A Tale of Two Visits
Sunday, October 6th – After our adventures in Misima, we have a few free days before the final rally event at the end of the week. Our first stop is a return to Bagaman Island to pick up the carved flagpole that we had asked Moses to make for us. It is finished and we are pleased to finally have a flagpole that is the appropriate size for Avante. We quickly attach our flag and take a photo of Moses with his handiwork.
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Moses has arrived with his wife and child and some other samples of his work. We really like his carved canoe. The simple question of “How much for both the flagpole and the canoe?” is answered with “What do you have to trade?”
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Out comes our trading stuff where it is spread across the rear deck of Avante. Moses’s wife sees some things she can use, and Moses asks if we will part with the cutting pliers that he had borrowed, as they were really useful for his work. The Captain agrees, as he knows how this tool can help Moses with his work and knows that Moses really does not have another source for them. The Captain has another tool that could substitute if needed until we get somewhere that the cutting pliers can be replaced. Our trading items are pushed back and forth on the rear deck of Avante until finally we have a trade that both of us are pleased with. We end up with our flagpole, the carved canoe and a carved bowl. Moses and his wife get our cutting pliers, some kitchen items and some kina. This transaction once again illustrates how important trading is to these islanders. With the only stores located miles away in Misima and carrying a limited selection of products, these people just don’t have readily available sources for many items.
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On Monday, we head to Brooker Island with Salacia. The passage into this island is not well defined and is difficult to spot. Salacia goes right by it on their first pass. Fortunately, some islanders see us and come over on their boats to point out the pass. Both J/160’s motor through and anchor in the lagoon off of a village. We are the only two rally boats to visit this island, and thus, the islanders did not know that guests would be arriving until we showed up outside the reef.
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The village and the beach are alive with kids playing. The Captain takes his bubbles ashore and is an immediate hit with the kids.
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We are welcomed by a man named Joseph who had served in the Australian army several years ago.
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He gives us a short tour and shows us through the school where his daughter is the teacher. Once again, we are amazed by the lack of books and school supplies.
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Since visits by DimDims are not common here, many of the kids hang back with quizzical stares.
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Others continue their play unperturbed by DimDim visitors. Here, some of the younger kids are being taken for a short ride in a canoe.
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Located in the corner of the bay as seen in the above photo are the village toilets. There will be no swimming off the boat tonight.
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Among the many bags of donated stuff that Avante had hauled to the Louisiades for the rally were several bags of books which we still have onboard. We go through them and sort out all the books that would be good for kids. We also have pens, pencils and school notebooks among our gift inventory. The next morning we return to the village to make a donation to the school, as we know that they are really needed here.
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We wander around the village some more and watch a young woman making pottery bowls and containers.
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Everyone is eager to show us something or to have their picture taken. They love seeing themselves on the digital camera.
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Thursday October 10th – Several days after our visit to Brooker Island, the rally fleet converges on Nimowa Island for the final big event of the rally. Nimowa is a relatively prosperous island with several schools and a tiny medical center.
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In the evening, all the rally participants are welcomed by the elementary school children.
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There is no doubt from their beaming faces that being front and center in this welcoming of the DimDims is a special treat for them.
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Each DimDim is welcomed by a child and given a flower wreath.
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Next on this welcome reception are a series of dances put on by the children.
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Little warrior or practicing hunter? We know not which, but it is obvious this lad takes his dance role seriously.
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Friday, October 11th – Today is a much promoted trip up a river to a waterfall on nearby Sudest Island. Nimowa Island, being among the more prosperous, has several longboats into which all the DimDims are loaded.
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Off we roar to Sudest Island, a mere 2nm across open water. It’s a jarring, back breaking trip in the bouncing boat.
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It is a relief when we reach the river on Sudest Island. We follow a line of longboats filled with DimDims as we motor up a tidal river.
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The locals living along the river appear to stare in amazement as we pass. Perhaps they were not informed of this parade of DimDims coming down their river.
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Soon we arrive at the much ballyhooed waterfall, but despite all the recent rain, this waterfall is maybe a 1 out of 5. It is only the rocky ending of a smaller stream which empties into the tidal river.
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Still, out here in the jungle, it is an unexpected and interesting sight, and we enjoy exploring along the rocks.
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Even better is to find a pool deep enough to slip into and cool off in the heat of the afternoon.
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Our visit to the waterfall over, we are loaded back into the long boats for the trip back to the village. The number of people who live along the river and show up to watch us is quite a surprise.
