The Masurina Hotel, where we are staying, is uphill from the town center, so we ask the hotel if the van would give us a ride down to town and then pick us up again. It is extremely hot today and we would rather not walk the extra distance.
We start our walk on one end of the main road. There are supermarkets and hardware stores on every block, it seems. As we walk, we smile and say Hello or Goodmorning to folks. Older people respond much better than younger people.
We wander through a couple of markets, one quite small and the other large. The larger one has stalls selling beetle nut, tobacco braids, fresh seaweed, dresses and the usual edibles, such as taro, bananas, peanuts, limes, green beans and various prepared foods.
We cruise the supermarkets comparing prices to what we would pay. A CDN dollar for a small bag of Lays Chips. $600 for a washer/dryer combo. Gas is about the same price we pay in Alberta.
We walk down to the school and fire station and then turn around. School kids are streaming out of the secondary school, wearing coloured shirts since on Wednesday it is colour day and they all wear the colour of their house, or class. Every other day they wear a white shirt.
When we were dropped off, the driver told us to find a Masurina security guard, in a white shirt, at one of the supermarkets and ask him to radio the lodge to pick us up. It takes us three tries to find a guard that has a radio, being helped by each guard in turn. It works and after about 20 minutes, the van pulls up and we are off back to the hotel. Sweaty and hot, but satisfied with our tour.
We were told more than a number of times to be careful, watch out, don’t go! We had absolutely no issues and the people we met were friendly and polite. But, we have done this kind of walk in many cities and towns throughout the world, so know what we are doing, what danger zones and behaviours to look for. Be aware but do go for a walk here.