We boarded our small Air Vanuatu flight departing Port Vila going to Luganville on the island of Espiritu Santo. When we landed, it was dusk. We got our luggage and our transportation to Aore Resort (on Aore Island) was waiting for us. The van drove us into town and parked at the waters edge, where we boarded a boat. It was nighttime now and very dark, as there were few lights. The boat pulled out into an ocean of nothingness it seemed, except for a distant flickering light, which we figured must be our destination. As we approached Aore, our hostess was awaiting our arrival at the end of the pier. She showed us to the main lounge area where we were given leis, and fruity drinks placed in our hands, and we knew we were staying at the right place!! We had a great bungalow on stilts just steps from the water. We awoke in the morning to find we were in a true tropical paradise: white sand, clear turquoise water, coconut palms, frangipanis, and a lounge / restaurant with gourmet food and a fully stocked bar!
The main attraction to Santo for us was the scuba diving. We had booked with a company called Aqua Marine Santo; there was no shortage of dive sights, so we had our pick. The first day we did a wreck dive at Million Dollar Point. It is so named because at the end of WWII, hundreds of tons of US military equipment were dumped in the water. (I guess they weren’t to eco-friendly in those days). The story goes that the US military tried to sell the equipment to other countries, and when that didn’t work, they decided it would be best to trash it. There were huge tractors with tires and boats. We went down to about 30 meters. It was an astounding sight, in a sad sort of way. The second dive that day was another wreck dive, of the SS Coolidge. This ship sank accidentally when it hit the bottom too close to shore. We were able to swim through it and saw old army helmets and rifles, as well as old Coke bottles.
That night at Aore Resort was “island night”. We were told by the hostess that we were in for a real treat. I don’t know if I can explain just how fascinating the singing and dancing was. It took place in the lounge / dining area, so we were “up close and personal” with the dancers. The native costumes were made of plants and their bodies colorfully painted, and the singing and dancing was so energetic. It was then that we really felt that we were someplace very exotic, and very very far from home! The buffet of seafood, chicken and lamb was just outstanding. Jeff tried Kava, a tea that looks like dirty water and tastes horribly bitter! It’s made from the Kava plant. If enough is consumed it can have drug-like effects. It only made my gums go numb.
Other dive sites we experience for the next couple of days were Cindy’s Reef, Tutuba Point, and Chalis Reef. The beauty of these reefs far surpassed any diving we had done anywhere before, including the Great Barrier Reef. The reefs were huge, continuous, colorful, and teaming with fish. The photos really don’t begin to show how beautiful it was. Each evening when we came back to the resort we had amazing dinners in the open-air dining area, right on the water’s edge.
Our last day on the island of Santo, we hired to tour guide to take us to see the land sights. First we headed north along the east coast to a village where we were told they would perform native dances for us. The village, really just one family’s compound, was about an hour’s drive from Luganville. We showed up unannounced, as there are no telephones. They were very apologetic that they would not be able to dance for us as many family members were out in the bush farming and gathering food. They still let us wander around their compound of thatched huts, which was really interesting. They had a lot of potatoes, fruit and dried tobacco. The tobacco, we were told, was for the men to smoke. There were cute kids, peering at us from around trees and huts.
From there we went to the Matevulu Blue Hole. The water is so blue, it almost doesn’t look real. Its fresh spring water, and cold; great for swimming on a hot day! People scuba dive in the blue holes, but we were told there’s not much to see down below. The tour guide had packed chicken, mayonnaise, lettuce and beet sandwiches for us for lunch, which we ate on the banks of the blue hole.
From there, our guide took us to the Luganville airport. We had a late afternoon flight back to Vila, where we stayed for one more night before heading back to Auckland. We had had an amazing holiday. Vanuatu is pristine, remote and quite third-world, a unique South Pacific experience. While Efate was interesting, Santo was the true highlight!
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