23 May 2015
First, we finally found a bank with ATMs that will accept 
our cards, so we now 
have cash. We are 
THRILLED! It was pretty rough to not even have cash for pay toilets. However, now there’s a rumor (somewhat 
substantiated, since we heard this from a bank 
employee) that the banks may go on strike next week. Plus Monday is a government holiday here, so the banks will be 
closed anyway (Pentecost, or Shavuot, depending on your religious leanings).
Always something exciting while traveling!
Just a few more facts about New Caledonia:
New Caledonia is located roughly 1,200 km (720 miles) east of Australia, and 1,500 km (900 miles) north-northwest of New Zealand. The main island, Grande Terre, is 16,372 km sq or 6,321 sq miles - just under twice the size of Puerto Rico, and six times of Rhode Island. Bigger than Connecticut. Similar in size to all the Hawaiian 
islands combined - or the State of Palestine.
The lagoon is about the size of West Virginia - right between the size of Djibouti or Belize, and Macedonia
The New Caledonia Barrier Reef encloses some 24,000 sq km (or 9,300 sq mi) of lagoon, making this the largest lagoon in the world, as well as the second largest barrier reef. UNESCO has placed the area on the World Heritage list for its reef diversity and associated ecosystems: 
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1115
As I said in the previous blog, New Caledonia is part of French Polynesia, and the original people here are part of the Melanesian group. However, there was an influx of Polynesian people, and then of course the Europeans, 
primarily French. The culture, arts, and in fact the language of the indigenous people all show influences and similarities to the Maori of New Zealand, as well as the communities in the neighboring countries from 
Vanuatu all the way to Samoa.
I spent a few hours at the Museum of New Caledonia, or la Musée de Nouvelle-Caledonia. It really was fascinating! The museum has a wonderful view of the Baie de la Moselle (Bay of Moselle), and is near the main post office. 
The entrance fee is all of $2, but children, 
students, and seniors all get in for 50 cents. Free 
brochures are available in French, English, and several other languages.
Much of the artwork of the indigenous people, referred to as the Kanak peoples, is wood carving. And most of the carvings were used in the great 
houses, homes of the village or clan chief as well as the meeting center. There would be a large carved central pole, with various carved figures used as posts inside the circular structure. Ornately carved panels would serve at the door posts, entrance step, and lintel. The entire building would 
be covered with thatch, and then a specially carved spear would be inserted into the hole at the top of the roof. Most of the carvings included fierce faces of humans, possibly to scare off enemies, or to keep the spirits of the ancestors as protection.
The display exhibited a 
series of these carved architectural elements. But what use is it to see a series of roof spears, or door posts? You don’t get the entire picture.
So in addition to the posters and placards, there’s a full-size great house inside the museum. All 20 or 30 feet (7 to 9 meters) all. 
Complete with all the carved wood door posts, internal posts, thatch all over the exterior, broken beach rocks and coral for the cooking area inside, and mats around the rest of the floor for sitting and sleeping. Shoes are taken off before entering, of course. Above the fire there are slatted shelves 
and hanging baskets for smoking meat and fish, the traditional way of preserving perishable items. It was just wonderful to walk around inside the great house and actually be able 
to interact with the exhibit, to really understand how the different components came together to form this building.
Some of the Great Houses were up to 20 meters (60 feet) tall - all the people under the protection of the head 
chief or the oldest chief would assist in the building. This house stood at the top end of an alley created by various plantings and buildings along the sides, with the chief's youngest brother having the house at the lowest end of the alley. The central space within the alley was used for festivities and ritual ceremonies central to the people's lives - harvest festivals, rites of passage, and such.
Other exhibits included wood carving tools, fishing implements and a 
full size catamaran (but no climbing on 
the boat), tools of war ("a 
warrior's most important tool was his club"), and my favorite, ceramic pottery.
The women made 
pottery to be used in cooking, complete with 
vent holes around the mouth; the pot would be balanced 
on rocks over a fire or hot coals, food and liquid inside, and a heavy leaf or a small board would be used as the cover. Steam 
could escape through the vents while the food continued to cook.
