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The Glossary

Bislama - "An English creole language; One of the spoken dialects in Vanuatu."

From Vanuatu Glossary

Pink-sand beaches, assorted biodiversity, and giant World War II memorabilia draw tourists toward Sanma, a northern Vanuatu province occupying the nation's largest island, Espiritu Santo, and its smaller chum, Malo.

Sanma is the first province from which the West discovered Vanuatu, after Portuguese voyager Pedro Fernandes de Quirós touched down on Espiritu Santo in 1606. On Espiritu Santo's coast is Luganville, Vanuatu's second-largest settlement and the busiest port for copra and cacao. As the provincial center, Luganville is lined with lodges and convenience stores as well as Quonset huts, or military-constructed houses tracing back to the Second World War. Other important settlements include Lorevilko, noted for its custom dances; Port Orly, known for its underwater sandbar and snorkeling; and Champagne Beach, celebrated for its pink-sand beaches, one of the best in South Pacific.

Nature lovers too have something to watch for in Sanma. Espiritu Santo has all of Vanuatu's endemic birds, including the endangered Santo Mountain Starling. The island also supports cattle-farming, and its organic beef is exported to Japan, Australia and other Pacific countries. Locals and tourists alike indulge in free pickings of fruits, fruit bats and coconut crabs.

With many wrecks to explore, Espiritu Santo is a diving haven, boasting of its sunken sights such as the Million Dollar Point and the SS President Coolidge, a Titanic-like luxury liner. American Broadway legends Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein even immortalized Espiritu Santo in their musical, South Pacific, which tells the island's story as a former Allied Forces naval base after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

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