Port Moresby.....waiting, waiting and more waiting....

Here is a picture of Ben watching the other airplanes in the hangar while we waited for our luggage to be unloaded. He was really excited to see a helicopter take off:

Port Moresby is the capital city/town of Papua New Guinea. You cannot get to Port Moresby by road from Ukarumpa. You have to fly there.

There are so many unknowns with flying here in PNG. The airstrips are small and the flights are dependent on weather. We decided not to risk missing our international flight. So, we booked a room at the Mapang Guest House. We got in around 2:30pm with every intention of catching our international flight the nest day at 5:30pm. Here is a picture of the room. We had our own room, but the rooms are set up to sleep lots of people if needed. We didn't have our own bathroom. Everyone staying at Mapang has to share 4 bathrooms.

You can't really tell from this picture, but there are two sets of bunk beds- one to the left and one to the right. Ben enjoyed running back and forth between them and climbing them. He chose to sleep on a top bunk at night....but liked to watch Curious George on the bottom bunk:

When we got to Port Moresby, we headed out to dinner at the Holiday Inn. A couple of months ago, we won a buffet dinner for two that the high school was auctioning. When you compared what we payed for the voucher to what the actual meal would have cost, it was better than a two for one coupon. And, the food was surprisingly good!

The next morning, we decided that we would pack up our bags and head to the mall. That's right.....a mall! I just had to see what a mall in PNG looked like.

Ben thoroughly enjoyed riding in taxis.....it was was the HIGHLIGHT of his time in Port Moresby. He reminded me of a dog at the car window. If we had let him roll the window down, he probably would have stuck his head out of it.

We got back to Mapang around noon. We ate lunch there and put Ben down for a nap around 1:00pm. We then had two hours to kill until we were picked up for the airport....or so we thought. Around 2pm, we got a call saying that our flight was delayed two hours. This meant that instead of getting into Cairns around 7:30pm, we wouldn't be arriving until after 9:30pm. It was hard to wait, but again, we both realized that at least we hadn't missed a flight and at least the flight had not been canceled. So, we made the most of our time. Also, I praise God that Ben took a VERY long nap. That made the last flight much easier, I'm sure!

Here's a picture of my letter from my doctor saying that I was "fit" to fly. Again, most airlines do not let you fly after your 36th week. After the hour and 30 minute flight, I knew why. It wasn't a long flight, but it was REALLY uncomfortable.

We were all happy to finally be on our way to Cairns (and for those who care, it is pronounced "cans"):