Day 8 - August 13th

This morning, we were all happy to be able to sleep in and stay in the hotel for a little while. Today we were going to fly to Mount Hagen at 11:15 am. We woke up at around 8:45 and began to get ready. 

We felt very relaxed compared to yesterday. Our bags were already packed since there was no need to unpack them if we were going to stay in Lae for only one day. Our hotel provided breakfast, so we went downstairs to eat. It was delicious compared to the Ritz crackers we had yesterday. There were waffles, scrambled eggs, coffee, cereal, and more. At 9:45, Jessie and Sarah checked out of our hotel, while the rest of us dragged our luggage out the hotel door. 

We called a taxi to come pick us up and drop us off at the airport. The ride was about 45 minutes, so we arrived at the airport at 10:30. We entered the airport and went through security, which didn't take too awfully long. It was 11:00 by the time we reached our gate. Boarding started about five minutes after we reached the gate. We waited patiently for them to call our group number. Five minutes later, we were sitting on the plane. 

Mount Hagen Airport

The flight lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes. Most of the time we talked about how excited we were for Mount Hagen. We were going to the Mount Hagen Market today to look around at the produce and products they sold. Sierra came up with the idea to buy fruits and vegetables and to make a dinner out of it. 


Eventually, we reached Mount Hagen at 1:45 pm. We were pretty hungry since lunch was not provided on the plane. Luckily, there was a restaurant named Banz Kofi near the airport. We hauled our luggage outside the airport. Sarah told us that there were no car rentals nearby and she suggested we call a taxi instead. 

Premium Papua New Guinea Coffee

Indigenous Meal: Banz Kofi was only a couple minutes from the airport, so the ride was pretty quick. We hopped out and entered the restaurant. After choosing a table, we ordered our food. The menu had many options that were new and unique. Jessie and Ayesha split the Coffee Rubbed Steak with fresh mango guacamole. Katelin and Sarah ordered the Salt-Water Crocodile. Sierra got the Braised Short Ribs. We also ordered the Premium Papua New Guinea Coffee and the Banz Kofi Tiramisu.      

Lunch was a giant pile of deliciousness. Not only did Banz Kofi have great meal items, but the dessert was delectable. Their coffee especially stood out. It had a rich taste and was way more bitter than coffee in the United States. We asked the waitress if a bitter coffee was typical in New Guinea, and she said it's a delicacy that the locals look for. It had a different taste compared to Starbucks and coffee that we were used to. The menu had exotic choices, such as the Salt-Water Crocodile. Neither of us had eaten crocodile before, but according to Katelin and Sarah, it wasn't bad at all. They claimed it tasted a lot like chicken. 

Martha's Retreat & Cafe from the outside. 

They were glad they tried a native food. It made sense that crocodile was available in local restaurants, such as Banz Kofi, because of its abundance and popularity in Papua New Guinea. Jessie and Ayesha, who tried the Coffee Rubbed Steak with fresh mango guacamole, said that they loved it. Ayesha and Jessie liked the guacamole a lot. It tasted different from the original guacamole that they always ate with tortilla chips back at home. Jessie said that the Coffee Rubbed Steak didn't taste similar to the steak that she ate in the past. However, she said that it had an unusual but great taste to it. 

All in all, we loved food from Papua New Guinea. We were happy that we had the chance to eat native food at Banz Kofi. It was definitely a great place for trying Papua New Guinean food. 
We dropped our bags on the floor and relaxed for a bit.

Mount Hagen Market (Culture): Soon, we left for the Mount Hagen Market. We arrived and got out of the taxi. The market looked similar to the Farmer's Market in North Carolina. It had a roof on top, but the rest of it was exposed to the outside. From here we could see rows and rows of food.

Inside the Mount Hagen market.

         
They varied from yellow, pink, blue, to light green. There were many foods we were familiar with such as apples, bell peppers, bananas, carrots, garlic cloves, and watermelon. Others, however, we weren't sure of. We tried to ask the vendors what they were, but most of them didn't speak English. 

Horned Fruit

As we rummaged through all the different tables and fruits we each picked out one to eat. Sarah picked a plump mango, Jessie and Katelin bought a strange orange and spiked fruit that we had never seen before, Sierra settled for a large watermelon and Ayesha scooped up slices of a pineapple. Before eating the strange fruit, Jessie pulled out her phone to google what it was. The fruit was called a horned melon, and despite its outward color, the inside of the fruit is actually green.

Sitting Area

After everybody had made their choices, we made our way outside of the plastic canopy that we were under and toward a seating area. Sitting down on the benches under the tree limbs, we enjoyed our fruits. Before leaving, we picked up a large bushel of carrots, four apples, three loaves of bread, and a bunch of bananas for dinner.
We called a taxi to take us s  

Later that night, Jessie kept an eye on the carrots and both Sarah and Katelin peeled and sliced the bananas. Soon, the carrots were ready and Sierra and Ayesha were done cutting the bread and the apples. Sierra put the bread in the microwave to heat the slices up. Jessie and Ayesha began to distribute the apples and carrots evenly among five plates. Sarah and Katelin were finally done with the bananas and the bread slices finished heating up. We added the bread and bananas to each plate. This meal is a traditional dish prepared for people on a budget. This didn't cost us all that much, and the group realized that it didn't taste half bad.

It was about 6:30 by the time we finished. Who knew making dinner could take so long? We ate our dinner and commented on how fresh the food tasted. We realized we had quite a bit of leftovers and decided to save them for later. After dinner, we laid in our beds and played card games with the card deck that Sierra brought from home. Ayesha showed us some magic tricks she knew and everyone was amazed by her talent. The minutes flew by and soon it was 10:00 pm. We all said good night to each other and went to sleep.