We wanted to let you know that you will not hear from us until next week. We are taking a six-day overland trip in China and are so excited. We will spend two days in Beijing to see Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall. Then we will fly to Xian to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum and tour the walled city of Zian. On the afternoon of the fourth day, we will fly to Hong Kong for two days on our own before joining the ship on April 6. Our anniversary is April 4, and this is the best anniversary gift ever! We will tell you all about our trip when we return. We hope that you have a very joyous Easter or Passover.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Nagasaki: Almost too much to absorb
Before we could take the Nagasaki Memorial Tour, we had to go through Japanese immigration. The inspection officers took our fingerprints, scanned our eyes and took our temperature. We were behind schedule so we had no time to obtain Japanese money (yen) because we had to board the tour bus immediately. Then one couple was left behind at the terminal so the bus had to go back to our starting point to get them. So far, we do not have warm and fuzzy feelings about Japan. Ken had his cold weather training in Japan at Mt. Fujiama while in the Marines so he has never been in Japan as a tourist.
The Port of Nagasaki was opened by the Feudal War Lord in 1570 so the city could trade with Portugal. From the mid 1600s to the mid 1800s while Japan was closed to the rest of the world, Nagasaki was the only point of contact to the outside world for 200 years.
But when most people think of Nagasaki, they remember it as the site of the second atomic bomb, Fat Man, that was dropped on August 9, 1945, and became the beginning of the end of WWII. Sara will readily admit that she never studied WWII in her American History classes. Every year, the teacher got to WWII after Memorial Day and then it was the end of the school year. She was surprised to learn that Nagasaki was the backup site for the bombing. Kokura was the primary site but the Bockscar abandoned those plans because of cloud cover and went on to Nagasaki. When the the clouds broke briefly, the crew saw the Mitsubishi Steel Works Office Building and dropped the bomb.
Our first stop was the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum that was opened on the 50th anniversary of the bombing to demonstrate the threat of nuclear weapons. Our tour guide Hiroko told us that darkness was kept inside the building, no flash pictures could be taken, and she could not provide commentary.
When one enters the museum, the first thing heard is a clock ticking. One of the first exhibits is a clock that stopped at 11:02 a.m., the exact moment of the explosion. Other exhibits are a contorted fire tower, water tank and staircase from the Mitsubishi office building, the Urakami Cathedral and the Yamazoto Primary School. The special exhibit while we were there was of bombing artifacts that include coins, bottles and plates that melted together and melted rosaries. Probably the most chilling exhibit was the bones of a hand in melted glass. Clothing, telephone poles and trees were scorched as far as two kilometers from Ground Zero. President Truman said, "We have used it (the atomic bomb) to shorten the agony of war." We agree with his decision but seeing the consequences was difficult.
Next, we walked to Ground Zero, where the bomb hit and exploded 500 meters up. The statue there is of a woman holding a wounded child. In a black box on an altar-type table are bricks on which the names of the victims are kept. Every year in June, the bricks are taken out of the box to dry in the sun. Also, at Ground Zero are the remains of the Urakami Cathedral. The total of dead was 73,884 while the total of injured was 74,909. The population of Nagasaki in 1945 was about 240,000. One third of the city was destroyed. Seeing Ground Zero in Nagasaki made Sara feel the same way as when she saw Ground Zero of the Twin Towers in New York City.
Then we rode to Peace Park, which was established in 1955 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the bombing. The right hand of the Peace Statue points upward depicting the threat of the atomic bomb, the left hand stretches horizontally to appeal for tranquility and world peace, the closed eyes offer a prayer for the souls of the atomic bomb victims, and the hair is modeled after Jesus Christ. The statue is half Buddhist and half Christian with the folded right leg representing quiet meditation. Water surrounds the statue because many of the bombing victims either died of thirst or begged for water. Water could be found everywhere in the park. At the monument built to console the spirits of the school children who had died, some people left bottles of water.
The Fountain of Peace was constructed in the shape of doves' wings to symbolize peace and offer water to the souls of victims who begged for water after the bombing. In the 1960s, Japan asked nations to donate statues to Peace Park. More nations offered statues than could be accommodated. The statue from Japan is a young boy and girl sitting on a bench feeding the birds. St. Paul, Minnesota, the sister city of Nagasaki that is the oldest sister city affiliation in the world, contributed Constellation Earth. The seven human figures in a ball represent the seven continents. Their interdependency stands for global peace and solidarity.
