Latitude 3: Papua New Guinea, Dreams from my father

I remember my family watching David Attenborough’s Papua New Guinea special on PBS television when I was a child. Attenborough’s funny way of narrating, the footage of the birds of paradise and the possibility that there were still cultures that had not encountered the outside world, fascinated this small-town-Modesto girl. At the time, I couldn’t even dream of going there. And now I have.

We spent 15 days there in total and got a good sense for the diverse terrain, cultures, bird life and diving. With very few roads, we took six flights to get to more remote areas. There are often horror stories (and we heard some of them when we were there) about traveling in Papua New Guinea. So, this was the one part of the trip I decided to use a tour company. I worked with Trans Niugini tours which has been working in the country for the past 40 years. They have created their own mini-infrastructure to get tourists around.

For me, more than anything else, the people we met were wonderful. They were kind, friendly and willing to share their traditions with us in a very open way. They were also curious about us. My long blond hair interested the little girls. They would giggle and come behind me to take a better look at my pony tail. Many were eager to see the pictures I took of them. Those who spoke English, were also interested in talking about Obama when they found out I was from the US. I was reading, "Dreams from my father" while I was there. The tour staff asked to hear more about his life story when they saw the cover of my book. I took time too, to reflect on the dreams my father had shared with me. This was one that came true.