Men made smaller ceramic vessels used for medicine (meaning both medical as well as sacred rituals), and these were often decorated with either incised designs or appliquéd clay ornaments. Additional holes were sometimes cut into the clay and, after firing, the vessel would have feathers or shells attached as decoration.
There was also a huge exhibit about weaving baskets, mats, and clothing from a variety of materials. I also liked the little carving of a baby in a 
basket or cradle.
The upper floor had artifacts from other Oceania cultures, comparing and contrasting the materials, styles, and decorations.
Outside, there was another wonderful Great House, which was more ornate as well as easier to see.
There was also a school class working on an art project, maybe 30 or so students ages 8 or 9, busily creating small masks out of clay. I chatted a little with the adult chaperones and a few 
students, but they spoke less English than I speak French, and my French is quite limited. (Trying to explain our banking problems in French led to some dramatic explanations and gestures, where the only way I could explain was to say the bank automatique, he doesn't like our cards, no money, nothing, nothing, never!!! One lady actually smiled at my overly dramatic description of the problem. Un problem plus grande! (More big!) Anyway....)
So I definitely recommend this museum, it was great fun! I spent two hours there, but I'd guess most people could see everything in an hour.
We've been enjoying walking around our neighborhood - the Promenade Roger Laroque runs along the beach and is wonderful, with shady tree-lined walkways, views of the water, plenty of people to watch, and exotic flowers. The water taxi is available for a quick run out to one of the tiny islands nearby, and the shop for cold drinks looks like a modern Great House, complete with the ornamental wooden spear piercing the shingled roof.
There are also park benches along the promenade, as well as picnic tables. Travellers and locals sit and read, or enjoy an al fresco lunch - we had a lovely meal our first full day here, just savoring the sunlight and this glorious blue sky, which seems untouched by pollution of any kind.
Today, Saturday, has turned grey and rainy. The wind was wild, churning up the shallow waters of the lagoon into a frothy grey and white mix, foam and fog blown around in the chilly air. Not quite stormy but more than just a little rain.
And we'll see what next week brings in this little slice of French paradise.
20 May 2015
New Caledonia is one of those obscure, unknown, fascinating places hidden around the world. 
Really. It's located somewhere between Australia and New Zealand, close to the island nation of Vanuatu. The population in 2009 was just 
under 250,000, and is a mix of the original Melanesian inhabitants, the Polynesian immigrants, and descendants of the French who were once incarcerated 
here, as well as many French immigrants over the years.
The islands that comprise this archipelago were settled some 
2500-4000 years ago by the Lapita people, a culture that has evolved into the various Pacific peoples we know today. Captain James Cook sailed through in 1774, 
the first European to arrive here, and he promptly named these tropical islands for an area of Scotland. (One wonders what he was thinking!) In 1853, under 
orders from Napoleon himself, the French navy took formal possession of New Caledonia, and was used as a French penal colony for many years.
The French flourished, the indigenous population was suppressed, and when the Vichy government collaborated with the Germans in 
1940 the entire population of New Caledonia sided with the Free French - so the Vichy-appointed governor fled to French Indochina. With the help of 
Australia, New Caledonia became a base for the Allied forces during WWII; the fleet that repulsed the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea was based in 
Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia.
Post WWII, the former French colonies mostly became independent 
nations; however, New Caledonia remains a "department" of France, as in a territory. There has been friction and a move toward 
independence, and a self-determination referendum is scheduled to take place by 2018.
Okay, so that's the background 
information on this gorgeous place. Really beautiful. It's located at about 22 degrees south and 166 east. This is autumn, and the weather is gorgeous - about 80 F (25 C) 
during the day, down to the high 60s F (14 or so C) at night. Sunny days, although sometimes overcast in the morning. Breezy much of the time, 
with stronger winds by the afternoons. And without a distinct rainy season, just off and on rain year round, but nothing torrential. Isn't that nice? It will be a bit 
chillier by July, but it never gets truly cold.
