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Published: October 26th 2016
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Ampana to Pulau Malenge
View of Ampana from my ferry The Togean Islands are white beaches, turquoise waters, swaying palm trees, coral reefs and jungles. They are strange rock formations sticking out of the water. They are friendly locals and interesting wildlife. And until recently they were not too easy to reach, which always is good to keep out the hordes. But times are a changing and the gateway to the Togean’s, Ampana, now sports an airport. And airports mostly mean one thing: more tourists!
The hordes haven’t arrived just yet, but the locals are preparing for them. Resorts are popping up like mushrooms, and the amount of boats servicing the various islands are increasing. It was off-season now, but still I was surprised by the amount of travellers. Luckily they are spread out over the various islands and resorts, so at any given place there are not too many.
My first stop in the Togean’s was Malenge Island. To get there I took a slow boat. I was the only ‘bule’ (white man) on the boat. Most people take the faster boats. It was a scenic journey, passing and stopping at several Bajo villages. The Bajo are sea-gypsies, most of their villages are built on top of the
reefs, clustered around a few rocky outcrops. Their lives revolve around the sea they live on. They learn to swim from year zero. To me they were just a passing glimpse on my way to my own little paradise. I had no plans, no ideas, just a destination.
Luckily friendly Udin from Malenge Indah was waiting for the boat on the off chance a tourist would be on board. Not much later I was on his little catamaran sailing to the other side of the island where his tiny resort was located. It turned out to be a very good choice. Fate had provided well for me. A small beach, a few cottages, a couple of other travellers, and the best cook on the island. Perfect!
I spent the next few days, snorkeling, hiking, and eating very well. I also met quite a few interesting characters. Probably the most interesting of them was Dr. Anting, an Indonesian living a few coves down from my resort. As his title suggests he is a doctor. And he has loads of stories to tell. You can spend hours philosophizing with him, but most people visit Dr. Anting because he has set
Ampana to Pulau Malenge
Main Bajo settlement on the Togean Islands up a trail into the jungle behind his plot of land. Not particularly to draw in tourists, but mainly for his own pleasure. He rather enjoys watching the wildlife.
He does, however, take people on guided tours if they request it, and he asks for nothing in return, though a donation is appreciated. He won’t take more than three at a time. Luckily we were only three. We went in search of elusive tarsiers, even more elusive cuscuses (marsupials), and just as elusive black macaques, we saw none of them. We tried to spot less elusive hornbills, but we mostly only heard them. Nevertheless I enjoyed the hike. Dr. Anting is always a good man to walk with, whether you spot something or not.
Keeping me company at Malenge Indah itself were Joan and Jacqueline from Spain, free-divers, rock-climbers, jungle hikers extraordinaire (seriously, Jacqueline spent one month hiking the Amazon!!), painters and much more. I felt my own achievements were very feeble compared to theirs.
You could say I had a very good time at Malenge Indah, and it was the perfect anti-dote for all the bussing and boating around I had done the previous days. But
Ampana to Pulau Malenge
Typically there houses are over the water and clustered around small rocky isles all goods things must come to an end. After several days of bliss it was time to move on.
Once again I boarded a slow boat and once again I let fate decide where I would end up, and once again fate was kind to me. On the slow boat I met another Spanish couple (what’s with all those Spanish couples in the Togean's?) who recommended Sunset Beach to me. It wasn’t on overcrowded Kadidiri, but on the main island, Pulau Togean, behind it, away from everything. Small, cozy and friendly, owned by a Russian lady called Irena. As the name suggests it is well situated for a good sunset.
Soon I was ensconced in another cottage overlooking a beautiful piece of sand. The Spanish couple joined me, and it was here I saw the most curious thing.
As I was laying in my hammock enjoying the general views, I spotted the male partner of the Spanish couple, who I shall henceforth refer to as O, as I don’t remember his name. O was snorkeling. Nothing special there. What was intriguing was that he seemed to be either wrestling with something in the water, or he had
seen something down there that caused him to get very excited. I presumed the second so I went out myself, after watching his antics for about 15 minutes. I expected to see some turtle, or maybe a ray, but instead saw nothing but ordinary fish. Rather puzzled I asked O what he had seen that had so enticed him. O, it turned out, had seen nothing. He had, instead, been attacked by a fish! A small yellow fish with black stripes. Not a trigger-fish for those in the know. No, it was really tiny, if I understood him correctly, yet very menacing. And what I had seen was his life-and-death struggle with this fish, a struggle he lost, without losing his life. O was last seen leaving the water, after a last few desperate hits into it, presumably towards his little enemy. It was very amusing to watch. I never saw this fish, but I thank it for all the laughter it brought me.
Leaving the feisty fish behind, I took my last slow boat back to Ampana and from there headed on towards Palu, where I was planning to stay a couple of days at Tanjung Karang, supposedly
Ampana to Pulau Malenge
The girls wanted to be on the picture an extremely pretty piece of sand. It was rather disappointing. The beach was dirty, the shacks that lined it overpriced, and mosquito infested. I left after a day. Somebody told me it was the best beach he had ever seen. I pity him, because if that is so, he has seen some dismal beaches indeed.
But let’s not dwell on the bad. Tomorrow I will go to Gorontalo where big fish haunt the seas. The biggest in fact. Whale sharks, or so they say. We shall see. As long as I don’t get attacked by tiny yellow fish I think I will be OK…
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ingnova
Ingrida
nice :)
still have time to read and your journey sounded so nice, but pictures must see on another gadget...I am sure, it's paradise. Wonder, how often Irena gets russian guests?. Not sure how well i can follow you in the future, busy times already started. tc