A/NZ - Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu - Day 8

Author James Michener was stationed on this island during WWII and was inspired to write the novel "Tales of the South Pacific". The novel was later turned into a play by Rogers & Hammerstein. Much of the infrastructure on the island was built by the U. S. Army during WWII. My father was stationed here for a brief time (October 1944) as part of the buildup for the invasion and liberation of the Philippines which took place on January 9, 1945. He fought on Luzon and Mindanao before returning to Espiritu Santo.

We visited another native village that was about 30 minutes outside of town in the jungle. Here, Sigrid is greeted by native girls.

A welcoming song and dance.

The little guy got tired.

Unlike Hawaii, Sigrid now wears her flowers behind her ear.

Huts much like the other islands we visited.

Lots of interesting plants and flowers around the village.

Basket weaving.

A ritual native dance. Note the camouflage.

Boxers or briefs? No thanks.

The kids loved being photographed. Sigrid showed them the photos she took of them and they got so excited.

Preparing Kava to share with guests.

War dance.

Fresh fruit snacks.

It wasn't all that easy to get to the village. The roads were bad. I thought we would have to get out and help push more than once. The mini-vans weren't designed for this kind of road.

Like I said earlier.....this isn't Disneyland.

A 24 hour open market in town.

Yes, Sigrid set this up to photo, but its still pretty nice.

The kids really posed for Sigrid after she started showing them their pictures.

Still working on the Kava. A few repeats here since Sigrid and I were both shooting and I failed to select well.

Jungle love.

After returning to town, we set off on our own to see another interesting site on the island. We hired a taxi to take us to Million Dollar Point. This is where all the excess WWII military equipment like jeeps, trucks, tanks, etc. were pushed over a cliff and into the ocean about 70 years ago. Who knows, maybe my dad helped. It is amazing how much of the stuff has rusted completely away.

Can you identify the rusty parts?

An engine block?

Vehicle frame.

We made friends with the taxi driver. He drove us all over town after Million Dollar Point. He loved Americans and was greatful for what we did to protect them during WWII. He drove us past his house and the church he hand built and served in as Pastor. The two hours of sightseeing only cost $40.

The next post will be video from the native village and then we will be heading for Fiji.