Guam to Chile Blog Post 7

 Guam to Chile – Blog Post 7

September 17, 2024

Departing Honiara on Guam at 1800, Seabourn Pursuit proceeded east once more for the 600 nm voyage to Espiritu Santo, in Vanuatu.  Our destination was the town of Luganville.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

The route from Guadalcanal to Luganville, Vanuatu

After leaving Honiara, we were now in the Solomon Sea.  This area was named after the Solomon Islands from the legendary biblical land of Ophir, which the Spanish were searching for on their first voyage in 1568.  The land of Ophir was reputed to be the source of Solomon’s wealth.  The Solomon Sea includes the New Britain Trench which reaches a depth of nearly 30,000 feet in the New Britain subduction zone.

The weather continued to be somewhat rough with winds of 20-30 knots and seas to 3 meters, which made for an uncomfortable ride.

The lectures today included ones on the culture of Vanuatu, connecting to wilderness, kayaking history, and coral reefs, why are they disappearing.

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Seabourn Pursuit made a leisurely approach into Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu which turned out to be a mistake.  The ship docked by 1100, and only then informed by local officials that due to biosecurity regulations the ship would have to leave by 3:30 pm, rather than 6:00 pm.  This is due to an infestation of the Rhinoceros Beetle in Vanuatu, which is decimating coconut palms and other crops.  The beetles swarm at night, are attracted to light and therefore all ships must leave well before dusk to avoid transporting more beetles to other islands.  The beetles have, despite expensive eradication measures, gradually spread to many Pacific islands, with significant economic impact.

During WWII, Luganville was a major military installation.  At the end of the war, instead of shipping the war materials back to the states, those materials were just dumped into the ocean.  Not acceptable today, but that decision has contributed significantly to diving and snorkeling tourism today.  The ship passed close to “Million Dollar Point”, referring to the values of the wrecks scuttled there.

That meant all afternoon activities were cancelled, including Patrick’s Submersible dive on the wreck of the President Coolidge, as well of Miriam’s excursion to a demonstration of firewalking.  The President Coolidge was a converted liner used as a troopship that navigated poorly and was hit by US mines in the channel protecting Luganville.  All 5000 people on board got off safely, but the ship slid down the sloping beach and now rests on it’s side in 20-70 meters of water.

 The Seabourn Pursuit crew made some quick adjustments and Patrick, Miriam and Julie were all able to go to the Runsuc Village demonstration of dances, firewalking, sand painting, kava making, and cooking. 

Making Kava

Cooking Spinach and Tapioca in Bamboo

The young dancers were delightful

Preparing the firewalk

The chief doing sand painting

The attractive woven mats used everywhere

The chief starting his firewalk on
the hot stones

 Pentecost Island in Vanuatu is also known for the practice of land diving headfirst off bamboo towers 20-30 meters tall with local vines tied around their feet and touching just their head to the ground.  The contests are only done in certain seasons when the liana vines are flexible enough, so we did not get to see that. Patrick tasted the kava, which we watched being made and which made dishwater appealing as a beverage, both from taste and appearance.  Although no submersible trips were made, it was still an enjoyable day.  The ship managed to depart on the revised schedule at 3:30 and started the voyage to our next destination, some 600+ nm away in Lautoka, Fiji