New Caledonia is surrounded by a huge coral reef, making this the second largest coral reef system 
in the world. And that, essentially, is why we're here. This is supposed to be wonderful scuba diving, with relatively warm water, incredible reefs, tons of fish, turtles, and 
hopefully very few sharks and sea snakes.
But we're not in the water yet. We haven't even tried the water. We've tasted wonderful French food, and spent most of our time dealing with a unique problem. One that we haven't 
encountered in our nearly three years of nonstop travel around Asia and the Pacific.
None of the ATMs here will accept our credit or debit cards. We can't get one centime (or CFP, 
Comptoirs Français du Pacifique) from the banks. We've tried. We've tried numerous machines at numerous banks. We've tried the bank that is listed as part of the global alliance network to which our bank belongs. To no avail. We have not been able to get cash from a bank in our first 3 days here.
Can you imagine being in a foreign location without any way to get the local currency? Zero cash in your pockets?
That's us.
We were able to have our hotel run the debit card and give us cash for that. We can use our cards at most restaurants and cafés. But one needs cash for the 
bus. Or the restroom at the mall we stopped in, to use. I had to explain to the receptionist at a bank that we have no cash and I couldn't pay for the bathroom - so she sent us to the not-so-clean public restrooms. I mean, what could we do?
Our day today was literally spent going from bank to bank to bank, trying to solve this problem. We were finally able to speak with someone who was sympathetic, made some calls, and said yes, this is a problem, other travellers occasionally have the same problem, and that New Caledonia is sometimes 20 years behind the times. And that she knows of no way to fix things.
We'll try one more bank that we missed today, and then give up, staying with getting our cash from the hotel. This may limit our travelling around the main island (Grande Terre), but there really is no other way.
But hey, we found a wonderful patisserie to drown our sorrows. Well, I bought just one macaron, and the lady gave me a broken one in addition to the one I purchased. She also gave Richard a broken one - I'm not sure if they always do that, or if she was being sympathetic when I told her in my not-very-proper French that we're unable to get money from the banks. One man we met in a bank, who heard our tale of woe as he waited for assistance, offered to lend Richard some cash. People have mostly been very nice - so that's another plus for New Caledonia.
The money we have is pretty. Turtles, angel fish, bird of paradise flowers in beautiful colors - just lovely! We just need access to our retirement funds in CFPs!
But, well, how can we be anything but happy to be here, as frustrated as we are? The teller at one bank was just rude to me yesterday, and I was frustrated - but one look across the street and out to the blue blue blue sea, and I couldn't stay frustrated, it just wasn't possible. We bought baguette sandwiches and had a picnic by the beach, watching windsurfers and kite sailors and paddle boarders, and the incredible blue sea. And we were thrilled, despite zero cash at that point.
Plus there are parrots here! Parrots! Well, they probably are lorikeets, or something, but part of the parrot family. Mostly green bodies, with a purple head, purple and red chest, red under the wings, and everything else bright cheerful green. Chattering and squawking and noisily arguing as they walk around the tree tops looking for food, or flying around from tree to tree, somehow causing all the other birds to suddenly become equally noisy. Rainbow parrots! I am thrilled!
I always laugh at the way birds sound as they settle down for the night. I sat under a tree watching the sunset today, marvelling at the fact that we're here, even with the money hassles. The parrots were doing their usual noisy going home activities. The wrens, sparrows, starlings, and some other birds were also flying around, finding their friends and families as they looked for their roosting trees. What is all that noise about? To me, they sound like they're all arguing as well as gossiping about each other, and catching up on the news of the day: "Hey, did you see those new feathers on Giselle? Who does she think she is, the bird queen?" "Yo, Joe, whassup, did you get some good seeds today?" "Hey, Henri, move over, you're hogging the branches, my family always sits here!" "Did you hear that Fifi is cheating on Pierre, and has one in the nest already? Jean-Claude is livid! He's pulling out his feathers!"
Seriously, can't you just hear them?
