Cubadak Island and Bukittingi

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Hi all, Matthew has already described our terrifying drive; it was followed by an eexciting boat journey to Cubadak (pronounced Chewbadak) Island. We were loaded onto a small boat that looked like it was sitting quite low in the water. The night was pitch black, no moon visible, only enough starlight and the odd flash of lightning to see the outline of the mountains. Our boat departed with no running lights, just a fellow in the prow holding a torch to look for reefs and other boats. And we were travelling so fast that our pilot wouldn't have had time to change course if he had to. Had to trust that these guys knew what they were doing. After what seemed like ages, but was probably only 30 minutes, the lights of Villa Paradiso came into view. The owners, Nanni and his wife Federica, dive insturctor Marco, and their friend Padre Pio, were on the deck to welcome their 4 weary and nerve-shattered guests, but there was no going to bed. The first of a long procession of wonderful conversations and remarkable meals awaited us in the open air dining room: deep fried tofu stuffed with seafood, curried chicken, a whole grouper cooked in tomato sauce, a dish of local spinach-like greens, crunchy long beans topped with very tiny sauteed dried fish (extra delicious), and vanilla ice ceam with meringues inside. All the food is made by the incredible chef they trained themselves. Staggered off to bed at aound 2:30.

When I woke up in the morning, I couldn't believe my eyes. Holy Hannah! I feel like I've walked into a postcard. The sun is brilliant, the sand white, and the water intense turquoise. Across the wide bay, the mountains that were so treacherous last night are covered in jungle. Our resort consists of 10 cottages and a central dining room. Built over the water are the owners quarters and a large covered deck with hammocks for afternoon snoozes and a wonderful cocktail bar in the evening. All the buildings are made of wood and palm thatch and they blend into the mountain behind them. You just have to step off the deck and you're swimming admidst a wonderful variety of fish in water that is clear and warm. And swimming and relaxation are what you come here for. There are a couple of hikes you can do along the shore and up the mountain, but there is only one small fishing village on the far side of the island. Laziness prevented me from consulting the books available here on tropical fish, so I can't identify all the kinds I saw, but they were complemented by moray eels, a yellow-spotted blue stingray, white and black stripped sea snakes and hawkbill turtles that come regularly to rest on the coral while tiny fish clean the algae from their shells. We also visited two other islands to picnic and snorkle, adding to the different fish we saw. Great boat rides to and from these mountainous islands, which rise straight up from the ocean.

Nanni and Federica are Italians who came to the island 17 years ago. Nanni said goodbe to his insurance company and Federica to her book restoration business to follow their dream of owning a piece of gorgeous, but very labour intensive, heaven. Over the course of our days together, they shared some of the challenges they faced in creating their resort, and in learning and adjusting to the culture, the landscape, and the local wildlife. They wound up adopting an orphaned monkey, and Federica had lots of stories about getting this fussy baby to eat. "Baby" now has quite a cosmopolitan diet and a weakness for soft-boiled eggs and desserts, especially blue-berry pie. They tried to re-introduce Baby to the wild, but she kept coming back (probably for the snacks). There are wild pigs on the island. They're quite timid despite the fact that they are not hunted (the only fishing village on the 40-mile square island has 25 Muslim souls) and have no natural enemies. Nanni and Federica had to give up on growing their own fruit. Between the pigs and the wild monkeys, everything they grew was rooted up or plucked before they could get to it. So, all the makings for all the glorious feasts we eat are purchased at the local market in Padang, except for the fish, which is the centrepiece of our meals. It's purchased, usually still flapping, from fishermen who arrive every morning in outrigger canoes.

I'll give you a rundown of some of the wonderful dishes we had: nasi goreng - traditional spicy rice dish, satays with peanut or coconut-lemongrass sauce, squid with rosemary and brown butter crumbs or calamari style, whole snapper (slashed, spiced, deep fried for 2 minutesand then baked in the oven), mountains of lobsters, various curries, pasta with a wonderful tuna-like fish, Spanish mackerel sushi, beef scallopine with black pepper and lemon. We were introduced to new vegetables: sliced banana flower saute, jackfruit stir fry, long beans with spicey dried coconut topping, and a chestnut-like veggie that had a bitter edge. Lots of wonderful fruit: tiny, brilliant green bananas that were perfectly ripe and very sweet, different kinds of pineapple, mangosteens, lichees, papayas, snake fruit that had a gorgeous skin which would not be out of place on a Gucci purse, but concealed a delicious, crisp white fruit that was a little like a zingy apple. Plus great desserts, especially the different ice creams, banana flan, and fresh coconut flans. We were all self-indulgent vultures.