On the way back to the ship, we passed Nyokodo, the home of Dr. Takashi Nagai who, though injured by the bomb, assisted the victims and launched studies concerning bomb related diseases until his death at the young age of 43; the one-legged Torri Gate as it was left after the bombing; and Chinatown. On the sidewalk, a group of young school children on a field trip were holding hands and wearing white and orange baseball caps. At the end of our tour, Hiroko gave each us of an origami crane she had made.
After getting off the tour, we decided to do some exploring ourselves. Rather than actually seeing attractions, we learned some hard lessons about traveling in foreign countries. We thought that we would tour Oura Catholic Church, Japan's oldest wooden church, and Glover Garden, eight Western-style houses built by Thomas Glover, whose wife was thought to be the inspiration for Puccini's Madame Butterfly. We had no Japanese yen but were sure that these attractions would take Visa. Guess what? They only take yen. The sales clerks told us to try at some of the stores or the hotels to exchange our money for yen. No luck! We even tried an ATM and a bank that had a sign, "Money Exchange Impossible." By the time we got back to the pier, it was going on 3 p.m. so we decided to board the ship.
But this action had a silver lining. Because this was Pacific Princess' Inaugural Call to Nagasaki, all passengers already on board were invited to a Welcome Ceremony in which the ship's senior officers and dignitaries of Nagasaki exchanged gifts and another plaque for Deck 8. Young children ages 4 and 5 entertained us in beautiful Japanese costumes with a Paper Dome Dance and a Fashion of Spain Dance. (Sara thought this was an omen that we should tour Spain before returning home.) After the performance, Sara got to High Five the graceful dancers. Some of the little boys knew how to do it, and Sara's palm was red!
Our captain told the dignitaries that Princess Cruises will continue to send ships to this beautiful city. We hope that when they do, Nagasaki has more ways for visitors from foreign countries to exchange money.
Tour of Ship's Bridge
All World Cruise, Suite and Elite passengers eventually get a special invitation for an Exclusive Bridge Visit. We were fortunate to receive our invitation shortly after the arrival of Carlo Sevillo, our new captain. We met at the forward elevator foyer on Deck 8 and were led through a door marked Crew Only, through the hallway of suites for the senior officers and the plaques the Pacific Princess has received from many ports to the door opening to the Navigational Bridge. The first thing that we noticed in looking out the windows was a red-footed booby bird, who our guide had told us had been there since noon decorating the deck.
Two officers, a pilot (officer of the watch) and a copilot (junior officer of the watch), and a lookout (able seaman), who would actually steer the ship is necessary, are on each watch. The average cruise speed is 20-21 knots per hour. Four diesel generators produce 10,000 horsepower. The cost of fuel is $470 per ton. Every day, the ship burns about $42,000 of fuel.
Most of the charting is done with electronic charts with the red line showing our track. On the Chart Table is a paper chart kept for navigation because the ship is required to keep a folio of paper charts. Most of the time, the ship is on autopilot, except when hand steering is needed in heavy traffic, foggy conditions, shallow water or on final approaches to a port.
For comfort and safety, the ship has two folding stabilizer fins that work like aircraft wings and can stabilize the ship in even the roughest conditions. At a speed of 18 knots, the rolling motion of the ship is reduced by up to 90 percent. Longer, larger, heavier ships usually ride more smoothly through the water.
We also had the opportunity to tour the wing bridge and even take a picture of our captain on the wing bridge. This is where the captain drives the ship when it is going in or out of port. A yellow retractable canopy shades him from the sun.
At every port, local pilots come on board from pilot boats through the shell door. This is often a local requirement for the ship to use local pilots who can offer local advice and information to our crew.
One passenger asked what the ship uses to deter pirates. You will be happy to know that the ship has a long-range acoustic device to warn pirates that can even shatter their ear drums if necessary.
As for waste management, the ship has a system that is compact, efficient and totally green. On an average day, the passengers and crew consume about five tons of food and 400 tons of fresh water. Biological sewage treatment plants on the ship use a combination of aeration and bacterial systems to break down waste. The food wastes are ground in a disposal unit to a fine pulp and then either dried out and burned at a high temperature or recycled to the sea when we are far enough from land to do so.
