My friend invited me for scuba diving and I was so sorry I couldn’t go because I fell ill. I finally wanted to see the famous fish, that like soft tissue and usually they attack the divers eyes'. Obviously I wanted to look at them through the diving mask. Getting well was a very long process but thanks to it I met Chris, who presented me to the manager of the Curtain Brothers dockyard. (www.curtainbros.com.pg). Jason offered me to haul out my yacht and store it till my comeback from Poland. Is it fool’s luck ? I agree and sail from the yacht club to the dockyard. Local shipman, who knows all the coral reefs in the bay is going with me and makes me feel safer. They made a special support for Tanasza and there are 110 guards watching it day and night. I don't know if you are aware of the fact that Port Moresby is known as the most dangerous capital city in the word. It's not surprising. Even though the local people live in the richest in gold and copper country in the word, they are in fact extremely poor and what is more they are chewing bittle nut. You can buy the magic nut anywhere even from the street vendors. You wet it using a little plant (which name I forgot) and then you put it in the powder made from grinded coral. As you can easily guess this mixture is addictive and it causes the oral cavity cancer. It also provokes aggression. You simply have to be careful, you shouldn’t hang around on your own, especially after dark.
I feel safe living in the Missionaries’ place. I spent some time with them and we organized meetings with students, future priests. I show them slides and they are not at all surprised by me eating Chinese instant soups without water or eating flying fish. They ask me lots of questions. And I learn that the tattoos on the face are made from ash and not ink. That arranged weddings are still common and the brides are often forced to get married. And that the television transmissions of rugby matches influence a lot the life of the local communities. Sometimes the couples separate because of the match result or the best friends stop speaking to each other. And in some circumstances people throw tv - sets on each other! It's a “local” stuff. The priests’ maid gave me a souvenir gift: an ethnic dress and a bag – that is so typical for Papua. The bags are beautiful and each region has it's own design. You can buy them on the monthly market. You wouldn't believe how ample the bag is ! You can also buy a bag to carry a babe. I bought one, for the future :o)
Father Wojtek and Further Zdzisław leave the town to celebrate some religious holidays and I go with them. It is a good possibility to visit some places apart from the capital. The road is full of holes that we try to avoid them so that the music in the radio keeps on playing. Then we just had to hold tight to the sides of the car just to survive the journey. It might well have been Camel Trophy route.
We had to go away from one of the villages shortly after our arrival. We found out that the neighbor village is planning a vendetta. No kidding. On the way back we found lots of cans that have just been flatted by the cars, ready for recycling. We see people washing and bathing in the river, big families eating sweet potatoes kaukau, women always following the men, and always carrying even the heaviest loads on their head. Supposedly it started when the man had to have his hands free and ready to fight in order to protect his family while traveling long distances. And it’s the way it is till now. That’s why the women in Papua have got broad arms and they are not treated the way we are used to in Poland, if you know what I mean. I think that one can learn, even a lot about this country but one can never understand it. Anyway, every place in Papua is different and unfortunately I will sale off without satisfying my ambitions of “traveler”. The excursions by plane to the remote places have to wait. Maybe next time I’ll manage to get there, now I’m busy with other things. I have to get ready to continue my journey. The shipyard is 20 km out of town. The access way goes through a quite unsafe village, but luckily my friend Charlie is a policeman and lives there. So if anything bad had happened to me, it’d have been the same as if it had happened to him… Thinking about it makes me feel easy but still I try to drive at different hours and never after dark. Drive. Easier said than done. It was quite a miracle that I could drive and only because someone let me his car.
And in this moment I would like to tell you about one person who I think is an angel designated to the Papua land especially for me.