This is probably one of the best shells that Kara has found, of which there are many. She found this today here at Peterson Bay. The island of Espirito Santo is probably more popular for the role it played in WWII than for anything else. Luganville was used as a base for the allies against the Japanese advance, and tons of American military personnel were stationed here. They employed the Ni Vans who thought they were wealthy and generous and were inspired by the fact that black men shared a role in the chain of command. When the Americans left, the natives had hoped to inherit the surplus military equipment for free; Not so, said Uncle Sam and they dumped the lot into the sea along with crates of Coca Cola and canned food paving the future area as a snorkeling and diving destination. The area is now appropriately named "Million Dollar Point". We saw part of a plane wreck while snorkeling and along the beaches some other well worn remnants.

After we left Port Vila we crawled up along the islands of Epi and Malekula before finally reaching Espirito Santo. The dugong we were hoping to see at Lamen Bay never showed his face but Kara and Uwe did spot a few large turtles. Entering Crab Bay in Malekula, our keel kissed a bommy (baby reef), a scary few moments it was as we watched the depth sounder turn to a number it had never yet seen before. We heard another boat actually ended up on a reef, so vigilance is something worthwhile to be engaged in out here. A lot of bays are not ideal for swimming or snorkeling, many have sharks and the water is not pleasantly blue. It is advisable to check with the locals before taking the plunge. One such local shook his head and told us "no sharks", even though we could see them swimming around the boat, not large ones mind you, but sharks all the same. No mosquitoes either, yeah right! After realizing our visas were almost up, we checked in at Luganville to get an extension. It's the 2nd largest town in Vanuatu, but no where near as bustling as Port Vila, it has a dreamy tropical air, humidity and rain are omnipotent and heaved down upon us making a short stroll along the street seem tiring. We moved over here to Peterson Bay, a beautiful well protected little anchorage tucked inside a group of islands. Navigating through the pass can cause a hair or two to raise, its extremely narrow, pretty shallow, the waypoints were off, you get the drift. There is a small cute rustic resort here (Oyster Island) and it's most definitely a yachtie friendly place. The water is a bit murky unfortunately, so we don't swim much off the boat we take the dinghy a little further out. There are also 2 blue holes, which can be accessed by meandering up a scenic river channel, where large rooted banyan trees overhang the narrow stretch of bright turquoise water. It's a rare thing to have such clear fresh water in a river, and the plunge into the seriously blue hole at the end has to be the most refreshing reward. On Sunday, the locals come to spend the afternoon, catapulting from tree branches into the water from daring heights. There's a dispute over ownership, and its quite funny; one guy stands at the entrance of the river demanding a fee, and another guy approaches from the blue hole demanding his share. They each have a strong disdain for each other and get mad when the other guy has been paid. We have enjoyed the locals, Ni Vans being the correct term. They love to trade and would happily bring over some fruit and nuts in exchange for DVD's, biscuits, among other things. Although some request tobacco or alcohol most of us refuse to trade with these. They are rarely pushy, easy to communicate with, always smiling and are pleasantly curious about where we come from and puzzled that we only have one child. They tend their gardens with care, since that is the food supply for most. The children are thrilled with some crayons or clothing donations, since they don't have much of either in the more remote villages. They love to tell you what they think you want to hear; because they don't want to disappoint, which can be a tad cumbersome when you really need to find something out. It's the end of the road for us and Vanuatu. We have to get going soon, cyclone season will be upon us before long and on Monday the wind should turn east allowing us an opportunity to sail to New Caledonia.