Fascinating!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Cruise Critic Lunch and Anniversary Dinner
Today we had a cruise critic luncheon where we asked MaryAnn to circulate sheets of paper labeled Things We Are Glad We Brought, Things We Wish We Brought, Things That Were a Waste to Bring and How We Made Our Cabin Like Home. The answers were very interesting and could be useful to you if you take a long trip.
In the evening, Lu and Mike invited MaryAnn, John and us to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary with them at dinner in the Steakhouse on Deck 10. What a delicious dinner and what incredible cuts of beef! On February 14, MaryAnn and John had invited us to their 45th wedding anniversary dinner at Sabatini's Italian Restaurant. We will host our group of six at the Steakhouse on either April 9 or 10 because we will be off the ship on our wedding anniversary on April 4, which also is Easter. We are taking a six-day overland tour from Beijing to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors to Hong Kong. We will provide you with our itinerary before we depart.
Following are the lists of valuable and not so valuable items for long trips:
THINGS WE ARE GLAD WE BROUGHT
1. Large white clothes pins
2. Packing tape
3. Duck tape (it can fix anything!)
4. Magic marker
5. Double clothes hangers
6. Clothes line
7. Shoe bag to hang over bathroom door
8. Removable small hooks
9. Favorite toothpaste
10. Favorite soap
11. Favorite shampoo
12. Ginger root tablets (for sea sickness)
13. Own pharmacy in bead container from JoAnn's Fabrics
14. Tupperware for breakables
15. Pop up hamper (also useful for carting laundry to laundry room)
16. Ziplock bags
17. Glad wrap
18. Scissors
19. Glue
20. Computer
21. Wii
22. DVD player and DVDs
23. Steeler shirts (couple from Pittsburgh)
24. Soda
25. Cocktail fixings and mixers
26. Sugar-free candies
27. Case of wine
28. Mugs
29. Wife (how nice!)
30. Punxsutawney Phil (yes, you know who contributed that!)
THINGS WE WISH WE HAD BROUGHT
1. Small Swiss Army Knife for cutting fruit in room
2. More money
3. Another hard drive for my computer
4. Flashlight
5. Snorkeling gear
6. Extra camera
7. More toothpaste and deodorant (only brought one of each)
8. More shirts
9. Different shoes
10. My dog
11. Our cat
12. More pens and mechanical pencils
13. Another case of wine
THINGS THAT WERE A WASTE TO BRING
1. Too many clothes
2. Too much make-up
3. Plastic bags for taking lunch off ship (Most countries won't let you)
4. Power strip
5. Towel
6. Sports coat
HOW WE MADE OUR CABIN FEEL LIKE HOME
1. Magnetic wall hooks
2. Large laminated world map
3. Pictures we bought on the ship or in ports
4. Pictures of family members, grandchildren and pets
5. Small pillow
6. Had refrigerator moved from closet to under desk for more closet space
7. Rearranged furniture
8. Asked for wine glasses
9. Asked for Princess robes
10. Why would we want to do such a thing?
Friday, March 26, 2010
Guam: Where America's Day Begins
Guam is an unincorporated territory of the USA making it where America's day begins (about 14 hours before it does on the East Coast of the United States). We began the day early by lining up for the mandatory immigration inspection at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, the doors did not open until 7:30 p.m. so we experienced hurry up and wait.
We took the Hagatna Highlights tour to the capital city of Guam. Our tour guide, Jun, short for Junior, told us that the island experiences a very pleasant climate with high temperatures of 88 degrees and low temperatures of 76 degrees, two seasons--dry and wet--with the best months to visit being December to March, high humidity and about 40 inches of rain a year. The topography reminded us of Florida with its beautiful coastal views of the ocean, the highest point being about 300 feet above sea level and well paved highways. About one-third of the land on the islands is used by the military. Much construction is happening on Guam because the Marines are transferring their forces there from Okinawa.
Our first stop was the Asan Bay Overlook and the War in the Pacific National Historical Park. The Japanese attacked Guam on December 8, 1941. Facing the bay is a monument to the first Chamorro US military casualties who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. A wall lists all the citizens of Guam who endured rationing, force labor, beatings and execution by the Japanese. Unfortunately, 34 of the 99 bronze plaques with their names were stolen in 2007 and sold for scrap metal. The replacement glass plaques of black with white lettering are easier to read than the original bronze plaques. On July 21, 1944, 55,00 American troops landed. The Marine captured the ridge and secured the Orote Peninsula,liberating Guam.
