Yesterday the boys and I set out on another adventure, taking the PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) to Kiunga, the nearest town to us. Now PMV's come in many shapes and sizes. There are buses, vans, trucks with covered boxes, big flat bed trucks with open boxes, small trucks with open boxes All are privately owned and maintained, so style and service varies greatly. This is why I chose to go with my friend Roana, who knows a little bit more about who to ride with and what to do (I have heard some of her horor stories). We ended up lucking out and were able to catch a nice bus into town, just as well, I am sure my stomach would not have coped to well sitting side ways in the back of a truck. As it was when we arrived I was feeling not quite right. Most would say that Western Province is flat. I disagree! They obviously have not driven across the prairies. This road is a little bit comparable to a roller coaster in its form and how they 'ride' on it. Admittedly it is probably one of the better roads in the country as it was built and is maintained by a major mining company here in the province. We were able to hop on the bus just up from our house and made stops all along the way to pick-up and drop off passengers.
Interestingly when you ask someone here how far it is to another destination they will not tell you how many kilometers it is or how long it will take to drive or walk there, they will tell you how many kina it costs to get there. Our trip to Kiunga was a 6 kina ride and took about 45minutes. Along the way we picked up people who were headed to the market in Kiunga for the day to sell produce from their gardens. These people must pay for there seat as well as a space for their market bags. Thankfully the bus did not fill up to much and we weren't required to play sardines!
Once in Kiunga, we walked around checking out the shops, most of which have the exact same 'stuff ' in them. Visiting the market was inspirational for the boys. They were able to dream about the big fish they were going to catch with their newly purchased fish hooks. Some of the fish were outside being sold, and obviously fresh, with some still trying to breath, but most of the meat was in a separate building. Kaleb was all gung-ho to go in and have a look until he got close to the door and discovered "it stinks in there"!
We had a good morning in town and were ready to head for home shortly after lunch. This took us back to a lot where the PMVs stop to pick up passengers to wait for a bus. And wait and wait and wait. Nothing is planned, nothing is scheduled, you just wait, have patience, and trust that one will come along soon (or so we were learning).
Then came that heavenly sound, that makes my heart sing and brings Jay home, an airplane flying overhead! Quickly we made a call out to the MAF base in Kiunga (there are not many places left in the world that don't have cell service) to find out if Jay was headed home or if he was going out for another round. Thankfully he was headed home and had room for us! Our trip home cost a little more than 6 kina, but was well worth the ride!
Mel for the Marshes
