This morning, National Geographic Orion approached Espiritu Santo cruising down Segond Channel. This channel was the location of the United States Naval Advance Base during WWII and is the site of the famous wreck, SS President Coolidge. The troop transporter was carrying 5000 troops when it struck two mines and sank within ninety minutes.
After exploring the WWII museum in Luganville and other sites, we headed to Million Dollar Point for an early lunch. Walking the coast at low tide, we could see the debris from the material the US Navy left in the ocean rather than shipping it back to the US or selling it to the French, who were controlling this area of Vanuatu at the time.
From there we explored the east coast of the island and stopped at a beach for an amazing demonstration of water music that has been passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter for many centuries. Standing in the water, this family made amazing music using their hands to drum the water. From there we continued along the coast to the Matevulu Blue Hole, one of Espiritu Santo’s famous freshwater pools. It was a perfect ending to our incredible time in Vanuatu.
