They attempted a coup against the French colonialists and the military were driving around the island in armoured troop carriers. The gendarme came out in Port Villa to protect the PM’s residence near where we were staying. Vanuatu is a special experience if you mix with the locals but the main island is a poor pile of mud. This is not a tourist destination but an experience of the plight of one of the poorest countries in the South Pacific ring. Wreck diving is the main attraction of the other islands but beware because of Malaria.