![\"Adina](\"https:\/\/yachtadina.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/DSC_7701-640x4241.jpg\")
<\/a>Adina anchored off Lif Island<\/p><\/div>\n
Our next anchorage at Feni Island had a tight swinging circle; we have a rule that if we don\u2019t feel comfortable we move so we put the sashimi on hold and continued on to little Lif island, the third island in the chain of five islands situated to the east of New Ireland. Most of the islands are steep-to and don\u2019t have many places to anchor but Lif island has a little reef to the east and you can tuck in behind it, anchoring in 20m of water sheltered in moderate winds by the reef.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always good manners to go to the nearby village and meet the chief to ask permission to stay, swim, fish etc. We set off in our little rubber dinghy but just couldn\u2019t see a way in as the coast was lined with reef and the tide was low. We drove up and down and had nearly given up when a wooden outrigger rowed out to help us. There was a minute gap and using a small wave the two men pulled us in and we then walked the next 5 minutes over reef, pulling our dinghy along behind us.<\/p>\n
As it happened the chief was sitting in the community house with the local men in their weekly meeting. The community house looked a little like a boat with a roof and was built entirely by hand with local materials including timber frames and sago palm leaves for the roof \u2013 not a single nail in sight. As for the weekly meeting \u2013 well it was like any other weekly meeting we have back at work in England – printed agenda, everybody had weekly status reports from which to read out updates, one man was taking minutes and actions, and the chief went through the risks and issues log. Or perhaps they sat around the edges of the house chewing betel-nut with some used drinking coconuts thrown onto the ground in the middle of the room, talking a little, laughing a little. We were offered some drinking coconuts and then did what we always do to break the ice and tell them where we are from and where we are going. Standard responses are \u201cFrom England? Long, long away!\u201d followed by nods all around the room. \u201cOver two years you are sailing? Oooh, long time.\u201d \u201cJust two of you?\u201d and raised eyebrows of amazement and more nods of approval. One question we always get is \u201cYou are scared of the sea?\u201d followed by serious questioning looks around the room and we regale them with stories of big nasty seas to satisfy their curiosity.<\/p>\n
<\/a>PNG man bags!<\/p><\/div>\n
One thing we have observed in Papua New Guinea is that men carry handbags \u2013 yes, it seems good old man bags originated in Papua New Guinea. And they vary in style and texture according to where you are from. On the outer islands they have limited supplies so typically these are woven from palm leaves. But each one will be different and the men walk around with them, either carrying them in their hands or over their shoulders, dipping into them from time to time. Being curious and utterly nosy we keep trying to see what\u2019s inside them. It\u2019s mainly betel-nut and a bit of food but we saw some papers in one – no doubt the chief\u2019s weekly meeting agenda ready to roll a cigarette with. The chief\u2019s son had made an enormous bag almost half his body length in height and told us he carries his baby in it when he goes to his garden. As for the ladies, they have more conventional flat handbags but the straps are put over the head. Carrying a bag on your arm is strictly male domain. And who said Papua New Guineans are big fierce scary people?<\/p>\n
<\/a>Love and care<\/p><\/div>\n
Again we ran a basic medical clinic and visited the local school. This time round the chief wasn\u2019t quite as proactive and most didn\u2019t know about the clinic merely stumbling upon it, though we still treated over thirty people. Then he failed to turn up for the school tour or tell the school we were coming but nonetheless the headmistress welcomed us and asked us to speak to the pupils. We asked about school times and back came the reply from the headmistress \u201cNormally eight to four, but this week is the first week after holidays and so we finish at twelve as we just don\u2019t have the mood yet\u201d. There must be many a pupil out there who desires such a headmistress.<\/p>\n
Time to move on and we sailed to the next little island, Lihir. Lihir has a gold mine owned by an Australian company (big and obvious if you look on google maps). Papua New Guinea is apparently full of gold and oil reserves sitting waiting to be explored, for good or bad. We had come here to formally check-in to Papua New Guinea and complete our paperwork. The place was somewhat surreal – just a 6 hour sail away people live in traditional thatched houses on remote islands and live on the fruit and vegetables they grow themselves, and yet here was a gold mine with a town, electricity, cars, and supermarkets.<\/p>\n