Sundays

Missionaries did a serious number on Papua New Guinea. As a result more than 95% of the population follows some form of Christianity. Usually a rather fundamentalist version. Unsurprisingly, the local villagers, which we employed as workers on the site, would not work on Sundays. They had to go to church.


Since excavation was not possible without the help locals, we had Sundays off and were left to our own devices... After we had visited the volcano and the mask store in Rabaul we had to find something to do for the next five Sundays. Fortunately, one of my team members was savvy enough to ask around and soon discovered that the small island we could see from our hotel was deserted, had a perfect white sand beach, and excellent snorkeling.


Needless to say, the next Sunday we arranged to have the hotel's boat take us out there for the day. Loaded up with bar-b-que equipment, sunscreen, snorkeling gear, and a large cooler of refreshments we headed out for the day.