We stopped at Fort Santa Agueda and passed the Guam "White House" or the governor's mansion. Our next stop was Latte Stone Memorial Park with 139 latte stones, which are pillar/post arrangements. The round tasa stone on top is the capstone while the shaft stone is the post. They are a symbol of Charmorro culture that may have been used for burial grounds. On the back side of the park is a Japanese cave, part of an interconnected and extensive system that the Japanese used for storage and bomb shelters.
At the Plaza de Espana, which is now used for many government and civic activities, we viewed the circular Chocolate House in which the governor's wife served hot chocolate, and later tea, to the governor's guests, and the Summer House, which is still a social meeting place. In the plaza is a monument to the Guam Insular Force Guard who valiantly defended the town on December 10, 1941, against a far superior force. In the middle of the road is a statue of John Paul II, the first pope to visit Guam. The citizens had a parade for him on that street, and the monument was built on the spot where the pope knelt down to kiss the ground.
On our way to the other side of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Jun told us that Guam Beer in cans is made in Korea and that Guam holds the distinction of drinking more Budweiser beer per capita than any other place in the world. Also, spam is the most consumed food and the manufacturers have produced a special Guam-only spam with tabasco sauce and garlic. Guam has no mass transit system so the ratio of cars to citizens is almost 1:1.
At the national park, we saw where the marines came ashore. Sara also talked with a minister who recently moved to Guam, after being stationed there in the 1970s, to be the associate pastor of the Church of God on the military base to prepare for the military influx.
We were somewhat disappointed with our tour as where others who went on different tours. Even our tour guide said he was disappointed because our tour was only three hours, and he much preferred the six-hour tours. After our exotic ports of call, Guam seemed too Americanized.
When we arrived back at the ship, we took the free Princess shuttle past the world's largest K-mart and into downtown. There we saw the famous Guam Slingshot ride with six Gs of acceleration and the upscale stores. More than 80 percent of the tourists are from Japan.
When we arrived back at the ship, the Pacific Princess hosted the Chamorro cultural dancers. Now we know how America's day begins and come to an early end with the Guam version of the Electric Slide. Janie, our new friend and follower, was out there dancing to the beat with a young Chamorro man and doing great. After the last dance, the young people greeted everyone in the audience with a kiss on both cheeks and a hug. Then they gave a traditional blessing so that we would reach our next destination safely. Guam's all-purpose greeting word is Hafa Dai. Hafa Dai!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Rabaul and Chuuk: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN CHUUK AND GUAM: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
There is no denying that the ports of Rabaul and Chuuk were the poorest and dirtiest we have visited but also were the most fascinating. Frankie, our deputy cruise director, offered a discussion session for passengers to comment on the good, the bad and the ugly of these two ports. We have divided the comments from our fellow passengers into three categories: general comments on both ports, comments on Rabaul and comments on Chuuk.
GENERAL COMMENTS
1. Both places had poverty but many of us did not notice it.
2. One passenger commented that "they were just a couple of Hell holes so why did the ship stop?" Many of the people present started to boo. One women stated that while there is poverty and they don't live the way that we do, they do not need a lot to live. Yes, it is cultural shock when a person is not used to it. Then the captain came on the P.A. system saying that, "This is the bridge. This is for exercise only. Man overboard." Frankie commented that he hoped it wasn't the man who made the comment about the Hell holes, because he was not sure anyone would rescue him.
3. Frankie asked us not to wear our flashy, shiny jewelry in the ports in poor countries because we were only looking for trouble. (Sara did not bring any flashy, expensive jewelry except her wedding, engagement and anniversary rings.)
4. To look at the people and to talk with them is to learn from them. The whole cruise is an education.
5. A passenger who was interested in WWII complimented the ship for showing films about the battles.
6. One passenger reminded us that we are ambassadors for the USA. We should treat the people like we would like to be treated (the Golden Rule). The more we talk to them, the more we will learn and the more we will benefit. In fact, he got a beer for one dollar at the local bar.
7. Rabaul has an Australian influence while Chuuk has an American influence, even in the supermarkets.
8. One passenger said that this information would have been so much more valuable if we had it before arriving in Rabaul and Chuuk. Frankie said that the Pacific Princess had no organized tours on Chuuk because the tourism business is still developing. But wasn't it refreshing that these islands were not prepackaged?
