A Genuine Understanding of Place & People [The Papua Expedition ~ Day 18]

Waiting out my own grace period

It’s the eighteenth day of the Papua Expedition. Last night, we arrived to the island’s capital, Sumbawa Besar.

Despite the slow start, we’ve logged nearly 200 kilometers and already made our first island crossing.

We’ve been trudging through an incomprehensible amount of sickness, injury, and bureaucratic issues. Plus, we must be somewhere with suitable internet connection every weekend in order to stream the Chiefs playoff run (priorities, I know)…

📸 @loladlbs (loladelabays.com)

I weighed-in at ~87kg on Day 1 and am now down roughly 5kg (10lbs). I knew this would be an unintended consequence of a walking expedition. It’s difficult to maintain a stable, nutrient-dense diet as we get more remote.

We are burning anywhere from 800-1,500 (and even upward of 2,000) calories of active energy each day. I would estimate we’re only eating an equivalent amount. There’s a surprising lack of vegetables in the eastern Indonesian diet, which is why we packed tons of nutrients in powder and capsule form. We can easily find rice, eggs, chicken, and bananas which have become the staples of the expedition menu so far. When we cross through a large enough village, we can usually find peanut butter and bread, too. It’s about as exotic of a diet as it sounds.

Still, the most challenging part of the journey through three weeks hasn’t been the lack of menu options, it has been the subtle decline of comfort in where we sleep. My misguided mind had become accustomed to the relative luxury found at all corners of Bali.

I’m no diva when it comes to where I rest my head at night. In reality, I’m the furthest thing from it. I’ve spent many nights on the streets of Europe, in my younger days, as I tramped around with a thin wallet. Lola, too, is as open-minded as anyone about sleeping arrangements. However, it’s not so easy as it was when I was twenty-one. I’m afraid this may take a few more weeks getting used to.

Meanwhile, I’ve shared my living space with rats, mosquitos, and paper thin walls that invite the 4:30AM call-to-prayer into my ears every morning. I’ve showered via bucket-n-spout on more than a few occasions. I’ve re-introduced myself to the perpetually-yet-mysteriously-wet bathroom floors of Southeast Asia. And I’ve also reverted to the always-fun squat toilet which I’m embarrassed to report I’ve still not mastered.

Even with the loss of convenience and comfort, I feel grateful for the lessons of humility this experience has granted me. We could all use a dirty splash of toilet water on the calf to humble us once in a while.

Lola and I joke that our hierarchy of needs keeps thinning the further remote we get. This idea has consumed a majority of my thoughts and I quite like it. I could call it as refreshing as it has been uncomfortable to escape the noise and desires of western culture. And, while I’m not ready to ditch my showerhead at home, there has been something gratifying in the reminder this expedition has provided.

The most pressing thought in my head has been the fact that the standard of living will only go down from here, for the next several months. I’m slowly coming to terms with that just as any Indonesian living east of Bali has to. Except, for them, it’s not an experience like it is for me. It’s life.

I’m not on this expedition to document my personal journey of overcoming obstacles. Although I will inevitably detail what is seen and heard from my own perspective, the purpose is to create encounters with locals at a genuine level. To face the same elements, navigate the same terrain, and hopefully get to know the people of the Lesser Sunda Islands at face value.

It’s early and there’s still a long way to go. I’m giving myself this grace period to acclimate to the personal challenges facing me, but ultimately to make this trip a success, I have to arrive somewhere beyond those obstacles. It’s not just about reaching Papua New Guinea, but also finding what it is I’ve been missing in all my years of travel to this point; a genuine understanding of place and people.

I’ll check-in here, again, soon. . .

Adam

P.S. — You can reach me by replying to this email. Words of encouragement warmly accepted.

The Papua Expedition supports the 771 million people in the world without sanitary water. Please consider giving — all it takes is $40 to bring clean water to an individual for life!

For more info: https://www.charitywater.org/adam-cheshier