So yes, we're frustrated, we're dealing with this problem that is pretty major, and we're trying to enjoy being here. In fact, we ARE enjoying being here. It truly is a gorgeous spot, the weather has been perfect thus far, and we found a chocolate fondant cake that is almost just like our chocolate decadence wedding cake. With little cash, we'll just have to walk more, which will get rid of the extra calories from things like le fondant chocolat.
And hopefully we'll get in that water really soon!
our cards, so we now 
THRILLED! It was pretty rough to not even have cash for pay toilets. However, now there’s a rumor (somewhat 
employee) that the banks may go on strike next week. Plus Monday is a government holiday here, so the banks will be 
closed anyway (Pentecost, or Shavuot, depending on your religious leanings). 
New Caledonia is located roughly 1,200 km (720 miles) east of Australia, and 1,500 km (900 miles) north-northwest of New Zealand. The main island, Grande Terre, is 16,372 km sq or 6,321 sq miles - just under twice the size of Puerto Rico, and six times of Rhode Island. Bigger than Connecticut. Similar in size to all the Hawaiian 
islands combined - or the State of Palestine.
The New Caledonia Barrier Reef encloses some 24,000 sq km (or 9,300 sq mi) of lagoon, making this the largest lagoon in the world, as well as the second largest barrier reef. UNESCO has placed the area on the World Heritage list for its reef diversity and associated ecosystems: 
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1115
primarily French. The culture, arts, and in fact the language of the indigenous people all show influences and similarities to the Maori of New Zealand, as well as the communities in the neighboring countries from 
Vanuatu all the way to Samoa.
The entrance fee is all of $2, but children, 
students, and seniors all get in for 50 cents. Free 
brochures are available in French, English, and several other languages.
houses, homes of the village or clan chief as well as the meeting center. There would be a large carved central pole, with various carved figures used as posts inside the circular structure. Ornately carved panels would serve at the door posts, entrance step, and lintel. The entire building would 
be covered with thatch, and then a specially carved spear would be inserted into the hole at the top of the roof. Most of the carvings included fierce faces of humans, possibly to scare off enemies, or to keep the spirits of the ancestors as protection.
series of these carved architectural elements. But what use is it to see a series of roof spears, or door posts? You don’t get the entire picture.
Complete with all the carved wood door posts, internal posts, thatch all over the exterior, broken beach rocks and coral for the cooking area inside, and mats around the rest of the floor for sitting and sleeping. Shoes are taken off before entering, of course. Above the fire there are slatted shelves 
and hanging baskets for smoking meat and fish, the traditional way of preserving perishable items. It was just wonderful to walk around inside the great house and actually be able 
to interact with the exhibit, to really understand how the different components came together to form this building.
chief or the oldest chief would assist in the building. This house stood at the top end of an alley created by various plantings and buildings along the sides, with the chief's youngest brother having the house at the lowest end of the alley. The central space within the alley was used for festivities and ritual ceremonies central to the people's lives - harvest festivals, rites of passage, and such.
full size catamaran (but no climbing on 
the boat), tools of war ("a 
warrior's most important tool was his club"), and my favorite, ceramic pottery.
pottery to be used in cooking, complete with 
vent holes around the mouth; the pot would be balanced 
on rocks over a fire or hot coals, food and liquid inside, and a heavy leaf or a small board would be used as the cover. Steam 
could escape through the vents while the food continued to cook. 
Men made smaller ceramic vessels used for medicine (meaning both medical as well as sacred rituals), and these were often decorated with either incised designs or appliquéd clay ornaments. Additional holes were sometimes cut into the clay and, after firing, the vessel would have feathers or shells attached as decoration.
basket or cradle.
There was also a school class working on an art project, maybe 30 or so students ages 8 or 9, busily creating small masks out of clay. I chatted a little with the adult chaperones and a few 
students, but they spoke less English than I speak French, and my French is quite limited. (Trying to explain our banking problems in French led to some dramatic explanations and gestures, where the only way I could explain was to say the bank automatique, he doesn't like our cards, no money, nothing, nothing, never!!! One lady actually smiled at my overly dramatic description of the problem. Un problem plus grande! (More big!) Anyway....)