But the best part of every evening was the conversation and the highlight was a description by Padre Pio of his life with the Mentawi "primitives," as they are called here. They inhabit a number of islands 150-kilometres off West Sumatra and subsist largely on wild pig and monkey (which they hunt with poisoned arrows) and on sago palm, which they grind into a kind of flour. Padre went to live with them 30 years ago and I think his respect for their culture and resourcefulness has somewhat transformed his missionary zeal from the standard model. I found him spinning on the deck early one morning, lining up his chacras. He told me that the Mentawi people are very spiritual and that what they need more than a different religion is education to prepare for the changes that will eventually confront them. To that end, he is looking after the education on the mainland of about 40 students whom he hopes will return to their island and defend the rights of their people. His love for these people is very evident, to the point where he has been chastised by his superiors in Sumatra for being too close to them. He emphasized that he had become half primitive himself after 30 years. Repeated bouts of malaria and typhoid have almost killed him, but as soon as he recovers, back he goes. He had one hilarious story about taking six of them to Rome two years ago to try to raise awareness of their situation. They took their bows and poison arrows with them. Upon discovery in Singapore, they were surrounded by soldiers with automatic weapons. However, the captain was a Christian who told Padre Pio he had always wanted to be a missionary so he stamped the arrows as artefacts so they would be allowed to carry them on board. In Italy, the 7 ofthem travelled around together in his sister's car with weapons at the ready. They kept telling him that they felt like they were in a jungle where the trees had been replaced by people. He said that the best thing was for them to meet people who were interested in their culture because, in Indonesia, they are often treated as inferior in any interaction with non-Mentawi people. An amazing man who invited us all to come to the Mentawi Islands with him in the future.

Nanni arranged for our drive to Bukittingi, our next stop, on the mainland. We had to return to Padang on the same road that Matthew described and, when I saw the cliffs that we had avoided plunging over, I was really impressed with the skill and fearlessness of the drivers here. The road to Bukittingi took us through an area with a Muslim, matriarchal society. Land and homes are held by the women in family and only women may inherit money, land and houses. A man must move to his wifes house after marriage. Nanni's route took us along very narrow, steep roads between ricefields and spice plantations. We went through Solok where we saw numerous minangkabau longhouses - wood structures with deeply-curved double roofs that are intended to resemble the horns of the waterbuffalo that people use to cultivate the fields.

If Bali has the gentlest, most polite people, then this area of Sumatra can lay claim to the friendliest. Every time we stopped to take a photo, people came to speak to us. Twice women literally pulled us into their homes to show us the interiors. One elderly lady was very proud of the fact that she had received a framed comendation from the government for preserving her home. She posed very solemly beside it for a picture. Another pointed out that the names on the gables of her home were those of herself and her sister, who jointly owned it. Everyone wanted their pictures taken, especially little kids. We passed through Solok, Lake Singkarak, and Balimbing (site of the oldest longhouse in Sumatra) to arrive in Bukittingi. Well, into every vacation there must fall some diappointment and rain, and it fell in Bukittingi.

This is a place one goes really only to hike the volcanos that ring it. Well, we arrived to find that our trek guide had cancelled out on us. This proved to be a blessing. Mornings were clear and fresh, but all morning long clouds gathered on the mountains. In mid-afternoon, there would be a warning thunderclap or two and then the skies would open to biblical deluges that continued to the late evening. So, we were grateful not to be clambering and slithering along muddy paths and instead focussed on 1/2 day hikes outside of Bukittinggi. The hotel has a wonderful bar looking out towards the canyon on the edge of the town and a beautiful open air restaurant with soaring arches. It was quite romantic to sit there listening to the rain hammering down. It became a whole lot less delightful when this was repeated day after day, especially since the food in the hotel is awful; in fact, the food in the entire town is awful. And we tried a lot of different eateries. The specialty is an extensive selection of small dishes which are prepared early in the day; they are served at room temperature, since both refrigeration and air conditioning seem to be at a premium. The food is very overcooked, probably to prevent spoilage, and uniformly quite sweet. At least, that's how it tasted to us. We kept wistfully wondering what exquisitve meals the new guests at Cubadak were enjoying. Gave up on food and turned to Tiger beer for calories.

The market here is a dismal affair, lots of junk and second-hand western clothing. Stumbled into the depressing local zoo by accident and got out immediately. We did make a couple of day trips to towns outside the ring of the volcanos and these allowed us to escape the rain. Our driver, Taufik, was great. He took us see stones with ancient Sankrit writings, wonderful caves, Pagarujung with its old palace, the silversmiths' village of Kotagadang where I bought a little silver filigree Minangkabau house, a plantation where we had smokey, spice tea in hollowed-out gourds, and to another canyon (Harou) where we hiked to three lovely waterfalls. The beauty of the canyons is spolied by the garbage that people dump everywhere, especially the incredible volume of plastics. Recycling is unknown. And when we stopped, people came to chat. We were invited to a water buffalo race, but declined. And always when we returned to our hotel, it was pouring. Oh well, on to the next stage of the adventure.

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Photos

Minangkabow Longhouse
400 year old traditional longhouse. They revere water buffalo and roof is shaped like water buffalo horns with upraised thatch bound with silver bands.

Haro Canyon
Hiked to three waterfalls.

Merapi Volcano
Active volcano last erupted in 2004 - 2891 metres high. Picture taken from hotel bar.

Comments

[mother]

very good
ireally enjoyed every word thanks to gregg love you both