John Roberts: PeaceCorps Volunteer

John with kids from South River

John's custom-made hut in South River

John in the garden of Eden

John with me in Ipota, just before I boarded the plane to Tanna

i have just heard very sad news from the States. during my visit to erromango, i met an exceptional young man by the name of john roberts, who was finishing his two year peace corps service in south river. he was a most inspiring person and so happy to be serving his time with peace corps. soon after my visit with john, his parents sent me an email requesting photos from my visit to south river. just today, i received word from john's dad, bearing the sad news that john was killed in an accident: he was helping a family in their garden and a tree was cut but fell in the wrong direction, hitting john and another villager and killing both of them immediately. john roberts died on october 11, 2007--just one month before the end of his service in south river.

there are many things that i will remember from my visit to south river, but two of the most memorable experiences from my time on erromango were with john:

1) sharing scotch fingers with peanut butter looking at the beautifully picturesque village of south river from paul and judy's spot. we had talked about all the wonderful things about being young and he had told me all of the things he had hoped to accomplish... like making a difference in the world by helping others

2) sharing taro that he had stashed in his pack on the red dirt hill at the 11 mile marker and john's gentle encouragement on my long walk back to ipota.

i had insisted john visit me in hawaii when he was done with peace corps... even though this will not happen, he will always hold a dear place in my heart.

as you will read below, my time on erromango was the highlight of my 6 week trip to indonesia, australia, vanuatu, and fiji. john was a wonderful, kind, and generous person and my great time in vanuatu is very much thanks to him. he will always be in my thoughts. he had so much promise and i am so sad to hear of his tragic death...

A recap of my trip to Errromango in September 2007, just one month before John's death:

Known for its cannibalist past, Erromango has no cars and no roads. When you get there, you will do the Erromango walk just like the locals. You will walk and walk like there is no tomorrow. If you want to get anywhere--or somewhere--you walk. I started my stay in Ipota, and arrived there in a two-propeller "puddle jumper." Landing on a very narrow, grassy strip, I was relieved to be on the ground, but extremely surprised by my surroundings. The only thing that is airport-like in Ipota is the crowd of villagers that creep out from the jungle to gawk at the new arrivals. There is no airport in Ipota and I was the first tourist the town had seen in a month.

I didn't spend a single penny during my week on Erromango. This is an island where true hospitality reigns supreme. I was befriended by a lady named Jacqueline, who happened to be the principal/English teacher at the only high school on the island. She let me stay with her that night, but when I told her I would like to walk around the island she looked at me quizzically and said, "You'd like to do what?" She kindly arranged for a guide to walk me to South River the next morning.

South River is a very long, arduous nine hours from Ipota and the loveliest place on Earth. Arriving in this small village was like stepping back in time--way back to Adam and Eve. I had died and gone to Eden. This village, with no more than 40 residents, far from any trace of civilization--connected to real life only by a battery operated radio, was one of the best natural settings I've ever experienced.

I didn't find surf on Erromango, but I found much more of value there than I ever expected. I sat around a campfire and drank kava (chewed and spit out) like the locals do. I ate more roots (taro, potatos, manioch, etc) than I ever planned to in a lifetime. I also discovered that Vanuatu has a large population of PeaceCorps volunteers (the two on Erromango were the only white faces and they were my guides during my stay). My list of reasons I love Erromango will go on and on, but if it's the last thing I do, I plan on going back pronto.

Truly heaven on earth--the most memorable travel experience in my life.