"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 54 Madang, Papua New Guinea February 21, 2014 Friday Chance of rain, 84 degreesThe food really did smell goodTypical boat

Our wall map chart continues to progress

The flowers continue to grow.....

We woke up this morning, looked out the window, and realized that we have been here before on the world cruise in 2011. For some reason, one of us thought we had been in Port Moresby that time, but that was wrong. No wonder the tour we cancelled sounded so much the same, because it was.

The main road in Madang

The description of Madang in the local Executive Travellers booklet is that it is a serene and majestic haven, surrounded by crystal clear waters, coral reefs, white sands and beauty. But where? According to Barbara H, Madang, the capital of the province, is not a lovely or pretty town. What it does have are lagoons and waterways, where the locals hang out.....lots of them. Seems like very few of these townfolk work. More about that later.

Busy streets

Locals Hanging Out

Old ficus trees, probably full of bats

Notice the potholes full of rainwater

Tropical sights

There is much World War Two history with Madang. Colonized by the Germans, this town was almost completely destroyed by the Japanese. Scores of ships, barges, tugs, and aircraft were sunk in this harbor. Oddly enough, these items helped to build a reef, creating perfect conditions for excellent snorkeling and diving. And that is what brings the tourists here today....the diving.

Love the palm trees

Maritime Safety

The lagoon entrance

Something else put this area on the map.......minerals, gas and petroleum products. Minerals such as gold and copper are still mined here in Papua New Guinea. The production of copra, one of the world's richest crops, had been the mainstay until 1970, when mining exceeded it. Today many crops are grown in the mountainsides, including coffee, which was introduced by the German missionaries, coconuts, cocoa, and bananas.

The "food court" area of town

Madang is situated on the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea and is very close to the Equator. So to say it was hot and humid is putting it lightly. It's the steamy humidity that is hard to take. We knew to take lots of water with us when we left the ship around 10am. Many vendors were lined up against the walls as we left the port gates. We would have plenty of time to look over their wares on our way back. Not that we were really looking for anything, but things have a way of finding us.

Taking the ship's rather poor map, we tried to follow the roads that led to the water's walkway. There were many stores here for basic needs of the locals. We did not go inside any of them, since we needed nothing. Even though the people seemed friendly, the atmosphere was not quite the same here as in Alotau two days ago.

Nice doggie

There were dozens of groups of men hanging around as if today was a holiday. It appeared that many of them had something to sell.

Cooking over wood fires on the ground

Ladies frying up the fish and produce

In one area, there were ladies cooking fish, lobster, crabs, sweet potatoes, and bananas. All of it was put in deep vegetable oil to fry in a skillet in the charcoals. Although it smelled OK, we were a bit put off by the numerous flies that were landing on the already cooked fish. The ladies cooked with one hand, and shooed the flies away with a wispy fan with the other hand.

No kitchen appliances here

There were a few vendors selling baskets, carvings, and paintings. They could not compare with the carvings we had to choose from in Aloutau. Those were by far superior in quality.

Fish and veggies ready for the frying pan

The food really did smell good

Spiny lobsters for 7.00 kinas ($3.US)

The locals

Breaded and fried

More New Guinean art

More pricey items near the resort

Rosewood bowls and painted gourds

Carved weapons and paintings

A simple toy for a little boy

Written in our guidebook, the locals are reportedly friendly and will happily share their knowledge of their culture with us. However, when we asked a few fellows directions showing them our maps, they could not help us. They did not speak any English beyond hello, and they could not read a map. We were trying to locate the museum and cultural center, but no one knew where they were. It was just as well we did not take the long hike there anyway, because we heard later that the dancers were not there this time. That was our only reason for going to that park.

Swaying palms

The Madang Resort

Finding that we were close to the Madang Resort and Kalibobo Village, we continued following the pathway to the gates of the property. Now this is the most civilized spot in the town, called the Jewel of the Pacific.

Lagoon area

The resort and village is built on the shores of the Madang Harbor and Yamilon Lagoon, and encompasses 10 acres of of landscaped gardens with waterfront suites, cottages, and deluxe rooms. There was a big sign posted near the waterfronts suites stating not to hang your wet clothing on the veranda, because the clothes would be gone, stolen. Hmm, that tells you a lot.

OK, where do we find the restaurant?

Inside the lobby

Driveway to a nice spot

Swimming pool near the cafe

Resort Reception

We located the main reception area where we found excellent brochures and maps of Madang.

Cool coffee table

The restaurant/bar located in this complex is called Haus Win, and was opening for early lunch.

Haus Win Restaurant & Bar

Made locally

We were in desperate need of something wet and cold, so SP beers were our choice. We did not know that they had a pizza menu, since we were a little too early. And once again, we had eaten a good breakfast on the ship, not expecting a suitable place for lunch, let alone pizza. Oh well. Several shoreline tables were available to relax and watch the harbor traffic go by.

