trip for some while those of us with smaller motors hired 2 long boats for the trip. This proved to be fast but wet! 

There are many skull caves on the island (one for each family) however most are too hard for “dim dims” to get to.

We arrived back at Panasia in time for lunch prepared by the Brooker Island Ladies Group. Paw-paw scones were a highlight. We purchased woven bags and vegetables after the lunch. 

A barbecue that night, hosted by John and Gwen from the island, featured more lobster while the locals tried our meats and salads. 

On Saturday we ventured around to the western side of the island to visit Judah and Allison’s village and their huge limestone cave.

This is now a popular swimming place however it has been used in the past to hide from warring clans. Kids (local and dim-dim, big and small) had lots of fun diving into the pool. 

We walked back to the village as they had prepared a mumu (feast) for us. 

Pork, lobster, yams, pumpkin, sweet potatoes had been cooked in a pit covered with banana leaves. Warren was cautious about eating the feast and we both avoided the pork on advice from our friend Lois who is a parasitologist. Lucky there was some lobster on the menu again. 

New shelter built for our visit

Popcorn prepared for the local kids was quickly devoured. Panasia was a great introduction to the friendly villagers who are so welcoming to us all.

Lydia and Millika came back from the village with us to get some batteries (and a few other gifts). They tried to teach us some words of "Misima" - the local language. 

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