9. Frankie asked why the islands were poor. Some answers were the government, need for good leadership, corruption, not on tourist routes, living off the land, and those that became educated moved to more affluent countries, which continued the cycle of poverty.
RABUAL
1. In Rabaul, some passengers encountered a truck load of girsl who were there for hospitality purposes to learn from us to enhance tourism in Papua New Guinea.
2. One passenger suggested carrying a hand full of coins to stick on the forehead and then give to the native children. Frankie commented that the next group of tourists that watched the children rubbing the coins and sticking them on their foreheads would claim that it was an ancient tradition carried on by the children in Rabaul.
3. Bob, our table mate from Williamsburg, Virginia, went to the cemetery in Rabaul and was impressed by how well the grounds were kept.
4. Mary thought that it was her duty to try local foods in places that are new to her. She tried the beetlenuts in a supermarket. The natives told to spit but never swallow. Once her jaw was numb and she was sweating profusely, a person gave her the mustard and lime mixture that allows the psychoactive ingredient to be absorbed into the cheek. Mary had the orange tongue and photograph of it to prove it. Janie, who has been everywhere, even on land in Antarctica, related that her taxi driver was a medical student who claimed he chewed bettlenuts so that his teeth would be stronger. A native of India stated that Indians chew bettlenuts but now scientists are finding that the nuts may be a cause of cancer.
5. Frankie told us that Rabaul was the cleanest that he had ever seen it. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction, and the volcano had actually stopped smoking, a first.
CHUUK
1. A passenger was distressed by his entrance into the Blue Lagoon where he saw poverty and rusted cars. His taxi drive said that there was no employment and that the people live off the local fruits and vegetables, such as bread fruit.
2. One of the locals told a passenger that typhoons start in Micronesia and then head west.
3. Several passengers were surprised to find the shelves well stocked.
4. Frankie and Chuck agreed that the whole soul of Chuuk was the children who sang in the church. Chuck said that Austin, a small boy, was fascinated by Frankie but then who wasn't?
5. One woman got a $5 haircut when she was in Chuuk two years ago on the 2008 World Cruise and replied that her hair was just now growing out.
6. The math teacher who won the Sudoku challenge said he had been invited into the youth center, where they were teaching about the spread of AIDS. Australians were providing the money for this education.
7. On woman felt two soft taps on her back. When she turned around, she saw two little girls who put their heads down and smiled shyly. She asked to take their picture.
8. The signs in Chuuk are in Filopino, not Japanese. However, the older residents speak a form of Japanese because the island was occupied by the Japanese during WWII. But this language has been so corrupted that today's Japanese people cannot understand it.
9. In one yard was a half-buried, rusted-out car with flowers sticking out of it and gravestones in the back.
10. There had been a funeral in Chuuk that day in which the deceased was taken home to his island in a boat to be buried, and the mourners went in other boats to help bury his coffin.
11. Passengers could mail packages back to the USA at the Post Office at US rates. However, the post office did not have packing tape so one couple went to a store where the owners helped them wrap their package. Part of the UGLY of Chuuk was the American passengers pushing to get ahead in the post office. Unfortunately, we did not mail anything back because the post office had only medium packing boxes by the time we went there in the afternoon after our exciting adventure.
12. The choirs had no CDs of their music for sale. One passenger is being sent a copy of the arrival and sailaway music for free. He promised he would let us know when it arrived, probably in a decade or so.
13. Chuuk grows some of the best bananas in the world.
14. A sign in the supermarket in Chuuk stated "No chewing or spitting bettlenuts."
15. Sara related the story of our tour in Chuuk and Jerry and Ken's excellent adventure of climbing the hill to see the big gun.
16. This is a long story about the ship's environmental officer's experience in Chuuk but it deserves to be told. It is ironic that we are relating this story while the feature story on Headline News is about the riots in Philadelphia.
John, the environmental officer for the Pacific Princess, went for a walk in Chuuk. He turned left when the road forked at the huge mud puddle and walked to a church when he decided that there was not much more to see and started back. He noticed what seemed to be a college on his left when he sensed movement behind him. Three or four young men wearing blue bandanas (the Crips) ran in front of him. When he looked behind him, he saw a larger group of young men wearing red bandanas (the Bloods). One of that group threw a boulder that started coming toward John. Fortunately, it fell and bounced several times on the ground. Then one of boys in the front group made a face and gave the finger to those in the back group. Next he took out a catapult (known to us in America as a slingshot) and started to load it.
