Getting Away

We're about to go on vacation.  It's a pretty exclusive resort.  In fact we'll only be the 3rd party to stay there this year.  The luxury accommodation has 4 bedrooms, and indoor plumbing!  It will have running water as soon as we get the pump fixed.  Until then, the "running" water will run on 2 legs!  The cost?  We have a list of repairs to do while we're there.

It looks like we're packing to move, but it's just for a week.  The food at this resort is good, but you have to bring your own groceries.  And cook.  The fridge at Dusin no longer works.  It is (or was) kerosene-powered.  Yeah, I'm with you, I still can't really understand how a little flame can make something cold.  In this case it doesn't any more.  So we're taking a big industrial-quality cooler chest full of frozen food and ice that is guaranteed to give us fresh meat even on our last night.

If you wonder where Dusin is, don't bother looking on any map you are likely to find.  If you can find the old NWMS (now NMI) reading book called "The Edge of Nowhere" by Daryl Schendel, there is a simple map there.  Let me just say that Dusin is so far into the mountains that if you go any farther you're going out the other side.

As an afterthought, I'll go find a copy of the book and scan the map and maybe a photo.

Here it is.

Dusin is in the upper left quadrant of the photo.  Note the little rectangle that represents the airstrip.  The airstrip is build on a 12% grade, which makes it very "interesting" to land at.  However, since the first landing there on May 17, 1973, Mission Aviation Fellowship (and a few other agencies who occasionally use the strip) have a perfect safety record.

Notice the lower left-hand corner where the arrow points down the road, and it says "To Kudjip" and the legend that says "Simbai to Tabibuga (2 days' walk)".  You should know that very fit nationals can make that walk in 2 days, and about another days' walk from there to Dusin.  You understand why we fly!

And here is a photo of the airstrip under construction.  The house shows as a white rectangle just to the right of the center of the photo, just off the runway.  I'll try to get a shot from this angle to compare, and post it when we get back.

See you in a week!

AB