Ela Beach @ Downtown Port Moresby…

This photo was taken at Ela Beach in downtown Port Moresby. A few of us from the Comfort Inn hopped into a taxi one evening and decided to go downtown for pizza. Before eating we went for a stroll down the promenade along the beach. There would have been at least 250 young boys playing rugby and soccer matches, I estimate around 10 games being played at once, on the sand and also along the promenade on grass. Quite a site. I was strolling down the promenade watching the matches being played and decided to take some photos. What an experience. They all wanted their photos taken !! The photo attached is of a team that was sitting around waiting to play, so I got a team photo. See their faces !!! I was touched. This stroll down Ela Beach was a bit of a turning point for me, I became aware of a friendliness and a willingness to interact by the locals. During this hour on Ela Beach fear left me and for the first time I experienced the PNG friendliness and joy. For one hour fear left me and I was filled with a sense of adventure and romance.

The interesting thing is that there is a hill behind Ela Beach. On this hill there are mansions and apartments where all the expats live (mostly Australians). The locals refer to this hill as “Shit scared hill”. The people that live there go from their compounds to work and from work to the club and from the club back home again. I did’nt see any expats during my stroll down Ela Beach. It’s amazing what fear makes us miss out on. We went for pizza later that evening and there they all were !! The restaurant was filled with expats. I did enjoy the pizza though !!! After dinner we caught a taxi back to the Comfort Inn and on route, we were stopped by a Police roadblock. The fear was back !