A woman, who was a lecturer at the college, beckoned to John to come in through the gate, which she had the security guard shut after John entered. The students in the school ran toward the gate to watch the action while the security guard called the police who apprehended as many of the gang members as they could. The lecturer told John that these incidents were happening quite frequently. When she thought it was safe, she opened the gate, and John returned to the market that had been set up near our ship. There he related his story to the ship's doctor who told John that he had listened to a paper presented by a surgeon about the weapons used in the slingshots. If this type of ammunition hit the victim's heart, it could kill him.
Later that day a passenger who was not feeling well had to be taken to the hospital and was accompanied by the ship's doctor. There the doctor told the story of the environment officer to a doctor at the hospital who was from the Philipines. That doctor told our doctor that he was the person who had made the presentation at the conference. The ammunition used is a small, steel spear with barbs on the tip. The hospital doctor gave a spear that been extracted from the heart of a young man who had been murdered two or three weeks ago to the ship's doctor. This is such a common occurrence that the police do not even keep the spears as evidence any more. The environmental officer passed around the spear that the doctor had sealed in a plastic bag.
The environmental officer thought how ironic this incident was. He had been a policeman for 30 years and could have been taken out on a sunny day in Chuuk while minding his own business because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
It really is a small world, in many good, bad and ugly ways!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Surprising Chuuk
BEFORE Impressions
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, we will dock in Chuuk, a destination that it seems no one on the ship has explored. When Sara was researching all our ports before we started this trip in January, the only thing she found about Chuuk was an article on the Chuuk Lagoon's Ghost Fleet, about the WWII Operation Hailstorm attack by the American Task Force that resulted in wrecks of 60 Japanese ships making this port the standard by which all other wreck dives are measured.
Noemi (correct spelling), of Sergio and Noemi from Cruise Critic, read to us from the Lonely Planet Tourbook (one of our favorites) that there are very few tours in Chuuk but who would want to take a tour anyway because there is nothing to see. For Martyn, our port talk speaker, Chuuk is the only destination on this segment of the cruise that he has never been but he promised to do research for us. Basically, the most important things he learned are that the English is the major language, the citizens use the American dollar, most of the funding for the island comes from the USA, the main business is the Chuuk Coconut Processing Plant, to see the Sapuk Lighthouse you need to contact the owner, Chuuk lovesticks that are used for courtship are good souvenirs, and if you take a jeep to Jeep Island, do not pay until you return. The Pacific Princess had no scheduled tours for this port. If there was something to see on this island, we were sure that the ship would have organized a tour. So today will be a surprise for all. With more than 600 passengers and hundreds of crew members roaming the island, this may be a surprise for the residents of Chuuk also.
AFTER Impressions
We were able to depart the ship at about 11:15 a.m. with the reminder that all passengers and crew must be back on board by 4:15 p.m., giving us five hours to explore this hot, steamy, dirty island. We were greeted by locals who had set up a market and representatives from the visitors' bureau with suggestions for tours and tickets for the Pacific Princess bus to the Blue Lagoon Resort. We were approached by Milton who offered us a tour of the island for $40.00 each, promising that we would be back before the ship left, so we teamed up with Sylvia and Jerry from Napa, California.
The first concern was when our taxi turned out to be a motor boat with no life jackets but a cut- off bleach bottle that we could use to bail out water. Our second concern was when we stopped at another island to gas up and watched the native children pour the gasoline through a funnel into the container. Our third concern was when the boat's seat for three (Jerry sat on a crate in the back) jumped up when we went over a wave because it was not nailed down completely. This may be more of an experience than what we bargained to have!
We traveled from the Chuuk Lagoon on Weno Island to Eten Island, which the ship's literature stated was carved by backbreaking hand labor into the shape of a huge aircraft carrier, and features impressive war ruins. We walked along a crude dirt path and through grass to the wreck of a Japanese plane. School children who had just completed their school day followed us during our entire tour of the island. Then we crawled over a bunker where a woman who lived in the nearby house offered us coconut milk. We then toured the bombed out communication center made of steel reinforced concrete that must have taken a direct hit to look like that. Our guide then told us that we each owed the woman who had the plane on her land a dollar and the man whose land included the communication center two dollars each. The old man came up the path with a walking stick to collect his money.
