Discovering Vanuatu!

Like there is a story for every person, there is also a story for every island!

We docked at the Port of Luganville located on the island of Santo which is within the island chain of Vanuatu.  Vanuatu means "our land".  The island chain was formally known as the New Hebrides which was ruled by both England and France.

Luganville is a small island with a population around 15,000 with temperatures ranging from 68 to 86 degrees.  It is the provincial capital of Vanuatu, as well as the second largest town.  It is one of over 300 islands scattered throughout Melanesia.

It is a paradise for scuba divers and snorkelers, as the SS President Coolidge 30,000 ton ocean liner wreck site is renowned as one of the wold's premier dive destinations.

During WWII, this island was one of the largest naval bases outside of Pearl Harbor.

As Kenny and I disembarked, the locals were here to greet the passengers with singing and dancing.

We toured the island to see the various spots where WWII history took place.

One of the places was where the American Coolidge troop ship(with approximately 5,550 on board) hit two American mines in the Segon channel in October of 1942.  The captain was able to beach the ship so that the troops could unload.  Army Captain Elwood J. Euart went back through the ship to make sure that everyone was off of the ship.  He rescued everyone from the ship, yet he was not able to save himself.

The island was a beautiful island with the palm trees, white beaches, beautiful flowers as well as the turquoise ocean that surrounded it.

After our tour, we headed back to the ship and the Dawn Princess set sail at 5:30 pm.

We are off to another island!