First Day in the Solomon Islands.

Still Sunday 9th September.

I was picked up from the airport by one of the two permanent staff of the posting. As I have not received any instruction I am unsure of what I will be doing, but enjoy the ride.

We get to see some indidgenous dwellings made of sticks and leaves, I cannot see where the airconditioners are though! There are also numerous market type stalls, all made of the same materials, yep, sticks and leaves. They are staffed by 3 or 4 people and they all sell the same things, Betel nuts. No market diversity! To our surprise, we then reach a stretch of coconut stalls. Now we know we can drink AND relax as well as spit a substance that looks like a blood/wax mixture.

I am advised on the drive in that we will have a tour of the area. This does not take long as it only covers the east/west road from the airport to the hotel in Honiara. The refreshing news is that we can look at the other 50% of the east/west roads tomorrow.

We drive past the Casino and Hotel that were burnt down in the recent troubles as well as the second supermarket in town. This is the bigger and more modern of the two, but it is further out from the centre of town. After this excitement we reach the middle of town, then just as quickly leave it. We progress another 500 metres to our residence for the next 3 months, the Bates Motel, sorry that should be Hotel Mendana.

We are sent to our rooms to unpack and refresh so we can meet up with the rest of the team and out for dinner.

The foyer of the hotel is open, posts and a roof, no walls and no aircon, but ceiling fans. They are effective in the evening with a breeze and a beer/cold drink in your hand.

1830 comes around and I march out to be introduced to the "team".

I will detail them in the next instalment.