Papua Explorer

The most viewed photo in my stories this year, and therefore reposted here. The photo was taken in September and offers a glimpse into the traditional food gathering of the Korowai tribe, with an array of natural ingredients displayed on banana leaves. The items include:
🦎 A monitor lizard (Varanus species), hunted as a protein source.
🐟 Two snakehead fish (Channa species), a freshwater staple.
🌴 Palm hearts, harvested from the inner core of palm trees, a local delicacy.
🥚 Cassowary eggs, large and green, gathered from the nests of the native cassowary bird.
🐛 A pot filled with large edible sago grubs, prized for their high protein content.
🌿 Fresh green forest leaves.

Impressions from this year’s Baliem Valley Culture Festival, held from 7 to 9 August.
wa wa wa

Another stop by the river, on the way to somewhere you have never been, finding shelter in the house of a local villager. And I remember that hostility is what makes us animals, and hospitality is what makes us human.