Four in the morning, we are packed, loaded in the truck and back down the mountain to catch a chopper to the airport. Plans are to spend the night at the Rimba and catch our flight to Lombok the next day. I believe I mentioned in a previous blog you give a few extra days in travel time for "choppers not flying." As we are about to experience.
After sitting at the helipad for a few hours, we are informed the choppers are not flying due to weather in the lowlands. A decision needs to be made as if we will now board a bus and head down the mountain, a three hour drive on a windy, unsettling road.
First let me explain the hesitation of taking the bus. Shootings have taken place along the road to the lowlands at buses full of expatriates. John lost a good friend a few years ago during an ambush on a convoy of vehicles heading to the lowlands. Matt was fired upon while heading to the golf course in the lowlands and watched a guy die next to him. Matt has not taken the bus since. I can understand his apprehensiveness. I have heard about the bus ride. Honestly, I am a little nervous myself. Everyone is leaving the island, the tribe knows they are leaving for the summer and there has not been an altercation in quite awhile. They may be getting restless. After much discussion, we decided to take the bus.
Normally, you board the bus and you are taken directly down the mountain. This time we were boarded onto the bus and taken "uptown" to the bus stop. We were then to board another bus going down to Timika. As we grabbed our luggage, we looked around us and realized, this was not a good scenario. 15 or so expats being looked upon by the local tribe, knowing where we are heading and the route to be taken. You may as well put a target on us. OK, now I am not feeling very fuzzy about this. A few phone calls were made to security and we were advised NOT to get on the bus. Don't have to ask me twice! We head back home and hope the choppers are flying tomorrow.
Could we be so lucky...no choppers flew the next day. Decision is made, we have to take the bus. Security is contacted. We board the bus and are taken to a destination where we are met by armed security to escort us down the mountain. The photo above is us waiting outside the buses for security to arrive. I think it is time for a Xanax! Down the mountain we go. I say a few prayers along the way. I looked fear in the face when I was diagnosed with cancer, but this was a different fear. You are taking a chance of not only yourself, but your family. This choice is presented to expats everytime a chopper does not fly and there are flights to catch. Tough decision to swallow.
So, the bus travels on and we are 10 minutes from the airport. Ten minutes to catch our departing flight. The airline is contacted to hold the plane for the people arriving via bus. Game plan is Bonnie and Christi head into the terminal, I grab luggage and meet them inside. We arrive, and the ladies go blowing through security to the check in counter. The guards don't even blink. In America, they would have been shot dead or tackled.
In the words of John Wilmot, he could not have stated it better:
"They made good time down the hill, made it to the airport and Garuda was still there. Only to get in the terminal and watch the last of the standby folks board up and go. Flight left them standing there, and the Ibu’s(white folk) nearly had a riot. Freaking out shouting ensued- as they then found out all flights to Bali or Makassar or Jakarta were full up through the 17th (when I am scheduled with the girls). Then they found out that no rooms were available in the Rimba! You could nearly hear the screeching up here as about 10 Ibu’s were stuck in the same situation. Finally after calls to the VP level and above, intervention by PTFI folks set it right and they mostly all had a place to sleep, but definitely not separate rooms.
That afternoon, after looking at many, many options (Jayapura to Makassar on standby to Bali) or other even less favorable versions involving Merpati Airlines and unsavoury airports, they decided on a longer, but very reliable method of Airfast to Cairns (yes, they had to go East to travel Westward… typical of here). Once in Cairns, they caught the JetStar flight to Darwin, and will catch a connecting flight to Bali tonight. ETA in Bali is 8:45 tonight. But, they will miss Lombok entirely, and will spend the night in Kuta area tonight and see if they can extend their stay in Ubud one day earlier. It should all be right now, but crazyness all yesterday. Woke up this morning to a fine mist and again, no choppers flew- for the third straight day. Sheer pandalarium at the helipad and at Rimba and at the Airport. People are getting seriously stuck and sick of the travel here- specifically in the highlands. Looking at about 750 folks not able to travel properly and more tomorrow, maybe."
There you have it. Travel in Papua. Can't wait to get to Bali!
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