3 am. My gracious hostess, Tomatha, woke up particularly
early to drive me to the airport. Where on the world do you get service like
that? Lodge 9 in POM has my total and enthusiastic endorsement. Andrew and
Tomatha can be reached at 7684-5039 or 7181-0566, lodge9png@gmail.com There is no better
place in POM for the ecotourist!
My 5:30 am flight with Air Niugini went without a hitch, and
by 7 am I was tightly wedged inside the PMV (the minibus) that makes the 1-hour
run between the airport at Hoskins and Kimbe Bay. Imagine a 7-passenger van
modified to carry 12 passengers, and then crammed with about 20 people and you
will have a pale idea of what the trip was like. Take into account that half of
the people were chewing betel nut and had to spit from time to time, and that
two guys felt the need to share a cigarette in the full vehicle. I tell you, if
you haven’t traveled in PMV you may not really know the meaning of adventure
travel.
During the drive we crossed hectares and hectares of oil
palms, a unique type of crop that I became acquainted with in Malaysia several
years ago. They are bushy palm trees that instead of bunches of dates produce
bunches of a very oily seed. The pods of seeds are harvested and pressed to
produce palm oil, which is then cracked in a small refinery to produce diesel
and motor oil. Some folks don’t like them because it is Malay investment and
required the clearing of enormous areas of tropical rainforest.
I finally alighted in Kimbe Bay, and was sorely disappointed
by what I saw. In the “downtown” area there is an open stadium, and a green
area around the police station. Outside of that there are warehouses
everywhere, some of which have been dedicated to supermarkets, banks, or a
mixed bag of office uses. I couldn’t even see the bay, because as I discovered
later the water front is taken by commercial developments. I don’t know about
this place.
I was walking past a long line of people who were waiting
for the bank to open, when I saw a middle-age lady with a kind smile, and
stopped to ask her for the office of the boat to Rabaul. She gave me
directions, but it was clear to see that she was very concerned about me. “You
must have a guide”, she said, casting her eyes around her for someone to
enlist. I assured her that I would be fine and started walking. Five minutes
later her young daughter caught up with me, to tell me that her mother was
coming to accompany me. Dear Anita arrived a bit short of breath, but she told
me I could not possibly go alone (mind you, it was 8 am, a time when all the
bad people are still in bed). So, as many other people I have encountered we
had a good chat, she showed me where the port office was located (that is when
I found out that the ocean was hidden behind industrial developments), and
insisted to walking me to the Kimbe Tours Guesthouse, where she finally
deposited me in Julie’s hands. We took the obligatory selfie and my dear good
Samaritan went back to her line at the bank.
The Kimbe Tours Guesthouse is, at PNGK 220, considerably
more expensive than Lodge 9, but it has a beautiful garden that is an oasis of
peace in the middle of this industrial city. The price does not include dinner,
but there is a common kitchen that I am welcome to use. Contact them at
983-4886 (landline) or 7349-9698 (cell), or by email at kimbetoursreservations@gmail.com
At 9 am I went to the port office, and found that the boat
to Rabaul does not depart until Saturday, five days from now. Forget that. I then
went back to the warehouses to look for the booking office of PNG Air, where
for less than US$ 300 I got a round trip to Rabaul, starting three days from
now. OK, I figure I can explore today, try to go snorkeling tomorrow, and then
take the PMV to the airport around 10 am on the third day.
There is not that much to explore really, but there are
three active volcanoes within sight, including two stratocones and the Talasea
caldera. All three had fumarole clouds rising into the air. Just to remind me
that I am in active plate boundary we also had an earthquake around 6 pm, which
was strong enough to knock out the power and convince me to go outdoors.
Everyone around here was very excited and at least three of them came to check
on their Mexican. They are really sweet in their concerns, but it can get a bit
unnerving being followed everywhere by a guardian angel.
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