Nothing like starting the new year with new stories, new template and a new perspective. There is so much to tell about our time interior that I am having a hard time even starting but I will start where all good stories start...at the beginning.
Over the river and through the woods and in a plane and over rough terrain and through some other rivers and in a lot of mud and in another airplane really early in the morning and through a crowd of welcoming Ndugas to grandmother's house we go...
Sentani may feel like you are far away from things, then you go to Wamena and you feel like you are in the wild west Papuan style but when you land in the Mbua, you really have the feeling that you are in the middle of absolutely no where. The transition from here to almost nowhere is Wamena.
Wamena, the biggest town in the world fed only by airplane. There are no roads in from Sentani so everything you see has been brought in by air. It is a strange mix of cars, bicycle carts, motor cycles and naked old Dani men selling their curios at the airport. Coming in with Dad and Elfrieda suddenly gave us an inroad into life in Wamena beyond the wonderful homes at the MAF base. Wamena has 480 street children, an Aids case every day, prostitution, alcoholism and violence. It is an haven for transvestites from all over Indonesia and gambling is becoming a problem. You can almost feel the tension as you drive the narrow streets. Not to many smiles but a lot of people who want to sell you something. We made the mistake of getting out of the car near a store that sells Papuan art, the store was closed but we were soon surrounded by many men who had a trinket to sell. It was great work, I was excited until I realized how much they were asking and that saying no was not taken seriously. Fortunately, we were saved by some missionaries who were driving by and rescued us from belligerent Dani's.
We had to pack and repack all of our barang (stuff) so that we could fit everything into our two flights into the Mbua. One of Elfrieda's mantri's (nurses) found us and wanted to come in with us on our flights. Dinus needed to be with us in the Mbua so we were working hard trying to figure out how he could come plus everything that we needed. Out of the blue came the idea that maybe someone could walk. Scott thought it would be a good idea, Dinus decided that he needed someone to guide him, Jeep was rented to drive up to the plateau and everyone was ready to go. Walking over has always been a dream of mine..unfortunately I am not in any shape for that kind of adventure..Scott is always in shape for any kind of adventure. So 4 AM on the friday (21st) we were flying in, Scott left with a Jeep load full of men/women and children to hike to the Mbua. They were thinking it would take them about 2 days walking to our 30 minute plane ride. There he was walking with people he did not know, to a place he never has been, over terrain he has never experienced, in a language he does not speak. I think that is called trust...or faith...something! Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
Happy New Year..by the way.
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