Daily Rambling - April 7, 2009

Welcome to “Daily Ramblings”. Throughout our Peace Adventure we share our experiences, friends and stories of the folks we meet along the way.  We try to update it every few days.  Additionally photos are posted that support the places and people we are trying to share with you.  You will be able to view a broader selection of our photos in the “Photos” section.

April 7, 2009 - It has been an amazing week.  Why the Raja Ampat Islands have been left undiscovered is baffling.  The Papua villagers are as kind and open as can be.  

We befriended families in Yenbeser and learned about their lives.  Based on fishing and farming, the village appears prosperous.  They have electricity and one satellite dish.  Several of the hand carved outrigger boats have power engines. The woman who owns the fuel supply station has the village guitar which was in major need of a new set of strings which Tom happily provided and re-strung.

The neighboring island has a soccer field at the school which we used to land the helicopter for our photo shoot of Major Wager.  The kids were everywhere playing soccer, wrestling, laughing at and with us.  Tom taught a group of young girls several English words which were accompanied by much laughter.

Marc Paris arrived in Sorong on April 2nd.  He was hired by Fraser Yachts to do a photo shoot of the boat and produce a brochure on the day in the life of Major Wager.  With us for four days...what an inspiration Marc is.  Finding every detail to be positive, working around the clock with the crew, he set up shots of the inside and outside of the boat and our surroundings. Of course his Italian charm made all of us feel special and his photos will be a real treat.  They will be used to update the web site section on “Our Ship” soon.

Returning to Sorong to drop Marc at the airport gave us the opportunity to replenish our fresh fruit, vegetables and sea food. With little ice and refrigeration, people shop daily for their food supplies.  The market is larger than a city square block and is filled with a fresh fish section, poultry section...fruit, vegetables, rice, noodles – you name it.  It was the complete general store for anything you might need if you lived in Sorong.  Dean was delighted with the new provisions and the crew were all treated to lunch of KFC chicken!

Last night, April 6th, we motored to Misool and anchored just east of Batanme Island.  The scenery above and below the sea is the most incredible of any place we have been in the entire year of Major Wager.  Our photos don’t appropriately convey how stunning it is here.  Several of us went for a dive this afternoon and celebrated the brilliant coral that flourishes with all of the current enveloping the countless little islands.  This evening Cam and Tom are going to try out the tackle. Stay tuned...

Read March 31 Log

Read March 29 Log

Read March 12 Log