The rain is dancing upon the earth. The horizon is very close. The sky is cloudy, opaque. Miles Davis plays as I write. Insects are biting.
I remember in my PSS days, when returning to school at the begin of every year. Thats when the weather kicked up and it rained, and rained.
I recall being in places like Gizo or Honiara or Buala when it rained and rained… and rained… and rained…
Gizo harbour blood-red with the clay-soil run off. Once in Honiara, the water running through the entry/ reception of the old Mendana hotel.
Here we see road-side gutters lined with plastics flushed from the hills. This marks how flooded the road was earlier, like high tide flotsam n jetsam…. 
I am happy to report that the LDC status of Solomon Islands is in good hands.
The roads are a mess. It takes well over an hour to travel from the airport to Honiara CBD. The stretch from SDA church, Kukum, to Central Hospital is an easy 20 minutes. Rove to CBSI is 20 minutes in the morn, and 30 minutes at 5pm.
Part of the “problem” is new road works…
The bridge over the Mataniko now offers dual, two-way, traffic…
But the roads leading either direction are so pot-holed, congested, slow and snarled that you can easily shift gears in this lil-stretch. Then gat back in line…
I kinda assume that the new bridge and the new big roundabout will eventually help. The single coastal road syndrome we are in can never be solved. Add to this the fact that a shit-load (it’s a technical term/ I can’t find the actual number) of cars, new and used, are imported to the country annually.
The roads are simply overwhelmed… 
In many ways I am perplexed by the overall volume of vehicles. There are hundreds of taxis and buses. I assume they do a booming trade, especially in the rain.
This shows the bus stop outside the Central Market place, Point Cruz. The crowd is thick. A few hundred people in all waiting for “the next bus”.
I was moving very slowly.
So why all the vehicles?
On the roads there are stacks of old carcasses that have been stripped and recycled.
As my ol buddy Willis used to say, “…there are no wrecking yards in the Solos, only a taxi fleet”.
People spend a lot of money on vehicles, road transport in general. The traffic jams attest to the overload.
One funny thing… not many scooters here. Not like Asia. In Asia, rain or shine the scooters are out. Mom, Dad, the 3 kids n the dog all out for a ride on two wheels.
I think this transport conundrum is akin to the “cell phone dilemma”…
1) We are in a Nation that is categorised as an LDC.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_Developed_Countries.
Average income in Solos is higher than I thought… something like $1500.00USD per annum. A bit over $100.00USD per month.
2) Incomes gained are spent. There are few with savings, or investments. All income is disposable as far as I can see.
3) And much is spent on nonessential items such as phones and transport.
I am told that taxis in town charge $10.00SBD per K.
A single taxi ride can be an appreciable amount of one’s monthly income.
What do I know?
I know the domestic staff here in our gig get around $800.00SBD a fortnight.
I know the legal minimum wage is $4.00SBD (55cUS) per hour. 40 hour week = $160.00SBD gross.
I know that this is still a very cool place and I do enjoy returning.
I know that most folks I see, wave at, make eye contact with all appear happy and healthy.
I know that cities, almost all (but not all) cities suck the wazzzulie. And Honiara is not a good barometer for the country as a whole.
I know I shall be in Gizo and out sailing soon so my sense of humour will liven up.
The Native Iowan 
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