Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

Sea Topaz
Duncan Briggs
Sun 31 Oct 2010 22:55
15.22.406 S  167.11.419 E
 
Luganville was our first stop on Espiritu Santo, this is the capital, where we had to check in at customs and buy food. We were off Aore Island resort on a mooring buoy. We stayed there a few days whilst Duncan went diving on a wreck; the famous Coolidge cruise liner that went down in WWII, it is the largest accessible wreck in the world at 200 m long. It is very big so he went two days in a row. Brought back an old glass coca cola bottle as a trophy. There are thousands of them all over Vanuatu, with dates and where they were made on them. It was an amazing experience. We spotted a cocoa exporting office in town, which we visited. The owner was very happy to show us his warehouse.
We are now anchored off Oyster Island resort about three hours sail from Luganville. Very well protected and peaceful. We took the dinghy up the two rivers that lead to a blue hole. The colours were intense and it was lovely to swim in fresh water for a change. Last night we went to another nearby resort where and Australian singer/guitarist/drummer performed. It was great entertainment.
There has been little or no wind for more than a week now. We are basically waiting for the trade winds to set in again to take us to Australia. We are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast. We could well be here for another week. But it is not a bad place to be stuck in.
 
     
 
            Duncan inspecting the quality of the cocoa                Sunset in Luganville with a Bacardi-coke
 
     
 
The blue hole where the Americans took their water in WWII        And another smaller one