Milton then said we could take a five-minute walk to see a big gun so we started off over a jungle trail with plenty of exposed tree roots. After we had walked for more than five minutes, the path (that's a joke) went straight up a steep hill. Sylvia and Sara decided to go back to the boat but became disoriented in the jungle. Fortunately, a young man with a machete showed them the way back. Most of the way, this handsome local hunk was accompanied by two beautiful native girls so he did not seem to mind being an impromptu tour guide. Jerry and Ken climbed to the top of the hill to see the gun.
While waiting at the rustic dock, Sylvia and Sara developed a plan for turning this island into a tourist destination. Sylvia had been a travel agent for one year while Sara has taught speech, writing and customer service courses at colleges. They decided to teach the natives and their older children how to be tour guides while Jerry and Ken supervised the locals on clearing off the paths for the tours. When the men finally returned one-half hour later, their legs, shorts, shirts and arms were covered with mud but their faces sported big smiles. Ken said that the trail on the trip back was so slippery and steep that they slid part-way down the hill on their rear ends. Their shorts proved that statement.
Our next stop was another island where we were greeted by a young girl who put leis around our necks and young men carrying roosters. We were entertained by a troop of young boys wearing grass skirts who performed a warrior routine with sticks. Sara asked them the name of their dance but all they did was smile and giggle. When she inquired if they spoke English, they did the same thing. She now wants to teach English in Micronesia as part of the tourism program. The natives set up an impromptu market for us where we bought love sticks and items made with reeds and shells at very good prices.
Our fourth concern was when we boarded the boat for our return trip and the engine stalled several times. We had no idea how we would get to Guam if we missed the ship! Fortunately, we made it back safely.
When we arrived at the ship's dock, Jerry and Ken boarded the ship to have a beer to toast their excellent adventure. Sylvia and Sara decided to walk to the post office and then into what they thought would be a downtown with stores. At the post office, they learned that the other passengers had already claimed all the large flat rate boxes. The dirt road to town had been flooded out in parts and was filled with gigantic pot holes. Also, there really were no stores that sold souvenirs so they carefully walked back to the ship, avoiding the puddles and mud, and shopped at the market set up by the natives, buying a wooden turtle and lovesticks.
Noemi and Sergio, who went on a scuba diving tour with a licensed guide to the wreckage where they saw a cargo ship, airplane and ship, affirmed that the hype concerning the quality of the wreckage dive was not at all exaggerated--it was beyond anything else they have ever seen while scuba diving. On their way down in the water, they saw Craig and Lauren, who had encountered their first shark on a dive trip, coming up.
The last paragraph in the literature provided by the Pacific Princess states, "At present, the economic opportunity for the native population is limited, but with education and tourist dollars many hope for a brighter future." We trust that we did our part to improve their economic conditions.
LEGEND of the LOVESTICKS: In the past, an island man would carve his personal notches on the lovestick and let his would-be sweethearts feel it. At night, he would kneel beside the thatched wall opposite where his lady love was sleeping and poke the lovestick through the wall to entangle her hair. With luck, she would wake up without arousing her family. Then she would put her fingers around the stick's notches and identify her admirer.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Spirit of Volcano Town
Help! We need some new superlative adjectives for our blog. What can one say when visiting a town that's claim to fame is being destroyed by a volcano in 1937, being rebuilt and than having 80 percent of its buildings leveled by another volcano in 1994, and then is the highlight of our trip to date? Unbelievable!
After getting dressed to meet Perla and Joe's tour (Cruise Critic friends), Sara went out on the balcony to wave to the dock works. When she went back in our room, all the mirrors were foggy. The temperature was already in the 90s and the humidity matched it. However, we soon learned it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. It had rained the previous day so there was no dust from the ash on the roads, the ash from the volcano had stopped falling in December, and the sun was shining.
Rabaul receives only 20 to 25 cruise ships a year. Tourism is a new industry for the island, and we promised our tour company, Paivu Tours, that we would highly recommend it to friends and family who may visit the island in the future. Just remember, that the air-conditioning comfort in the tour vans is provided by opening the window on one side of the van and then opening the window on the other side. Our tour guide Dorothy and driver Mickey told us that Rabaul means "place of mangroves." As we drove away from the dock, we saw the locals setting up a market for us on the ground, which is volcanic ash. No tables were used. We rode over an extremely bumpy dirt road that turned into a paved road and then back to a dirt road. Because it was Sunday, we saw many locals walking to church. The three major religions are Catholic, Seven-Day Adventist and Methodist--an interesting mix. Riding through Rabaul was a step back time with its low-rise buildings with tin roofs.
