day 53 – madang, papua, new guinea

band greeting us shoreside...
those tube things they sit on are pitched drums

today was an amazing day…  where to even start… i guess at the beginning.  i got to do the ship’s good morning show from one of the larger lounges with a piano in it, and had a nice coffee talk interview.  more painless than i thought it would be!  it wasn’t really what made the day amazing, though…

lush greenery everywhere

the best part of the day, was getting to escort a highlights tour of today’s port, madang, papua, new guinea.  it is hard to put into words the kind of an impact this day had on me, but i will try… i met our tour guide, a young university student named dorris.  she is from the highlands, and in her 3^rd year of school in madang.  she is studying tourism and hospitality/guest services, as she hopes to foster tourism in her country.  we left the port area, and suddenly felt like we were visiting royalty, or like the beatles… everywhere our small vans went, the streets were full of people waving and smiling at us… i noticed, at first with alarm, that their smiles were all red and bloody looking… all the cannibal lore had me a little spooked, and i asked dorris, and she laughed… it was because everyone here chews betel nuts, which turns their smiles red… i relaxed and smiled back, and the greetings from them seemed so heartfelt.  i have never felt so welcomed anywhere.  it was not the grasping, predatory type of sensation i had in fiji or parts of central america on other travels, they had no hands out, not clutching at us, though desperately poor, they weren’t asking for anything, and they had no shame i’ve seen other people exhibit about their mean conditions; they seemed a happy people, even though very poor by american definitions; but they don’t consider themselves poor, because they have fish in the ocean, and can grow fruit and vegetables and the land provides them with materials for shelter.  a true subsistence way of life for so many in the bush here… it was inspiring and humbling…

simple raised structures of wood and leaves

our first stop was a ride into the rainforest lands and off the paved roads, to a small traditional village called bilbil.  here, the women make clay pots in the fire with a clay and sand mixture, and the children (who are beautiful) shyly grin at us and pose for pictures… i gave the children all the australian one and two dollar coins i had left… they seemed thrilled to receive american or australian currency, which they can use here in addition to their island notes… a policeman was explaining the whole betel nut thing, and his helpful friend opened his mouth full of crushed up betel nuts with powdered lime and mustard plant for a helpful visual aide… too funny!  there were native dancers who came and performed and sang, and it was incredible… the costumes were adorned with bright feathers and leaves, boars tusks; it was among the few most non-modern and non-western cultures i’ve ever observed up close.  the homes are on poles and platforms off the ground, made of wood and leaves, and they cook on open fires.  i spoke with one woman named gabi who linked arms to walk around with me, and was thrilled when i told her i play music on the ship.  she said she wished i could come back someday to help the children in her village to learn music… wow… i swear after spending some time here, i never wanted to do anything like that more than i did at that moment…

in village of bilbil

flora and fauna is stunning

typical stuff growing everywhere

it is hard to transmit the entire experience and the feelings it stirred up in me, but i could sum it up by saying it made me feel like doing something important to help people at a very basic and human level… someday, when i have put my son through school and have time in my life to give a month or two to volunteer somewhere, i would come here first… the people were lovely to us… gabi asked if we could write letters to each other because she knows english and can write, and i said absolutely yes… there are hundreds of dialects of language on this one island, and the bilbil language is colorful… when gabi told her friends what we had talked about, i could hear the words ‘piano,’ ‘keyboard’ and the other ladies ‘oo!’  and ‘ah!’ in appreciation of music; they seem a very musical people… she gave me a big hug and said she hoped i could come back someday… as our van pulled out, she ran up to my open van window and said, “you will have a letter waiting at your home for you!”  i was really moved by the people here and their simple life in the rainforest… bora bora was beautiful, and flowery, and lush, but this place was more wildly beautiful, more flowery, more jungly and even more lush…

