Beach Day!
Poor Michael had a fever and was a mess, so we were sad he had to miss coming to the beach with us.
We loaded up the kids and stopped at the store for some "cakes" for a beach picnic. We chose from a colorful assortment of sweet or savory fried pastries, spring rolls, steamed buns, gelatinous rainbow slices, and more. Yum!
Driving through town is always fun. Susan is careful not to hit any chickens or, heaven forbid, a pig. Travelers to Papua are warned that hitting a wandering pig may result in the driver being shot full of arrows, though wealthy travelers may be able to settle for upwards of 10,000,000 Rupiah (approx $800 USD).
Arriving at the beach, we were welcomed by a few dirty pigs and trash, but the view beyond was a stark contrast. Pale sands, clear blue water, and two local fisherman coming in from a morning of lobster fishing were tying their traditional boats to nearby palm trees. When they left, we had the entire beach to ourselves.
The kids were thrilled to run free and cool off in the water, and we were too! We donned snorkle masks and were surprised how close the reef was to the shore. The tide was low, so without any effort, just looking under water we saw beautiful tiny fish.
A short time after we arrived, a string of energetic Papuan children raced stark naked across the sand into the water, joining Oli and 'Cia. We joined in the play, and the game became "tall white man launches kids into the surf." It wasn't quite appropriate to take a picture, but we won't quickly forget that experience. Eric would toss the kiddos up and they'd squirm in the air, trying to go higher and higher before diving back into the warm water.
Those kids were so free and happy, their dark skin a beautiful contrast against the horizon, and their faces lit up with smiles and laughter. Uninhibited joy.
Later that evening, Liz and Susan took a chance to explore at the open air market. Highlights were beautiful batik fabrics, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and fish stalls complete with freshly caught shark.
(More pictures forthcoming at our next stop)
2 comments:
Oh man..... did you find mangosteen (JKF's fave) or rambutan (mine) at the market? We sure enjoyed snorkeling in the western Pacific but didn't try in PNG. However Madang was a highlight for our ship's divers (I got my c-card 10 years later). Did you spot the brightly-mantled giant clams? They were common in the Solomons.
Sounds like the $/rupiah exchange is same as my convention in Bali last November. And the pig-death exactage is about like 1979... :-)
Bruce, I don't recall, but you can look out for them when we get the video posted. I believe we can get those both here, on a good day. I'll keep my eyes open. No giant clams, either, but we stayed pretty close to shore.
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