We had met a couple from Germany while attending the festival who were trying to put together a few days on the Sepik river so we arranged to join them if we could find transport to Wewak. This proved difficult as the only way to reach Wewak was via air and the exodus after the festival had chewed up all of the available seats. We did contact MAF, the airline run by missionaries in PNG, and while they did not fly according to any schedule, they were "thinking" about flying to Wewak on the Monday as we required but the plane was being "repaired" over the weekend??

Apparently they were able to glue the wing back on, because when we showed up first thing Monday morning they were pretty certain they'd be flying at some point in the afternoon, and we were even sold a ticket for 2 seats on the plane . The purchase was one of the more bizarre experiences I've had with an airline. Not only was I talking to someone through a heavy wire mesh but there was a second protective wall of heavy Plexiglas with small holes cut into it. My entire conversation took place with nothing more than an eyeball or set of lips. When I asked about the flight, the ticket agent actually went out onto the runway to confirm that there was an airworthy plane available. I then slid my Kinas through a tiny slot where they quickly disappeared and then magically reappeared in the form of a piece of paper which wasn't so much a ticket as it was receipt. Since the mission work is the priority for this airline, we still weren't assured of getting to Wewak today.

Since the alleged departure time was sometime in the afternoon, we dutifully hung around the 'lounge' area watching a steady stream of food products, medical supplies, and people in obvious need of medical assistance move back and forth across the tarmac. Our time did arrive and in one of the more intimate boarding announcements ever, our names were called and we followed to pilot to his plane. Much to the chagrin of DH, the plane was tiny- including the pilot, there were only 4 of us on the plane but after a turbulent takeoff and a struggle to get over the surrounding mountains, the flight was uneventful and very scenic. At the Wewak airport we collected our bags and literally walked across the street to the hotel where we met up with our new German friends and finalized the details of our pending trip into the Sepik river area.