traditional dance

beautiful flowers, clay pots in corner

lots of cute dogs

bilbil policeman is showing me a betel nut - not red in shell

women making clay pots

more beauty

beautiful children of bilbil

typical bilbil home

our next stop was a butterfly farm, where we didn’t see too many butterflies up close; some giant ones flew over, as big as birds, but none landed to get a close up… there were a few inside a netted shelter to snap pics… the flowers were breathtaking, though… the day was in the 80’s, overcast, very humid, with occasional lovely breezes… and though hot and sticky, i don’t recall really feeling uncomfortable except when our van was stopped for someone with a flat tire ahead of us… it was rather still and began to feel a bit sauna like… i’m sure if i do go back someday, i’ll want to go in the rainy season…

swoon

large butterfly on leaf under netted tent

layers of glorious color everywhere

we visited the madang cultural center where there were more dancers, and many arts and crafts on the lawns for sale… i got some wooden hand carved piglets (they reminded me of gimli) and watched the giant bats in the trees overhead fluttering, swooping, squabbling… our next stop before returning to the dock was a beach with a lighthouse and giant banyan tree… it would be fun to live on that tree! 

the dogs really do look like this painting here

colorful artwork at cultural center

this is, like, 10 bucks a stem back home and grows in ditches here

giant bats in trees by the cultural center

giant banyan tree... those are people on the right
 it is all one tree except pale tree in foreground

i noticed some hotels and resorts that looked a bit simple, not like bora bora… apparently a cruise ship only comes once or twice a year, so it is very exciting for them… dorris told me they have many tourists from japan, mostly… she also asked if we could be penpals, and i said sure, so, for me, a cruising first: in two years at sea, no one has ever wanted to write letters, yet in one day in new guinea, i have two penpals!  a poignant part of the day, after returning to the ship, was watching the guests (we’d get fired if we did this) chuck apples, chocolates, potato chips, money in ziploc bags, toys, off the lower promenade deck over the side to the children gathered below alongside the ship in their homemade canoes… one friend bailing a leaky canoe while the other jockeys for a better position to grab goodies…all in all, the whole day has felt like a national geographic special, and i got to be in it… it was utterly fascinating!  i hope you enjoy the pictures, and if you ever get the chance to come here, you absolutely should.

children of madang collecting goodies thrown off the ship at the end of the day

lovely papua new guinea

didn’t get back til 4:30, had to write a song, get a shower and get ready for work… no nap today… that’s ok, though… it was a memorable day.  my theme back on the ship was “can i get a yeehaw!?!” which is country music, a little folk and a few bluegrass tunes… always a well attended theme, so this jazz baby has had to just go ahead and embrace a little bit of country along with everything else… some of it i actually even like (johnny cash, hank williams, sr., patsy cline)… missing everyone and i so wish i could bring nino and his pals here so they could see what teens in the other parts of the world live like… it would blow your minds, guys!  xoxo, mama

port song for madang, papua, new guinea

(to the tune of carole king’s “you’ve got a friend”)

when you’re down near australia, and you seek exotic lands

you go a bit north, up around and over to the right

and you’ll open your eyes in new guinea, and you’ll be glad you’re there

cause the children’s smiles could brighten up the darkest night

we went out to bilbil

a little village way out over the hill

the little kids come smiling, and the dancers begin

things out here they don’t cost a lot

a wooden mask or fired clay pots

and i made a penpal there

now i’ve got a new friend

if the sky above you should grow dark and full of bats

close your eyes, and feel the breezes begin to blow

just keep your head together and hold each others hands

and soon i’ll be waiting for you by the van

i bought 3 little pigs made of wood

i thought the prices there were so good

compared to australia where things cost a lot

our tour guide wants to write to me too

now my new guinea penpal tally is two

they’re such friendly folks out here

now i’ve got two new friends

ain’t many butterflies at the butterfly farm

but the flowers were something to behold

and a light house and a ginormous banyan tree

that i can see would make a hell of a tree house

i got hugs and pictures galore

an invitation to come back for more

and to teach some piano to the children out here

as long as cannibals are further away

i think in new guinea i could stay

for a week or two or a few 

here with my new friends