March 22nd 2004:

Email from the Ship: In Papua New Guinea as you pass all the people walking you notice that they are chewing and spitting out large amounts of red saliva.There are patches of red all over the ground. Everyone chews betel nut. It is the nut of the areca palm, and it is a mild narcotic. People use it as a little pick me up during the day like a mid day cup of tea or coffee. They break open the husked nut and chew until they get to the kernel inside the nut. Nuts can vary in potency and a strong one might cause you to sweat and want to lie down for awhile. After the nut is chewed, they take the kernel, moisten the tip of it into a white powdery mix of mustard and coral limestone and bite off the frosted part and keep chewing. This is when the saliva turns vivid red and you will feel a rush. They say it tastes awful.The local people offer it to foreigners but it doesn@t attract too many drug fans because of the disgusting spitting of the large amounts of bright red saliva which stains everything it comes in contact with. The local people have red stained mouth and teeth. Even the children are using it.