Participants in Joe and Perla's tour were Perla and Joe, MaryAnn and John, Mary and Ed, Naomi and Sergio, Betty Ann and Harold and yours truly. Our four-hour tour visited the following seven attractions:
1. Japanese Tunnels. After Pearl Harbor, it became apparent that the Japanese would attack Rabaul. In January 1942, the Japanese captured Rabaul and made it the major center of naval and air operations in the South Pacific. The Japanese had the local and Australian prisoners build a network of tunnels connecting their barges throughout the island. The tunnel that we saw was 200 meters from the water and contained the rusted-out remains of five barges. Going back into the tunnel was amazing.
2. Kopopo War Relics Museum. We traveled to the new capital of Kopopo, where the streets are paved, divided roads with sidewalks. It seems as if politicians take care of their own in every country. (Papua New Guinea is part of the British Empire so the country is ruled by Queen Elizabeth but also has a Prime Minister and a Grand Chief.) Ken was in his glory when we reached the museum with all its cannons, guns, other weapons and ammunition of the Japanese. He particularly liked the "naughty but nice" aircraft nose art. The reference manual for the aircraft systems was on aluminum pages to reduce the damage from water, oil and insects. Outside, natives were preparing for a Baining Fire Dance for another tour group. Their costumes were impressive.
3. Rabaul 1942-1945 Memorial and Montevideo Maru Memorial. Behind the impressive memorials is a rusting sign that asks people to "please do not litter"--an interesting juxtaposition. The Japanese ship Montevideo Maru, which was carrying Australian and local prisoners, was torpedoed during WWII with the loss of all lives.
4. Admiral Yamamoto Bunker and New Guinea Social Club. We actually were able to go down in Yamamoto's bunker where he developed his battle strategies and then tour the social club for Australians in Rabaul.
5. Tavurvur Volcano. We drove through the 1994 volcano area in which there was almost no vegetation and only ash. Dorothy explained that this area used to be covered with houses and part of it was the old Rabaul Airport. We stopped on an old runway to take photographs of the still smoking volcano. Definitely, it was like another world experience.
6. Japanese Plane Wreckages. Ken had an up close and personal experience with the two wreckages when he climbed down into the sites while the rest of us took advantage of the local vendors and talent shows. We appreciated the children's choir from Maliput Village (Rabaul's "Children's Tabernacle Choir") singing the national anthem of Papua New Guinea and a tiny dancer dressed like the Baining Fire Dancers. Ken also liked that we could just give money to the children who performed or wore their native costumes rather than waste time buying anything.
SPECIAL STOP. We stopped at the Lutheran Church that is supported by Betty Ann and Harold's church in Alberta, Canada, so Dorothy took take a photograph of them to show their church members. An example of outstanding customer service from Paivu Tours!
7. Rabaul Volcanological Observatory. Before entering the observatory, we overlooked the bay with a view of the Pacific Princess and the remains of ships destroyed by the sunken volcanoes. The station monitors 14 active volcanoes and watches another 23. The Manam Volcano erupts on the average of once every four years. Ed and Mary were impressed that Ritter Island, which is not far from Rabaul, had experienced volcanic activity. In the Recording Room at the observatory, we enjoyed air-conditioned comfort, which was a real treat that Mary Ann and John, who stayed with the van, missed. The recording of all these volcanoes is done in real time.
When we returned to our ship, Mary, Naomi, Sergio and I took advantage of the impromptu local market and photographic opportunities. We admired and bought some of the wood cravings, clothes, woven bags and jewelry. Peg and Pat, if you are reading this blog (and we hope you are), your souvenirs from Rabual are from the exquisite jewelry line, and they will be required wearing when we get together for our reunion in Chicago in June! You will love them!
Who would have thought that a country that needs to monitors volcanic activity 24 hours a day, is covered in gray ash and has ash piled like snow on either sides of its roads, and seems a throwback to earlier times could provide such an incredible tour. If you ever get the chance to visit Papua New Guinea, do not hesitate to sign up for the trip! You'll love it!
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