Pacific Odyssey - Leg 4

Today was the final workday and the ship looks wonderful. It is a very
satisfying feeling being part of such a complete overhaul.  Susan and Tiana
greased the two masts, seated in bosun=B9s chairs, and wiping the mast with
both their hands covered in grease.  Someone on deck raised and lowered
their chairs; it=B9s a big job.  Robyn was also suspended in a bosun=B9s chair
hanging on the end of the main boom out over the stern.  She was painting
the area around the ship=B9s name on the transom.  A crew of Matt, Chase, Sam=
,
Tristan, and Thomas worked on sanding and oiling the bulwarks and covering
board (wide outside plank on the deck that the wooden stanchions of the
bulwarks fit into).   Andrew and Noah painted the halyards that run through
the dead eyes that connect the shrouds to the chain plates on the hull.
Rachael and Victoria were in charge of the hause holes (the hole in the hul=
l
where the anchor chain runs out); wire brushing, wiping and painting them
red. Susan was part of the dory crew along with Tavish, Becca, Chris, Julie
and Elske (whose main job was the hull of the Grace), Jacob, Brooks, Bo,
Simon, Karen, and Sarah B.  The dories were sanded, wiped, primed and
painted while the rails were scraped, sanded and varnished.  They look
great.  Tavish, Becca, Elske, Chris and Julie also painted the hull of the
Grace; it looks like new and they were able to get minimally covered in
black paint themselves.   Gillian and Katie were helped by Naomi, Caley,
Sara R., Arwen, Kelly, and Sean.  They made more trips to the grocery store
and the market and once the food was stowed continued cleaning below decks.
The floor was scraped; definitely not a fun job but it sure feels great  an=
d
looks great when it=B9s done.  Scott is in Port Moresby trying to get his vis=
a
for China.
It was another incredibly hot day; I=B9m not sure where else it=B9s hot enough
that sweat drips from between your eyes!  Rebecca was painting the hull
below Elske and Tav and felt the latter two dripping on her . . . she wasn=B9=
t
impressed.   Sweating and dripping is a part of being here, everyone
experiences it.  After a delicious supper of hamburger patties and fresh
buns with all the fixings, the female trainees went out for desert to the
Lodge restaurant, while the guys went to play water polo in the pool.
Everyone is celebrating the conclusion of 3 excellent workdays. Last night
we had a terrific storm; only Skipper, Jordan and Simon managed to stay on
deck.  The wind blew and the rain poured for several hours, hard and steady=
.
We still have lightning and thunder nearly every night.  The flash and crac=
k
of both of them is intense. Tonight seems the same; the wind just picked up
and the rain has been falling steady for half an hour.  I enjoy the sound o=
f
the rain on the deck and the smell is wonderful.  Everything will dry
quickly again, perhaps even before the trainees return from their night out=
.
Jose enjoyed a night of Kereoke with some Phillipino fishermen last night.
They gave Jose a tour of their very new boat and Kereoke is how they spend
some of their time; they let Jose have a go.  Simon made friends with
another little boy at the pool this evening, diving together for coins. Whe=
n
we arrived at the pool, the woman from whom I bought a necklace and her
small daughter, to whom we gave several of Simon=B9s T-shirts came up to us
and said hello.  She noticed I was wearing the necklace and we chatted for =
a
bit.  These people live on the edge of the land belonging to the Lodge wher=
e
the pool is.  Some of them work for the Lodge, and the Lodge allows them to
live, or =8Ccamp=B9 here.  It is very primitive living; all of them live
together under a thatch roof and here they sleep, cook, play, live, and mak=
e
and sell their crafts. We=B9ve gotten to know them slightly, we see them
nearly every day and it=B9s a part of their and our day to share a moment.
Then there is James, a man from another village who sells carved alligators
and seahorses. He stands in the same place every day and continues to try
and convince us we need one.  We=B9re not sure who will win yet, but we=B9ve
made a friend and we can laugh with him.   The street vendors are pretty
persistent.   There was a group of 4 men, all brothers they claimed even
though one looked old enough to be their father, who followed Tony, the kid=
s
and I every time we walked through town.  They always managed to find us.
We started talking to them the first time we met them.   We asked them thei=
r
names and where they are from (they come to Madang from the villages in the
Highlands to sell their baskets, biloums [tightly knitted or crocheted
handbags], hats and carvings), and also how their crafts are made and from
what etc.  Both Skipper and I enjoy learning from these people and are not
big buyers. It became somewhat annoying after a few days to have them alway=
s
asking if we wanted a basket, hat, etc. and eventually I bought a few, one
from each.  Now, when we see them in town, they say hello and offer a baske=
t
for a great deal . . . we laugh with them, say we have baskets, they should
know etc. Along the road we saw two women, each was carrying a huge bushel
of freshly cut-from-the-tree bananas on their heads.  It looked spectacular
and funny, all these green bananas falling every which way around their hai=
r
while they continued to walk and chat as if this was the most normal thing.
It was definitely worth a picture, but as I=B9ve written before, we don=B9t wal=
k
around with our cameras, so pictures will be minimal, they will have to be
recorded in our minds.  It=B9s unfortunate because there are so many great
photos to be taken here.  Near where we are docked is the boat terminal for
transportation to some of the nearby islands.   We watch them leave and it=B9=
s
remarkable how fully packed with people the boats are; often they list to
one side and look very precarious.  The people always wave and holler to us=
,
and we do likewise.   Papua New Guinea really is a remarkable country; ther=
e
are always interesting things to notice and wonder about; we will miss that=
.
It is late and very hot below.  Trainees are still out, curfew is at
midnight; they=B9ll be walking home together.  Until tomorrow, good night,
Bonice.