Received an update from Matt in Vanuatu. Here's an excerpt from his latest email:
....After all that I happened to hop on a sailboat and ride to S. Pentecost to see the land diving. It was very impressive and hard to watch at the same time, contrary to what some of the guidebooks say, people do sometimes get hurt. Unfortunately land diving is rarely done for custom any more and is mostly done to win tourist dollars. This came disturbingly clear when the chief climbed on top of the tower and yelled to all the tourists, "thanks for the money". Oh well, it was still a pretty amazing spectacle to behold. Afterwards I was stuck in S. Pentecost waiting for a cargo ship for five days and got to be friends with all the locals. They were so impressed with my tree climbing and kava drinking skills that they invited me to jump next year. I don't think I'll accept their invitation to tie dry leaves around my penis and jump off a 70 ft tower, but you never know, I've done worse.
Photo by Patrick Krohn
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