The day before we arrived in Papua New Guinea, there was a special luncheon which featured some fresh fruit. the kitchen staff here displayed some of the fresh fruit recently received.

Here on the other hand is some candy which looks like fresh fruit. The pastry chef is very cool. The stuff looked so real that they had to put a huge sign on this display saying it was for display purposes only. Actually I came back later and 2 pieces of the candy were gone. Now that must have been really embarrassing to someone.

And here are some roses which are really candy in a chocolate basket. Where do they get these ideas?

Here is Amy on the left, one of the two female singers in the show-cast along with our friend Judy and of course Donna. When not on the ship, can you believe that she lives in Queens NY. When I was growing up in Queens the girls were realy cute. Things haven't changed a bit.

Verity Brown, the other female singer in the production show-cast openned the nights entertainment for a wonderful comedian, Scott Williams. Having even an average comedian is unusual , but this guy really did put a a smile on everyone's face.

Here he is leading an AIR rock band made up of himself and passengers he dragged onstage from the audience. He really got the joint jumping.

Much of Madang, Papua New Guinea was under a heavy blanket of haze when we made our approach in the early morning light. It made the place look mysterious and exotic, as if the stories of cannibalism and head hunting were not enough.

It had rained heavily the night before and the clouds in the morning light were spectacular. Just before leaving on our tour of several coastal villages we had breakfast with Peter who lives in Florida and whose wife could not make the trip. Can you believe she looked up our site at her husband's recommendation and she e-mailed us her compliments. That makes two compliments I've gotten. That is not including friends and family who are obligated to tell me how wonderful my site is. Since Peter's wife lives in Florida we've really gone global. Now I know exactly what Edward R. Morrow felt like during WWII reporting from London during the Blitz. We're BIG!!!

The countryside is covered by lush jungles.

The harbor's navigational aids consisted of two triangular sites several hundred feet apart which when aligned indicated you on the correct course to enter the harbor.

Madang is a poor city but the people were always friendly and courteous.

Here Donna is making friends with our bus driver and one of his associates.

We stopped at the local market where every type of vegetable and fruit can be purchased. Again the people were nothing but friendly.

Donna checking out the pocket book department.

The assortment of goods was impressive and it was apparent that you could buy in very small quantities.

Donna demonstrating to one of the salespeople the hard sell she learned as an insurance salesperson.

Papua New Guinea has many fox bats which sleep upside-down in the trees during the day. I was glad we weren't staying for the night. These guys were big and noisy.

Donna showing off her new pocketbook. Where'd she get that? I didn't leave her alone for 2 minutes. From now on I'm holding her hand.

During WWII, several dozen Australians and New Zealanders lived in the mountains of Papua New Guinea, which was for some time under Japanese occupation and reported Japanese ship and troop movements to the Allied commanders using radios. They were called Coast Watchers. After the war this monument was built to honor their courage and contribution to the war effort. One day in this place and I knew that these were pretty tough guys. They were here for more than two years.

Because of the constant heat and high humidity and rainfall this place has some very interesting flora. Here Donna stands next to one of the more interesting trees we encountered. That's a hell of a tree trunk.

The houses in the nicer neighborhood's were not bad.

The local motel, which was adjacent to a golf course looked fine from the outside.

Some of the ship's guests played a round at this course. From our bus the fairways and greens looked fine.

The main Coast Road was smooth and pothole free.

Papua New Guinea has a reputation for its historic primitive societies. The masks and carvings attest to this. The only question is "is this stuff history or current events?" Some of these carved figures were more than just a little spooky.

Donna finally making a new friend ashore.

I' was jealous so I cut in.

We visited two smaller villages and got there by way of roads which needed much work. It had rained the night before and the roads were not yet ready for prime time. We traveled at about 10 miles per hour down the good parts.

A water buffalo roaming near the entrance to one of the villages we visited.

Outside of the city, the houses are built on stilts to make it more difficult for the snakes, mosquitoes, frogs and other entomology and zoology, which thrives in the adjoining dense jungle, to join the structure's occupants.

When I said the jungle was dense I meant dense. In many places you couldn't see 5 feet into it from the road. Cutting your way through it with a machete would have been a very tough job for for the natives before the roads were built.

Here is another structure which like many in the village only provides protection from the sun and rain.

Here the ship's chief engineer's wife is found standing under our welcome sign to the Village ORD.

We were treated to a demonstration of how the locals prepare Sago, which is in a way like their flour which comes from the inside of the tree shown here.

It looks like the kids got a day off from school.

After the inside of the tree is chopped out and washed it looks a lot like flour.

From this they make an interesting type of food which has a hard gelatin consistency . It is wrapped around another preparation made of lemon grass and then covered in shaved coconut. It had an interesting taste.

Donna was off having a good time so I had a chance to check the automatic timer in my camera. It looks like it works.

There were some houses which were built directly on the ground but they were certainly the exception.

Me and my Gal.

Donna found some people shorter than her. She felt so empowered.

We were treated to a show by the locals demonstrating their traditional dances and dress.

The primitive nature of their songs gestures gave everyone pause.

The bleachers were packed.

Even the balcony was packed.

Donna sat in the orchestra section.

I'm not sure if I would have felt too comfortable if I had met some of these fellas about 100 years ago while hacking my way through the jungle. Is that necklace made out of human fingers?

Donna and I with one of the dancers.

The flowers were beautiful and unusual.

They had many pots for sale.

Donna did her part. Here she is showing off her new pot. I let go of her hand for just 2 minutes!!! She's fast.

Our friends Loren and Judy took the tour too.

In spite of the fact that the village was very primitive, it was a very clean place and people were all very warm and friendly.

The village beach was basic. We were told when we returned to the ship that the snorkeling off of some of the nicer beaches was terrific.

The roads we took from village to village were not well maintained. Much of the movement of the locals was on foot.

When we got back to the ship the road leading to the dock had become a busy outdoor bazaar. After lunch we ventured out and bought some trinkets. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience due to the good nature and genuine warmth of the locals.