Enjoying the cold SP beer

Manicured grounds of the resort...all part of Kalibobo Village

Sign

When we left, we wandered around the grounds to see a freshwater pond full of very large fish by the name of pacu. The sign said they are fed at sunset, and eat coconut meat and bananas, odd for a fish. Vegetarian fish?

Pacu fish in the pond

Are they having fun, or what?

One extremely big mask

Fountain at the resort

Could have sat under it to cool off

Also on the grounds were cages containing native birds. Some unusual ones were the pigeons, dark blue in color with top notches. Like every type of exotic bird in Papua New Guinea, they are on the endangered list. They had one hornbill and a cockatoo.

Victoria Crowned Pigeon native to PNG

Sign

A hornbill

An annoyed hornbill

The flying fox or fruit bat

But the biggest number of flying creatures were in the trees overhead.....yes, the fruit bats. If you did not look up, you never would have seen them. One of the grounds keepers came over and shook a bamboo stalk, sending the sleeping birds into the sky by the dozens, just so we could get a good photo. One of us took the pictures on rapid speed, while the other covered their head. We cannot imagine these rat-looking mammals can be a delectable food item for the locals. Unless we were on the brink of starvation, then maybe. But as a conscience choice, we could not bring ourselves to sample it.

Can you imagine eating these???

Not us, thanks

After we checked out the pricey souvenirs at the nearby park on the hotel property, we took a different road on the way back to the ship. Whether this was a wise move was debatable. Suddenly, we were surrounded completely by scores of men just hovering around. Not that they were not friendly, it made one of us uncomfortable. It's not a good idea to separate yourself from the crowd of tourists. But sometimes, if you want to see like the fish market and the real local fresh veggie and fruit market, you have to leave the beaten path.

Some of the rooms

Resort flag

Resort employees

The kids loved their pictures taken

All vying for our attention

More kids

Wandering around the fish market

Along the shore of the lagoon, were numerous boats where the men had brought their catch of the day, or judging from the aroma, yesterday's catch. Phew. Nothing a lot of hot oil could not hide for sure. Across the road from the lagoon was a huge park, Sir Donald Cleland Park. There were hundreds of vendors and local picnickers as well set up in this park.

Mostly fish heads

Better-looking fish

Piles of peanuts

The over-crowded veggie market

Proud of their chickens

Ladies were selling huge leaves for cooking

Many babies here

Ice chests full of fish, but no ice

Plantains

What disturbed us were the six foot high pyramids of garbage stacked every 20 feet around this entire park. Heaven knows what was in it besides the plastic bottles, diapers, discarded food, and betelnut spit. This was a bit more than we really needed to see. On one corner, was a growing group of men who were gathering around a rabble-rouser obviously creating a scene over government policies. That could be a bad place to be if the group got out of hand. Time to head back to the ship.

By the way, later on we did hear of a passenger that had gotten mugged. Apparently, Gene had warned the folks after the show last night not to wear flashy jewelry here. Perhaps not everyone heard that. Cameras are also targeted, so going in groups was the wise thing to do. Come to think of it, that was why we took that tour three years ago.

The road back to the ship

Police training facility

Nice park sign

A marshy field full of waterlilies

Blooming pink flowers, and probably mosquitos

Our new basket (2 foot wide)

There were a few things we found to bargain for near the pier gate. A really neat woven basket and a multi-color mask went back with us on the ship.When you show interest in something, you seem to draw a crowd of the locals, who try to help with the negotiation. There were four interpreters for every one vendor. They were very happy with our final offer, so we did OK.

Lovely mask right?

Sitting under the shade of umbrellas was smart

Foodland was civilized

Woven bags

Local vendors selling treasures

Carvings

Seashell jewelry

Shoreline buildings

Looking forward to air-conditioning

Empty pier

Dive In hamburgers were our lunch while we cooled off in our room. Sailaway was at 4:30 to 5:30am under sprinkling skies. Actually, it felt so good as we slowly salied out of the harbor.

Pretty soon, there were more

Gathering a lot of stuff

Kids begging for anything, especially money

People in huge numbers came out to wave goodbye. Right before we left, a number of kids rowed alongside the ship in their makeshift kayaks, begging for mostly money. People were tossing ship candies in baggies, fruit, and everything else but money. When the kids picked up the bags, they let loose with a few F-bombs to the passengers who meant well. Oh well, kids are kids, and may reflect the real attitude of the parents.

The rest of the waving and cheering crowd made up for the few bad apples. The rain began to get heavier, so we sought refuge on deck seven below the aft deck. This is a great spot with a few teak lounges and thick pads. But no breeze to speak of. It was time to check out the entrees in the Lido anyway. Dinnertime found us ordering soup and entree salads since the hamburgers were very filling at lunchtime. Sometimes it is nice to keep the dining light.

It was told to us that the singer last night was excellent. We knew that from previous world cruises.

We are on our way to a place called Yap, definitely a new port for us, if we really make it there.

Here are more photos from the sail away.