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On the way back, our longboat and another detour out to a reef for some snorkeling. Unfortunately, the average depth is only 4 feet and there is limited visibility in the murky water.
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Snorkeling completed, on the way back to the village, both our longboats run out of fuel! Now what? We can see our masts in the distance, but they are a long distance away. Luck is with us. Fortunately, someone had thought to pack along a radio. The Captain radios the rally fleet for assistance. A dinghy is despatched from one of the rally boats with enough zoom to get both longboats back to the village.
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Saturday, October 12th – The main festivities are scheduled for today, and we take our dinghies ashore at the appointed hour. This time we are welcomed by the older primary school children.
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After welcoming us, they lead us through the villlage to their school. Here they tell us about their school and thank the children in our group for the many school items we have brought them.
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We are encouraged to wander around and visit a typical dwelling.
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Do visit the island store we are told.
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Of course, no festivities would be complete without an island feast. What a sumptuous table that have presented us! Only the DimDims, wearing our blue rally shirts, are invited to eat while the islanders watch. This is a custom with which The First Mate cannot get comfortable. It bothers her that we, well-fed visitors, are the ones to be fed while our hosts look on, but this is their custom and one in which they do take pride.
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After the feast, we listen to a short presentation by the woman who runs the small medical center thanking the rally for its gifts. She tells us that only occasionally do they have anyone with more medical training at the medical center. When that happens, word gets out, and many islanders show up.
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It would be interesting to learn what home-grown remedies these people have learned to use, as more modern, everyday drugs like aspirin or tylenol are not readily available. The First Mate does seek the nurse out later to ask her some questions. She learns that death in pregnancy and childbirth are quite common, and anemia is the primary concern. As she already knew, the introduction of canned goods and their wide acceptance throughout the islands has changed the island diet for the worse. Weight gain, diabetes and many other diet-related illnesses have grown. Here the lack of iron is impacting pregnancy. Yes, they have plentiful iron-loaded greens on the island, but the people will no longer regularly eat them which has lead to the rise in anemia. It is heart-breaking to hear that such a threat could so easily be controlled; yet the people no longer consider fresh island greens a part of their diet.
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Later in the afternoon, there is a soccer game, for the island kids have challenged anyone in the rally who will play to a game. We manage to field a team from the boats, but for many of the enthusiastic players, it has been some time since they ran up and down a soccer field for an hour. The kids control the ball 80% of the time and win handily. Everyone has a great time, though the next day, one of our overly enthusiastic older yachties finds himself unable to rise out of bed.
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The festivities are concluded with all of us sitting around listening to music. It’s a universal pastime, and some of these islanders are very good. What an enjoyable end to the day!
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Thus concludes a tale of two visits – one to Brooker Island and one to Nimowa Island. While poles apart, each one offered us another view of life here in the Louisiades. On Brooker Island, we were only two boats, and we went ashore and encountered people going about their normal day to day lives. We were able to meet and mingle with islanders who were not expecting a rally of boats bearing gifts. Unexpected as we were, they were welcoming and eager to show us their village. On Nimowa Island, the rally is an event, and the islanders put on a show for us. With rally events like Nimowa Island, we felt like a cruise ship happening, though we greatly appreciated the time, thought and preparation that went into our receptions!
Guy Chester has been running this Louisiades Rally out of Australia for a number of years, and has put together a full program for the 3 and 1/2 weeks that this rally sails through these islands. It is one of the few ways that many of these poor islands have to raise money, and Guy has wanted to help them out in return for welcoming the rally. This rally costs a lot more than the rallies we have participated in out of New Zealand, and much of this money goes to the islanders. Additionally, Guy manages to procure a lot of non-cash donations which the rally fleet transports to the islands and is doled out at many of the festivities. However, while there is no question that these monies and gifts help overall, doling them out fairly is an impossible task. They are usually given to a local leader to be distributed, but these people are human, and possessing so little, they are as susceptible to greed and jealousy as anyone else. There have been problems with certain goods not getting distributed to the people or village to whom Guy had promised them. Despite those issues, from what we have seen, we think most of the islanders would be sad if the rally did not visit each year..
From the perspective of the crew of Avante, we are glad that we were with the rally for our trip to the Louisiades. It ended up providing much more than simply an avoidance of a trip to dangerous Port Moresby for clearance. There is the camaraderie that comes from cruising with a number of boats, and we were glad not to be the only nice boat in the harbor when the rascals struck Misima. Personally, we would prefer fewer big events, but who would want to miss the initial lobster feast, the sailau racing or the chance to tell the grandkids about a cave full of skulls?