Volcanic Activity
08 September 2015 | Underway in Indonesia
Heather
I've had writer's block lately. I think it's because my head is full of conflicting thoughts and we've been feeling up & down. For me, some things are better left unseen here (like going to the market) & others (like opinions) are probably better left unsaid.
We've been relatively busy, thankfully. Our favorite anchorage so far in Indonesia was North Hading Bay. It is on the island of Flores. The water was like a pool and if you wondered where your anchor was, you could just lean over and peer into the pure white sand beside you. There was nice snorkeling, birds singing during morning coffee hour and no one around except an occasional passing canoe. One man came by and asked with sign language if I had any reading glasses and by golly I did so I was able to send him on his way smiling, with a magazine and glasses to help him read it. That felt good. We are feeling a need to visit prettier, quieter places and so we are searching out anchorages in the cruising guide that have certain key words like "deserted, no village, great snorkeling/diving, long sandy beach"... any of those fit the bill. If it isn't that, then we want to visit specific places where there are attractions that allow us to experience something pretty on land or get some exercise. We decided that we need to try to keep up a pace of doing this or else we'll go nuts.
All of us had to converge in Maumere, the largest town on Flores so that we could renew our visas. While some people had issues, our renewal was seamless and we got a lot accomplished while waiting. Not only is the boat restocked and refueled, we did some fun things. The Sea World Resort was the headquarters for the rally although there were no events planned here and this Sea World is NOT like the other. But it gave us a good place to hang out together. We took a tour with 2 other couples across the island to Kelimutu National Park. Kelimutu is the name of the volcano and unlike others we've visited, this one has 3 crater lakes, each a different color. Over the years, the colors of each one have changed as their chemical compositions have been altered by volcanic activity. It was very interesting, the park was truly a gem and the cooler air was welcome. There was virtually no litter. There were even pine trees up there. The drive was over 3 hours each way, but our tour guide- Agnes, spoke great English and was really fun to be with. He answered every question we could think of and it was so nice to just be able to communicate with an Indonesian for once. Along the way, we saw rice paddies for the first time, mountain villages, a waterfall, we stopped at a traditional village and saw the construction of an original style building (forgot to get pics) and we got to see the ladies making ikat fabric. I'll bet we'll be seeing more of this fabric on down the road which is good since maybe I'll figure out how they actually do it. The ladies there were really in to chewing the betel nut as they wove the fabric. We learned a little more about it. The betel nut comes from a type of palm tree that grows all around. They take the nut and even part of the stem and put that in their mouth and then add in a little lyme by dipping a damp finger into a container of it. The chemical reaction creates the red color in their mouth. This combo acts as a stimulant as well as causes salivation which is great because that is what makes the frothing red mouth and teeth that is considered so attractive. As an elderly lady stated while we were there discussing this, she has worked very hard to achieve those brownish red teeth and gums and it is considered a beautification of the mouth. They were pretty good at spitting but when talking, the red "juice" was flying and I was a little worried I was going to end up with stained clothes from it. I was wondering if chewing betel nut will ever become a fad back home, I mean, it could happen. It was a really long day but it felt good to be out & about and seeing new things.
In keeping with our new psychological & physical motto move it or lose it, we moved 10 miles away from Maumere to another anchorage called Wodong because it had a couple of things there that we wanted to do. One was to climb the Mt Egon volcano. We arranged for 2 ojeks (motorbikes) to take us to the trailhead which was only about 30 minutes from the boat. Being out of the city, the roads were pretty quiet and we weren't too concerned about getting creamed by a bus. We wore our bike helmets so we'd have some protection while riding. The trail was really nice and the rugged summit was beautiful in it's stark way. There were noisy vents, steaming bright yellow fumaroles and plenty of wind at the top to let you know you were on a real volcano. The multi-colored rocks and the scented eucalyptus trees were great. The views were lovely on a bright, clear, sunny day. There were only 6 other people on the trail so we had plenty of peace & quiet and once again, cooler temps up high. It was a wonderful day.
Then we booked a day of diving through the shop at Ankermi Resort called "Happy Dive". We'd read that Flores offered some nice scuba and the prices at this shop were reasonable so we could swing it. We did 2 dives and enjoyed both, but the second one was the best. On the first actually, we had no sooner descended then we heard and felt a close by explosion- the fishermen were bombing the reefs nearby. This is the second time this has happened. They dynamite the reef or use cyanide to kill everything and then just collect it. It just makes us ill to see it and feeling it isn't too impressive either. You feel like you're having a heart attack. It is absolutely ridiculous to me to be doing this to the reef which is what provides the food that they eat. But we've learned that the best way to cope with this kind of thing is to turn our head and be glad (I think!) that we are here now and can appreciate these unique reef ecosystems before they're gone. After that, we enjoyed the dive. Then we did some snorkeling during the surface interval, had a snack, then did another one on a bi level wall with great vis and fantastic corals & fish. We saw a new really big nudibranch that's not in the book, 2 different variations of leafy scorpionfish and a bunch of other nice things. Then on the boatride back, each person got a little kit lunch with separate compartments for various Indonesian foods. We sat on the bow in the sun to eat it & warm up. It was a really nice day. Then we hauled up the anchor and moved the 10 miles back to Maumere so that we'd be ready to move westward in the morning. On the way, we drank everything cold that we had and were still rooting around in the fridge for something else. It's getting really hot here! It is a bit of a job to stay hydrated whether it be hiking or diving, both take a lot of fluid out of you. But I like it better than the alternative. Sitting under a tree watching the world go by isn't enough -whether or not we have a cold beer in our hand.