Papua New Guinea and YAP

We headed next to Papua New Guinea, where we had two ports.  I didn't really know what to expect from these places and, frankly, neither did anyone on the ship, practically!  Holland America was one of the first ships to ever visit our first port, a town called Alotau.  I had been warned that there was basically nothing there, but it was really an interesting experience still.  Alotau sits in the Milne Bay, which was the location of a pretty big battle during WWII.  When we arrived I got off the ship and took the shuttle bus with Keri to the singular tourist "site" of the town, which was a small monument commemorating the battle and looking out over the bay itself.

From there we started to get more a feel of the port and the people.  It was INCREDIBLY hot outside, but there were people all over who looked pretty poor.  They were mostly with families and either just sort of sitting around or gathered in sort of makeshift markets.  We decided to walk back in the direction of the ship along a paved path there and just our short time was really fascinating.  The people, especially children, were all very curious and very kind.  You could tell they didn't see a lot of white people around and between my blond hair and Keri's Scottish freckles, they were pretty amazed with the new visitors.  We spent some time wandering through fishing boats and around the market looking at handicrafts and things, but mostly just watching people.  

Bought some souvenirs from this guy and he was one happy camper! 

One thing that I was excited to see was the presence of beetle nuts.  They were selling them and obviously had been consuming them.  The beetle nut is chewed and gives a bit of a high, but it's most known for its bright red color and the way it stains your mouth.  There are lyrics in "Bloody Mary" about how she chews beetle nuts and that is how she got her name… her red-stained mouth.  It was pretty crazy to see these big smiles beaming back at us just bright red!  What a site.  When we got back to the ship I spent the rest of the hot day at the pool and enjoying the view of the surrounding jungle and mountains.  

The next day we were in Madang, another town of Papua New Guinea.  This port is maybe slightly more used to having ships visit and the locals know they can sell goods at the port.  There were lots of people gathered with handmade jewelry and wood carvings outside the port and they weren't too shy about their interest in white people.  I had people following me around the whole time I was out.  Kids and men were right up next to me all the time, just wanting to watch what I was interested in, hear me talk and try to converse with me, etc.  I got a couple of cool pictures of the very open, generous people, including one of a man who sold me some of his goods.  Again, it was interesting to see how these people lived and I appreciated their warm spirits, but there just wasn't anything to do there.  On to the next!

Our final stop on our sort of Micronesia tour was Yap Island.  Again, there wasn't a ton to see or do, but Yap had pulled out all the stops for the ship and was so welcoming and generous.  We got off the ship and walked for a bit before settling at the historical center where there were traditional huts and meeting houses built.  Some locals were in traditional dress selling arts and crafts, but then a large group came out and performed a battle dance that was really fascinating.  There was chanting and beautiful costume.  There was a clear presence of beetle nuts here just like the other two ports, and that made the dance even more intimidating.  

Battle dance on Yap Island

One thing that I found so interesting was that Yap Island is known as the land of stone money.  Let me explain- all over Yap there are these large circular, flat discs ranging in diameter from 3 feet to 10 feet.  They have a small hole in the middle, large enough to put a piece of bamboo through.  The people there still use these stones as currency for very important purchases like land, a dowery, etc.  The problem is, the limestone discs are so heavy that no one moves them.  If I had a big stone in my front yard that was mine, I could say to my neighbor, "Hey- can I buy a dozen cows from you?  You can have this disc in my front yard."  If the neighbor agrees, the disc belongs to him, but isn't even moved.  Apparently it's just a way of life that has kept up and is respected among everyone, but it's sort of crazy.  The discs are everywhere and they all claim something and represent someone.  It was wild!

Stone money

After watching with most of the ship for a while I wandered over to the canoe and boat-building center.  It was just another small hut, but it was nice to see the hand-carved outrigger canoes.  I also learned about the traditional wrap the people of Yap Island wear, called a lava-lava.  It is traditionally made out of banana fibers, though now they are made from cloth a lot, but they can be used and worn many different ways.  There was a man selling them who was so kind and I thought they were beautiful and reminded me of the great people I had met already that day in Yap, so I decided to buy one.  Again, being the wanderer, I headed through town to see what I could find sort of away from the crowd.  As I was walking, carrying my lava-lava, a woman shouted at me from inside a store (more just an open building that had stuff sitting around for sale on folding tables).  She wanted to know where I had gotten the lava-lava and I just didn't really know what she wanted or why she wanted to know.  I went over and was chatting with her and her friend there, too, for a bit and finally told them where I got it and how much I paid.  They were actually really impressed with the quality of it and the price I had paid, informing me that similar items are many times sold for 3x what I paid!  Day made.  It was great to visit yap and now I'l have the lava-lava to remember the kind people there and the fun day I enjoyed.  The land of stone money was certainly unique.

Live rejoicing, 

Tripp