CLOSED INDEFINITELY

25th March 2010

It started with a bridge between Goroka and Madang.A vehicle transporting a heavy piece of machinery destined for one of the mines, caused the bridge to collapse, with the vehicle and machinery on it.The result of this is that no goods can reach Kundiawa from the coast by road and are not likely to be able to for some time to come.No, problem you might say, there's an airstrip.No longer.As of today, that has been closed indefinitely with October being rumoured, before it opens again.It was common knowledge that the runway had potholes, but again, rumour has it that a big shot from Air Nuigini in Port Moresby was in town and witnessed people walking across the runway.Well, why not?It's a short cut for goodness sake, the gate onto the runway is usually open and the perimeter fence is full of holes.The consequence is that the runway (the one and only) is now closed indefinitely.

This news has really affected Jake, as he is due to fly out to return to UK a week on Thursday.To add insult to injury, he has a phone interview this evening for a job he has applied for and this morning the phones were down - the 'b****' was alive and well.However, by mid morning the lines were restored and we hope will stay that way until after his interview this evening.As for his flight home, it is likely he will have to change his ticket to fly from Goroka, which involves a two hour ride on a PMV before he gets on the plane, if indeed he can change his ticket.Luckily for us, we had already decided to fly from Goroka when we leave in June, as it gives us more options for connecting flights if planes are delayed or cancelled, a common phenomenon in these parts.So, if it is October before flights resume, at least we should be able to get out OK.

The chaos continues, with reports in the paper today that the Bank South Pacific has lost 16million kina as a result of fraudulent acts by bank employees!That, plus the bank raids, must make it a non profit organisation!

We returned safely from Mount Wilhelm High School on Thursday, which is, as you would expect, situated close to Mount Wilhelm, the highest mountain in PNG at 4509metres.We prepared workshops to begin on the afternoon of Tuesday, all day Wednesday and Thursday morning, after which we would return back to Kundiawa.We had consulted the head as to what support was required, drawn up a schedule and sent it to him, packed our bags and were ready for the off on Tuesday morning.

We were to be picked up by the guy who owns the place where we were due to stay, a backpackers' type of place, primarily for people who want to climb the mountain.He was due to arrive at 8.30am.He turned up at 11am and deposited us at the coffee shop in town where we waited a further hour while he collected provisions - thankfully the coffee is good.Then, around 12noon he picked us up in his open backed truck, where we climbed aboard with our bags, sacks of rice, cartons of beer and three gentlemen.

We survived the journey, which was on the one and only 'road', though in UK no car would attempt it.We were held up twice by locals demanding money to allow us to pass through, as they claimed they had cleared a landslip.The scenery was totally breathtaking - I'm sure there are people who would pay money to witness such stunning views (possibly in more comfortable circumstances however!).The owner of the place where we were staying, called Martin, belongs to a tribe of 30,000 people that consists of 3 clans.Each tribe has clearly demarked territory and it was very evident that until Martin and his three clansmen had passed into their own territory, they were very tense and nervous and many bottles of beer were consumed during the three hour journey.

All this meant, with various stops to stretch our legs, buy more beer and betelnut, we didn't arrive at the school until after the teachers had left, so our plans to start rolling that afternoon were scuppered.Added to which, we discovered that the head teacher wasn't there anyway, as he had made an emergency trip into town to stock up on supplies as he was worried with the collapse of the bridge described above, rations for his students (it's a boarding school) would be in short supply.

Undeterred, we sorted ourselves out at our digs.It was freezing cold with no means of heat and no hot water.We went into a barn like building where there was at least a stove, which gave out a bit of heat and were told our food would be ready at 6.30.It arrived at 8pm finding us cold and hungry but thankfully it was a lovely meal with hot soup to start, the inevitable pork and vegetables for the main dish followed by delectable strawberries, for which the area is renowned.We demolished the meal in little time and rushed off to bed to try and get warm.

We donned thermal underwear and thick socks (we had stayed here before and anticipated the cold) and Mike (a new volunteer who accompanied us on this jaunt) next morning described getting into bed as like jumping onto Tesco's car park!The bed was pretty solid with a paper thin mattress and after John and I had fought over the sheet, we realised it was a single sheet put crossways on a double bed, so we threw it out!The pillow was huge and felt as though it was filled with stones and even when we'd thawed out, we didn't sleep well!

Next morning, we had a 30 minute hike to school, again with stunning, misty views and all down hill, which is my kind of walking.We rushed though, as school was due to start at 8am, but on arrival there were few teachers to be found and little activity.Eventually we found the head teacher and he informed us that he had received our proposed schedule, but it would have to be rearranged.Why, we enquired?Because the following day all the teachers were going to take the school truck into town to stock up on their personal supplies as, on Friday, the usual day for them to do this, the school truck was being used for another purpose!They would leave at 5am!So our three days of well prepared work was now reduced to one day.

However, we regrouped, rearranged, reorganised and covered as much as we could under the circumstances, comforting ourselves in the knowledge that we would return to Kundiawa and the warmth, sooner than expected.This we did the following morning, stopping on the way to purchase bags of vegetables and a huge box of strawberries.These are now being converted into strawberry jam by John, as we speak and the aroma is gorgeous.They grow the most fantastic organic vegetables on the mountainsides, which include English potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, onions etc.This is the work mainly of the women, who cling onto steep inclines whilst tending their gardens and then walk up and down these slopes with huge bilums filled with produce - they must be fantastically strong but sadly, they die young.Average lifespan in PNG is around 45-55years.

We were to have a goodbye celebration for Jake on Saturday, but this has been put back because the head of the family he lives above who were organising the pig killing, is stuck in Madang because of the broken bridge, so the pig has a stay of execution until next week-end and can carry on grunting underneath Jake's house for another week!

I am being called to test the strawberry jam, so can't delay!

No doubt gardens are beginning to burst into colour - enjoy Easter when it comes.

Love from the Jam Maker and Me.