Espiritu
Santo (just Santo to the locals) is what the Spanish thought Australia
looked like. The explorer De Querios 'discovered' Santo in 1606 and
believed he had found the great southern continent. Admittedly the
mangroves and the hot humid temperatures do resemble far north
Queensland, but that is all.
It is a unique island, with interesting geological features such as the Blue Holes (pictured above). These beautiful pure deep water springs give off a deep blue colour, due to being filtered through many layers of limestone. You can swim and relax in the Blue Holes on the east side of the island, or head to some of the best sand beaches in Vanuatu.
Historically,
Santo was a vital forward base for US troops in WWII as they fought the
Japanese in the Pacific. Much remains on the island from these times,
from 'Million Dollar Point' (to be covered in more depth in my next
post) to the wreck of the SS Coolidge, a troop carrying ship that hit a
mine in relatively shallow waters off Luganville, the main town, and is
now one the most easily accessible WWII dive sites in the world.
My
personal Santo addiction is the food, to be precise, the beef. When I
first went to Port Vila and went to the main markets for lunch with a
local friend, he raved about how good the beef was. Admittedly the
choice that day was beef or fish, and he had no understanding of why
anyone would ever pay for fish. "If I want fish I go down to the water
and I spear them" was his response, but the beef from Santo, well, that
was worth paying for. And in Vanuatu it is fine dining at a budget
price.
Free
from injected hormones and not fed from genetically altered crops,
these cows roam around the farms in Santo. Being in a remote part of the
world can lead to rather tasty food, and this is now being globally
recognised with expensive restaurants in Tokyo now shipping in Santo
beef as a delicacy. Hopefully there will still be lots left for the
locals.
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Accompanied by a selection of stories about places, events and people in Vanuatu which will transport the armchair traveller to this incredible Pacific nation, while giving more background and details for the intrepid visitor. Available as an ebook or paperback from all good booksellers. Buy it from Amazon.com here and from Amazon.co.uk here
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