Week beginning 13.04.09 (Holiday Week)

We travelled to Madang in a PMV (Public Motor Vehicle). It was a 15 seater but 21 people made the 11 hour journey. In Goroka it picked up some passengers and took one to her settlement home and we all waited while she packed, said a tearful (long) goodbye to her family and came aboard with her baby and a toddler. The PMV stopped fairly frequently for refreshments, toilet breaks (behind a bush) and altogether it was a good natured journey - cramped as people had luggage, sacks of vegetables, etc and long and hot but fine. People seem to be still fascinated by Princess Diana and as soon as they know we are English they are full of questions about her! PNGs like the English. Occasionally they think we are Australians and then they aren't so keen but visibly brighten up when we say English.

Madang was luxury - restaurants, swimming pools, shops that have something in, parties, other volunteers etc. We had 4 days of a hectic social life and it was fun. Ali even had a massage at the hotel and acupuncture. We took a boat trip to CranketIsland, which is idyllic, and swam and picnicked all day. It was beautiful and like paradise except Ali got bitten by sea lice - like nettle stings - on her legs and arms. The others were mostly okay as they were in deeper water.

We left in Lynn and Roger's car to go up to Goroka. We were a little nervous as everyone talked of bandits and the stupidity of 4 white people travelling together. We hid all valuables etc but we were fine for the 9 hour journey. The hotel was lovely (by PNG standards) and we met up with two volunteers who hadn't seen each other or any other white person since Christmas. One was fine and seemed to have integrated really well into local life but one was isolated and seemed very pleased to see us. They live and work at different ends of town and with no transport couldn't go out after work.

We came on to Kundiawa and felt a bit anxious having Lynn and Roger as guests as our house is basic and there isn't much to do here. We were stopped on the Highway for money which we paid (not much) and then later a group of rascals ran in front of the car with bush knives etc looking very threatening but Roger just drove straight through them and they dispersed. Phew! They loved the hills and scenery and we had a great few days. Lynn wasn't feeling brilliant - she's diabetic - so Mike and Roger went on a walk up the hills - over a precarious bridge and through villages where they felt like the Pied Piper with so many children following and eventually got onto inner-tubes to cross the river. This isn't a tourist thing - (there are no tourists) but a means of locals getting their stuff to market. The locals pay 20 toea (5p) but they charged Mike and Roger 1 Kina (25p)! We had no water for most of the two days Lynn and Roger were here. It came on briefly at 8.30 pm and all 4 of us had a shower in 10 minutes in case it went again. The men busily refilled buckets and bowls etc.

Yesterday morning the deputy from Mt. Wilhelm School came with a huge bucket of fresh strawberries all layered with parsley to keep it fresh. No jars etc to make jam so we prepared them and froze them. Took us hours. I gave some to the neighbours, some to the phone technician, had them for lunch and tea etc. When I gave them to the neighbour she told me that the little 2 year old who had been at the mui mui the week before had died. We had taken photos of her clutching some raw pork and I'd commented on her walking around with this piece of pork but they said they'd cook it later for her. That was the Saturday and she died on the following Friday. No-one knew why she'd died. She had diarrhoea and on Friday afternoon they took her to hospital and she died later that day. Life is cheap here and they didn't seem shocked or overly upset - just matter of fact. The mortality rate for under 5s is 10% - the highest in the Pacific region. The parents don't take their children early to hospital and then the hospitals have little medication. In England little Vanessa would have been straight on a drip and pumped full of antibiotics and survived.

Some news is that we now have a telephone!! Whenever we passed we went into the Telikom office to ask when it would be installed and we think they got fed up with us so finally installed it. Bliss. If you Skype it is very cheap to phone us 00675 7351912. It is quite expensive for us to ring apart from Sundays and after 8pm (11a.m. in England)

Lots of love

Mike and Alison