Our 10 days in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, has been interesting but hardly scintillating. There is a real problem here with security due to the high unemployment rate and presence of rascal bandits. There are constant stories of armed robberies, break ins to houses and we even heard a broadcast over the radio of a boat being held up in the harbour by six armed men. Thankfully the marina is very very safe with a prolific amount of guards and a large locked compound area. The yacht club here is fantastic with a great restaurant and bar. We eat in the restaurant at least once a day for lunch or dinner as they have an a la carte menu but also host different nights like ‘Wok Tuesday’ or ‘English Carvery Friday’ or ‘Saturday Burger Bar’ and there is a big balcony overlooking the water where it is heaven to sit in the shade with a handle (pint) of SP beer.
I must admit there have been a few highlights! On Wednesday I was invited out to the WAGS series which is a twilight informal race. Racketeer was loaded to the hilt as Andy had invited some friends of his who were visiting from Belgium as well as the usual crew so we had 11 on board. We just put out the headsail as there was a stiff 30knot breeze. Five minutes after we got out of the harbour Andy designated me skipper for the night (which I was later told was a rare honour!) I struggled to master the tiller as everything is in reverse but it was the most fantastic feeling as Racketeer heeled over and headed up into the breeze and you could feel the changes in the wind and sea through your hands. We had a short steep swell and as we headed out into the harbour more and more waves come over the side. Then we really started to cop it bashing into the sea and sending huge amounts of water over the side. Everyone was absolutely soaked including myself and I had made the fatal mistake of wearing white pants with only a white g-string underneath. As we neared the end of the course and were about to tack I asked for my jumper and got sympathetic comments about the wind chill and the cold air and then surprised looks as I wrapped the jumper around my waist to protect everyone from a full on view of my derriere as I darted across the deck to change sides! At one stage we hit 7 and a half knots upwind with just the headsail and a loaded boat so we were flying!
Still it was a fantastic night and we continued drinking in the yacht club afterwards. One of the younger guys here, Ben, offered to take me out for the night. Its impossible to leave without an escort so I jumped at the chance. We first went back to his apartment so he could shower and I relaxed on the couch and channel surfed. First TV in four months and I found an episode of McLeods daughters, from the new season no less, so I refused to leave before it ended! Then we drove around the city and went out to two nightclubs – the Airways club and the Lamana Hotel. I was the only white girl in both nightclubs which was an interesting experience and I was the subject of many amazed looks – more at my daring to be there than anything else.
The rest of the week passed pretty quietly until Sunday the 16th of September which was Independence Day here. We had a buffet breakfast up at the yacht club with all the trimmings and then there was a craft market downstairs, an art show upstairs and traditional dancing in the grounds. Independence Day came to us! I purchased a few traditional pieces of jewellery and giggled at the men in their ‘ass grass’ banging the Kundu drum. We have become friends with one of the expats here, Jason and his lovely family. They have three boy who get along really well with Isabell and Kilian. They drove us down to the main independence day celebration at Ela Beach in the main town which is largely off limits to whites but we were in a large group with children so we deemed it safe. We wandered around the markets for about half an hour before a local came up to Alfred and advised him that raskols were watching him and it was probably wise to leave soon. So we skedaddled!
After the markets Jason offered to take us up to the highlands near Port Moresby and Nadeen took the kids back to their apartment for a swim.
We headed out of Port Moresby and quickly gained altitude. The scenery got greener and lusher as the kilometres flew by and within half an hour we were in the hills. We stopped at the spectacular Rouna falls and thanks to the bucketloads of rain we have had the last few afternoons they were putting on a show. Then we continued up to the start of the Kokoda Trail and on up to Siberi the first real settlement in the highlands where we dashed out of the car (it was raining…again) to the market to buy fresh bananas and pineapples.
We were so thankful to Jason for taking us around as without his assistance we would never have left the marina other than to do provisioning. Talking of which this was achieved this morning at Boroko Foodworld which was well stocked given the surroundings. Provisioning always takes at least three hours as we wander around the supermarket and try and plan food for the next four to six weeks. Steffie and I each take a trolley and never fail to leave without overfilling them!
Our last day was filled with a visit to PNG art for some local handiworks including the famous PNG Billum which is a matter of national pride. A billum is a hand woven colourful string bag and is carried by everyone in all matters of shapes and sizes. I also purchased a Sepik freestanding figure with a fantastic facial expression – very PNG.
Our next destination is the Tanimbar island group in Eastern Indonesia which is about a seven day sail. Then we have about three weeks to cruise to Bali via Komodo (for the Komodo dragons) and a few other Indonesian islands. We expect to arrive in Indonesia around October 20th which will be when we are next in email range. AHHHH – out of touch of society again! I’m looking forward to Indonesia for the supposedly incredible snorkelling and south sea atmosphere, oh and who could forget Nasi Goreng!
