The Solomon Islands visit was ... sub-optimal.
We stopped at the port at Guadalcanal Island, the largest of the Solomon Islands. The town is centered on the very busy port, which seems to be a hub for trade to other regions (not so much to bring things into or out of the Solomon Islands). The economy is depressed, and all significant economic interests (at least, according to our taxi drivers) seem to be owned by Chinese groups. Drug use also seems to be a big problem (alcohol, betel-nut, other).
It was announced on the ship's speakers, as we pulled into port, that it was humid outside, and very warm, so be prepared. By humid, he really meant that it was raining buckets.
A group of 6 of us took a pair of taxis to the American Guadalcanal War Memorial - one of the members of our group had a father who fought in multiple Pacific theaters, and she was using part of the cruise to retrace some of his steps. The drive to the monument up a steep two-lane road that was really one-lane with two-way traffic, and some sketchy stuff alongside. We spent 30 minutes at the monument, to observe the memorial itself, and to see the view of the nearby hills/valleys and the overview of the city.
On our return, I mentioned to the taxi-driver that I had initially intended to walk the 2ish miles back to port, and he discouraged it, saying 'sometimes there can problems with the drunken boys'.
We then walked through a large open market (pictures below), and as a group walked back to port. At one point, we were stopped by a local woman who warned us to keep things close to our bodies and well-zipped, because 'some of the boys are very good at pulling things from your pockets'.
Other opportunities to explore, or to see natural areas, were largely not possible due to the weather. And there were few areas to walk safely alone outside of the port. And within the port, you had to be careful so that you would not be run over by the giant crane/trucks that were running/stacking/unstacking shipping containers from one end of the port to the other.
Looking forward to Vanuatu, where we will spend three days. Maybe I'll find some Survivor artifacts.
Pictures:
Evening before arriving at Guadalcanal Island:
Departing the ship. It was wet:
A couple of the tribute walls at the Memorial:
A couple of the views from the Memorial. With minimal support, this would have been a really rough place during WWII. The terrain/weather/vegetation would be entirely inhospitable to an infantry campaign:
After, we went to the central open-air market. A lot of it looked very good (but we did not purchase, as we were not allowed to bring any of it on board). Watermelons, live crabs wrapped in banana leaves, fish, plantains, nuts, vegetables:
Walking back to port, saw this interesting mushroom cluster at the base of a tree. Despite some investigation, I have not been able to figure out what kind/class these might be:
Unity Square, a public space near the port, with our ship in the background:
Entering the port terminal, and off to the side an image that seems to be an apt metaphor for current times:
Inside the terminal, an interesting object, where the words and depiction on the center bar don't exactly match:
Leaving the island, the rain began to let up:
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