We are now back in Madang after a truly wonderful holiday. The only problem is that Ken's legs are literally covered in bites that have turned quite nasty.so he's gone off to the Doctor. That is after doing the market shopping!

So back to Alotau. On Monday we had a second boat trip for a whole day to an island that is where the first missionaries lived and even though a tiny island there is an amazing ruin of a Church that they built! It looks like concrete but I expect it could have been built with a mixture of ground coral and sand and water. Can't think what else they could use. Now the tree roots are virtually holding it up but you can see how straight the walls were so definitely built by craftsmen. The reason they stayed on Kileton Island is because they were afraid of the cannibals on the main land!

Tuesday was a quiet day with just a bit of shopping in Alotau and a bit of sunbathing for Una, something she hasn't done in Madang as it is so much hotter.

As usual we went to have an early dinner and sit with a drink and watch the sun setting. As usual the canoes were out and the men were fishing. We watched in amazement as one man caught a small fish every few seconds! In went the line, no bait, no hook just a bit of a bamboo splinter and hey ho another fish caught. Then, Jenny, one of the receptionists who has taken us on our boat trips, came to talk to us. She told us that as very special people they wanted to make a special dinner for us! We were quite touched. Then came a bottle of champagne for us. This was followed by a PNG dinner. This is something you never get in hotels or even restaurants. The only time we eat such food is in Aiome when the Deputy's wife cooks for us. We were delighted. When it arrived it was huge! One platter had fish and chicken on and you could taste the ginger and slight coconut milk, traditional way of cooking and the second platter was full of different local vegetables. Beautiful and decorated with bird of paradise figures cut from raw squash! It was a mountain of food and we did our best but hardly made a dent in it! Such a lovely gesture for us BUT that wasn't it.We had another surprise. Drum beat in the background and out came a group in their traditional costume, ie nothing much but shell bangles and tusk necklaces and grass skirts! 3 women and five men and a wee girl made up the group who danced and sang for the two of us. Very moving when they explained it was their traditional farewell to their parents when they went away to boarding school!

Even more surprises to come! Jenny put a necklace on Ken and Uncle Tibby on me and we were bot given caps, yes caps that had Driftwood on! We were very tearful as they wished us farewell and said that the necklaces showed that they had "bought" us and so we had to return!

Now I am not supposed to tell you this but as I hadn't packed a hat for Ken he'd been forced to buy a cap on our first day and so he is now the proud owner of not one but two caps AND a necklace for the first time in his life!!!