If I don't get this thing written tonight, I'll forget everything I should be writing about! We have 2 ports in a row again, starting tomorrow. I have put this off long enough.
Vanuatu consists of 83 islands in the Melanesian Archipelago's southern end. The total population is 209,000. The language is Bislama, French and English. The island of Espiritu Santo was used by US troops as a military supply and support base, naval harbor and airfields during WWII. It is also the adopted home of James Mitchner. His "Tales of the South Pacific" was loosely inspired by this island.
Our first stop in Vanuatu was in Luganville, the second largest city in the country, on Espiritu Santo Island. We had been sailing thru squalls for several days already, and our port day was no different. We got off the ship at about 9. It was pouring rain! We didn't have a tour scheduled so looked around to see what taxi or tour we could do. We met up with 2 other couples, so with a total of 6 asked who had a van, willing to take us around. A gentleman named Tomas spoke up and off we went. We didn't inspect the van before agreeing on the tour, however. I think it was about 20 years old and hadn't been washed once since it was new. The upholstery was cracked and falling off, it was interesting to say the least. It did run though, which was important.
We first went to a church that was 100 yrs old. The pastor was out filling holes in the road along with other workers. Nice guy. We then headed out of town to a plane crash. We weren't really clear about what kind of a plane crash, but Tomas said it was interesting. In the POURING rain, we were told to walk about 50 meters, up a small path in the jungle. There was a stream that we had to walk thru, created by the rain. I had on sandals that were fine in water, Mel tried to find a narrower place to cross. The water was above my ankles and rushing by. Up the hill we started to see pieces of metal. Once we got our bearings, we could see that it was pieces of an airplane spread out in an area about 100' x 100'. It was almost surreal, kind of like a set from Lost! Tomas pointed out the US emblem on a wing. I didn't see it until I stepped away. Then I could see the outline of a blue star, under the mud and leaves. The guys in the group of course wanted to know what kind of plane it was. It had 2 engines, about 4' in diameter, 9 cylinders each. Hey Leo, know what kind of plane it was? It was shot down by the Japanese during WWII. I wonder what happened to the men who were flying it? It was an interesting experience.
We first went to a church that was 100 yrs old. The pastor was out filling holes in the road along with other workers. Nice guy. We then headed out of town to a plane crash. We weren't really clear about what kind of a plane crash, but Tomas said it was interesting. In the POURING rain, we were told to walk about 50 meters, up a small path in the jungle. There was a stream that we had to walk thru, created by the rain. I had on sandals that were fine in water, Mel tried to find a narrower place to cross. The water was above my ankles and rushing by. Up the hill we started to see pieces of metal. Once we got our bearings, we could see that it was pieces of an airplane spread out in an area about 100' x 100'. It was almost surreal, kind of like a set from Lost! Tomas pointed out the US emblem on a wing. I didn't see it until I stepped away. Then I could see the outline of a blue star, under the mud and leaves. The guys in the group of course wanted to know what kind of plane it was. It had 2 engines, about 4' in diameter, 9 cylinders each. Hey Leo, know what kind of plane it was? It was shot down by the Japanese during WWII. I wonder what happened to the men who were flying it? It was an interesting experience.
After paying the owner of the land where the plane was $10 for the visit, we took off on the road past a golf course, then the entrance to an area called Million Dollar Point. Apparently the US military took the old equipment and shoved it off a cliff into the ocean at this spot, millions of dollars worth of equipment! It cost $5 per person to view the area, Tomas told us it wasn't worth it. Later when we spoke to others on the ship who had gone to that spot, they said all the machinery was under water at high tide, so they saw nothing. Glad we didn't go. They also said they were taken to 2 former military runways...which were totally overgrown so could have been any other part of the jungle. Not a great tour. We had Tomas drop us off in town so we could visit the open market and look in the few stores that were there. Mel was interested in one of the general stores. The shopkeeper was a Chinese woman who had come to the island in 1957 and never left. She sold everything from soap to underwear. I did buy a loaf of fresh bread from her, it was delicious. We were back to the ship in time for a late lunch.
I had been fighting a cold, so returned to our room after dinner while Mel went to the show. We have had some good entertainment and some not so good entertainment!
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