Alotau, Papua New Guinea

As I type this, I am in Guadalcanal, watching it rain cats and dogs ("chucking down" as the English would say).  Absolutely no way to go out to see the sights of this historic World War II field of battle, or to learn of the Solomon Islanders' ways of life..... unless you are a duck.

So I am going to play catchup, and take you, dearies, to a delightful day a few days ago, when we called in Alotau, Papua New Guinea. 

Good Morning!! What a greeting awaited us when we docked!

Precious!

My tour made three stops.  First to the aptly named "High Town".

Alotau is situated on Milne Bay (pronounced "Millen"), and was the sight of the first major battle of the Pacific in World War II.

We were treated to kids in traditional dress. 

Y'all know me...this is as close to this kid I got.... and that's with my telephoto lens...

Children are children the world over.  This little one loves stickers as much as Maddie Jane does.

Next stop, Middle Town!  Cameron Secondary School.   Our guide, Elizabeth, is a 9th grade boarder at the school, and wants to be an aeronautical engineer (STEM baby!!!)

Classrooms are very neat and well-cared for, the students polite and welcoming.

Ok, just a word of caution.  In Papua New Guinea, bare breasts are no big deal, but it is a woman's thighs that are the "thing"...so please don't be offended...

We were treated to demonstrations of local crafts and daily tasks.  Watching these ladies' hands was like poetry in motion, the speed and skill they displayed weaving mats, baskets and skirts.

And then some very talented local dancers demonstrated various hunting dances.

I really wouldn't want to run into "cannibals" like these... Their very red tongues come from chewing betel nut.

Looks fiercesome...

 But in actually, harmless.

Ada and Elizabeth...

Final stop, the local market in Bottom Town- betel nuts to bananas.

Shy but friendly- absolutely wonderful folks!

Cooktown

Cooktown, Queensland, Australia- a tiny spot on the map. About 1500 Aussies call it home.

Reminds me a little of Sandersville/ Tennille, Georgia--where I lived for 12 years.

Except it has a view.  Many GREAT views.

Cooktown is famous for - you guessed it- Captain James Cook, who beached his ship, the Endeavour, here in 1770 for repairs.

And it was--shall we say- WARM? the  day we called.  Of course, temps of 85 with 90 percent humidity are normal for me, but we had some SERIOUSLY uncomfortable passengers making the walkabout. If Laird had been along, he would have "stretched his legs"  up Grassy Hill (clever namers, these Aussies), an incredibly steep, long hike that gets you to some amazing views.  I stayed at sea level.

The Captain himself...

Spearfishing? Fishing Pole not easy enough for you? There has to be a SIGN??

And then there was the Gold Rush in the 1880's. 

At one point, Cooktown has 47 licensed pubs and dozens of hotels....few remain.

The post office still has outside counters.  

Aren't these sidewalks clever?

Love the penned in comment at the bottom.....

Here's an idea- campervan optometrist.  Move over Lenscrafters....

I HAD to check out this shop-- I was intrigued why someone would name their shop Louisiana.  Turns out the owner's grandfather was French....

Necessity caused Captain Cook to stop here, but you can tell why he stayed a while!

It's Pronounced "Cans"

Two days of playing around in the Cairn's rainforest- and it's called a rainforest for a reason...

Day One- a trip to Kuranda- a village splat dab in the middle of the rainforest...

Here's our bus driver and guide, Paul.  More on him later...

Paul directed us to a FABULOUS homemade ice cream stand. 

Of course Ada and I had to try some out.  I got mango.  Fresh mango.  Fresh mango ice cream.

Hoo Boy! " Yum" does not even come close...

A little look around- but we didn't have much time for the Butterfly Gardens, or the Venom Museum ( like I'd ever darken THAT doorstep),  or the Koala Cuddling...

Checked out some hot sauces...

And found great sign in the ladies' bathroom stall...
(you know what a sucker I am for a giggle...) Lots of Chinese visitors, obviously...

Then it was the rainforest cable car ride down the mountain.  It was spectacular, but I didn't get great pics because of the rain.....

Ok...now back to Paul. I didn't notice it until he mentioned it, but he has only one arm.  Lost it as a 3 week old child to cancer.  Hasn't slowed Paul down one bit.  In fact, he's climbed Mount Everest- the first disabled person to do so from the Tibetan side. 

Check out his story.  Great guy.  Great attitude.  Funny as hell.

Next day it was raining hard....but we were off to have a walk around...or so we thought.  As soon as we crossed the street, a wind gust and deluge occurred simultaneously, drenching Ada when her umbrella turned inside out.  I carried forth as she and Marcia returned to the dry comfort of Serenity.

I came across the famous Meldrums Pies. 

Pies are to Aussies what burgers are to Americans, I guess.  Every shop has some. 

I opted for a steak, chilli, and cheese pie. 

It was Glorious with a capital G.  On a wet rainy day, it was the PERFECT mid-morning snack.

Yes, I demolished every single morsel.

I wandered....stumbling upon the Farmer's market...

Soooo many different varieties of bananas.....

We sailed away just as another storm was rolling in...but dry enough to sit on the veranda with my needlepoint and watch the sailaway...

Still no good at selfies, but I am trying.

Off to Cooktown!