Kirsty and Andrew left last Sunday. Plane actually took off a couple of minutes early. They are now in Indonesia.

We have stayed here in Luganville. Our first lazy time time since last November. We have snorkeled Million Dollar Point where the Americans dumped into the sea a huge amount of the equipment they had amassed at their war time base here in Luganville. My mother was here doing the same snorkel in the early 1980s when she was visiting a friend doing VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) I think he was a vet. I dived the President Coolidge yesterday. She was a full sized ocean liner that was being used as a troop ship. The communication failed to tell her that USA had mined the entrances to Espiritu Santo’s huge harbour and she hit two of the mines and was beached. Virtually no loss of life but a large loss of machinery.

Found the locals equivalent of a motorway cafe yesterday when out on a bike ride. It was beside a beach they use for boats over to the island of Aore just to the south of Espiritu Santo. Beer half tourist cafe prices – a full Kava menu and food served on parts of Banana leaves. Very Good.

Weather looks set to go back to normal after a week of light Westerly winds, overcast and a good bit of rain. Position: 15°31’S 167°10’E [-15.523,167.165]