Pacific Odyssey - Leg 4

It has been a day with a bit of everything.  Crew spent the day getting
the ship ready for sea again; putting another coat of varnish on the dory
rails, fixing the zodiac, checking the zodiac engine over, lashing all the
deck boxes back to the deck, buying more groceries from the market, and
putting the dories and the zodiac back on the ship (they=B9ve been on the doc=
k
for a few days).  All the lifejackets were rinsed in fresh water and dried
in the sun and the boat laundry was done by hand by Starboard watch and als=
o
hung to dry. Chase, Matt, Sara R., and Scott continued with their scuba
course, completing their first three dives in the ocean.  They were quite
excited about what they saw.  Tristan went along with them and had his own
private dive master take him on two more advanced dives, one of them a B25
Bomber, and the other one a shelf dive.   Port watch went out for supper
together to the Madang Club, a large community hall-type building that
serves very good Chinese Food.  Skipper was finally able to meet Sir Peter
Barter.  He has been in Papua New Guinea for 43 years and began here by
flying missionaries in to the Sepik River area.   He is originally from
Australia and has done quite a bit for Madang.  He owns the Madang Resort
where we have been welcomed to come and enjoy the restaurant and pool.
Trainees were able to go ashore and finish final shopping before we leave
Madang for a few days.  Some of us are still working on our Christmas
presents and stayed aboard. We are still luxuriating in the availability of
fresh water and the feeling of going to bed clean. Fresh water is high on
the =8Cbest things=B9 list, along with cold drinks and Cadbury Milk chocolate
bars. The chocolate bars are not always available and when they are, they
melt as soon as you leave the store. This doesn=B9t stop us from buying them
though, we just scoop up the melted chocolate with a spoon or with our
finger and enjoy . . . Once we get home, we will never look at a Cadbury
Milk chocolate bar in the same way again.   Tonight I was talking to the
kids about how special it is that we get to lie on deck together every nigh=
t
in port, under the tarp, on our bedding, in our swimsuits, and with our
headlamp reading books.   The temperature is warm, the breeze is often soft=
,
most of the time it is quiet and our =8Cfamily=B9 of 37 is all around us. We
need to remember this. Tonight we saw the transit boat full of people
arriving at the dock and this time they unloaded three huge squealing pigs.
The pigs made quite a ruckus and a commotion but finally we saw them being
carried away, upside down, and with their feet tied to a pole carried by 2
men . . . something new every day.   Well, we bumped into James again today
and I guess we do need a carved crocodile.  He brought out a small,
unvarnished one, just what we asked about!  He is now a happy man and can g=
o
back to his village for a few days.  I was walking down the road with the
kids when a woman warned me that there was a fight going on up ahead.  We
walked a bit further and came upon several women yelling, pushing and
screaming at each other by the market where we were heading.  We waited and
watched along with many other locals, until several men grabbed the women
and walked off with them, the women crying and angry as ever.  Just as we
started moving with the crowd toward the market, James came up to us and
accompanied us the entire way.  He explained what was happening; it was a
holiday and the women had been drinking too much alcohol.  The security
guards were at the scene pretty quick, trying to separate the women.  He
said he=B9d already seen Captain Tony and given him his crocodile.  We chatte=
d
a bit more about his family, his two young children, his carving and how hi=
s
father and his grandfather before him both carved, and how he was now
waiting for the bus to return him to his village.  It was a great little
exchange and I=B9m sure we=B9ll see him again.  Today the shipping agent brough=
t
mail and made some people very happy.  Thank you.  Noah received a wonderfu=
l
package from his class at Prospect Lake Elementary School in Victoria.
Everyone in his class had written him a letter, telling him about
themselves, their class, their hobbies and any other detail that they were
moved to add. The letters are beautiful and as Noah was reading them, a
crowd slowly gathered around him wanting to hear them too.  They are
wonderfully written, very refreshing, and indicative of each of the writers=
=B9
personalities.  We read about the snow, about =8CSpike=B9 the classroom pet,
likes and dislikes and many other amusing details.  By the time we reached
the last letter nearly everyone on the ship was gathered around enjoying
hearing from these kids.  I=B9ve mentioned before that mail is very important
and we all share in each other=B9s good news; the time we had together with
Noah=B9s mail is such a good example of this.  Once the letters were written,
people hung around and reread them quietly on their own.  Thank you very,
very, very much Mrs. Challinor and her grade 4=B9s.  You will be hearing from
us.  The rain has started already but the night is still beautiful.  We are
continuing our =8Cword of the day=B9 and =8Cquote of the day=B9 on the wipe board.
Trainees have been regularly putting up their own favorite quotes.  Today=B9s
word is =8Cpodobromhidrosis=B9 which means =8Csmelly feet, something we can all
relate to.  Anyways, it is late, time for bed.  Until tomorrow, good night,
Bonice.