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Published: September 13th 2011
Rainbow!
One of the several rainbows we saw, but this was our favorite!Hello from Singapore! We just got back from three amazing weeks in Sulawesi, Indonesia! We originally wanted to use our time to get to some remote islands, so we set our sights on reaching the Togean Islands, located in the Gulf of Tomini in the middle of the large island Sulawesi. Indonesia is a huge country full of diverse islands and people; our fantastic experience in Sulawesi has left us eager to get to know more of the country!
The Journey
We arrived to the Togean Islands after 3 days of traveling involving a plane ride to the city of Manado, a bone-breaking 10-hour bus ride through gorgeous jungle mountains to the city of Gorontalo, an overnight ferry ride across the Gulf of Tomini and to the island of Wakai, and a 1.5 hour ride on a small motor boat to Pangempa island, where Fadhilla cottages were located.
We had initially thought about going to the easier-to-get-to Kadidiri island but, while in Gorontalo, we met a very friendly South African couple who had just spent a few days in Fadhilla and who highly recommended that we add an extra 1.5 hours to our journey.
Island Paradise
Fadhilla cottages are run by a family who live in the village of Katupat, which is on the neighboring island facing Fadhilla, 5 minutes away by boat (or 10 minutes away paddling in a canoe, as we learned!). For about US$50 a day, we rented a beautiful and roomy bungalow only steps away from the ocean and this included 3 delicious homemade meals a day!
We spent 12 delightful days hammocking, reading, snorkeling, playing ping pong, and getting to know wonderful people both from Katupat and fellow travelers. Here we also temporarily adopted a pet: an adorable 5-month old puppy named Bomber. In exchange for a few biscuits a day and endless love, he slept on our bungalow porch at night (protecting us from any jungle critters) and followed us around the island the whole time! We liked him so much that we have decided we will name our first dog Bomber! It is hard to describe our experience--we formed close bonds with the people there and it was hard to leave!--but here are some of the highlights.
Snorkeling. The color of the water of the Gulf of Tomini is hard to describe! It was completely clear and
Bomber
The cutest puppy with a personality to match! was turquoise, aquamarine, sea green, deep blue--basically the perfect ocean rainbow, squared! And, when you stuck your head in the water, it was like taking a plunge into an overcrowded aquarium. This was Paola's first time snorkeling--the bar has been set really high! We saw hundreds of species of fish (including Nemo and Dotty) and swum among schools of them. Highlights included Lionfish, a Harlequin Sweetlips, a Great Moray Eel, Batfish, Razorfish, and a scary Titan Triggerfish (he swam at us and we swam away with our fins between our legs), to name just a few! (FYI, Fadhilla had a fish guide, so we beefed up on our fishology!). Oh, and this was what we saw taking 10 steps out of our bungalow and 10 strokes into the water in front!
We also took 2 snorkeling trips out to coral reefs in the middle of the sea. Here, there were even more fish (including Bumphead Parrotfish the size of medium dogs and Barracuda, which swam away from us, the wimps) and the coral was amazing. As part of the trip, which we shared with other travelers each time, we went to Karena Beach, a picture perfect beach with white
Amazing Water!
This is the beach steps from our bungalow where we snorkeled every day! sands, turquoise water and lots of palm trees! We also stopped at a boardwalk built in a mangrove forest, where we saw some 3-foot monitor lizards and a black snake sitting in a tree, which we confidently identified as a Black Tree Snake (although whether such a species has previously been described we are unsure...).
Meals. We were served lunch and dinner at the same table as the other travelers (there were between 4 and 10 of us while we were there). We met some interesting people and made some new friends. All the other travelers were from Europe. Our personal favorites were a family of four from Munich, a couple from Paris, and a couple from Holland. We will visit any of them if possible in the future--in fact, we will be meeting the couple in Paris in a few days for a nice Parisian
repas. Food was fresh fish, rice, and mostly unidentifiable local vegetables. Almost everything was cooked with coconut. Our food was so fresh that we met it a few times--once it was the chicken tied to the tree by the kitchen and other mornings it came off local fishing boats.
Idul Fitri. We
Idul Fitri Celebration
Stop number one with lots of cookies! started our travels during Ramadan and as we traveled through Malaysia and Indonesia (where the national religion is Islam), we could feel the energy building as the end of the month of fasting neared. We were lucky enough to be in Fadhilla to celebrate the end of the holy month along with the people in Katupat. For a few days before Idul Fitri (the day on which the fasting ends) there were lots of fireworks as people started the celebrations. Also, a 2:30 a.m. prayer call was added to the call schedule to wake people up so they could have food prepared and eaten before sunrise. The call effectively woke us up every time as it was rather less melodic than the other ones. We later learned that the person in charge of the call was actually just yelling "wake up! wake up!"
When the big day arrived, we were invited to Katupat to celebrate with the people there. The tradition there was for everyone to make homemade cookies, bamboo rice, and other special treats, and then open their doors all day long for everyone in the village to stop by and eat and share company. On this day,
all disputes and any ill-will from the previous year are forgiven and forgotten and everyone celebrates in harmony. We were invited into a few houses where we ate large amounts of delicious treats and drank Coca-Cola and sweet orange drinks. We felt very honored to be invited into people's homes and to be allowed to share such a special date with them! (Oh, and the 2:30 a.m. prayer calls magically ended afterwards!)
Love and Marriage. We had another wonderful experience in Katupat. Two of Iful's nephews (Iful was the brother of the owner and he oversaw everything at Fadhilla) were getting married on the same day to two beautiful young ladies and we were invited to the weddings! Around 1:30 p.m. we jumped on a boat with 2 other travelers (a nice Dutch couple we hope to visit some day!) and headed to Katupat for the ceremony that was supposed to last 30 minutes or so. When we got to the village we were taken to the large covered cement patio where the Sunday market takes place. The area had been decorated with colorful fabrics and ribbons, and a wall of speakers had been set up.
We then
Important Wedding Guests
Taken at the groom's house. headed with a group of older men to the house of the groom, where the first part of the ceremony took place. The groom was dressed in an elaborate traditional outfit and the bride was nowhere to be seen yet. The bride's father inspected gifts offered by the groom's family and then a series of rituals took place (essentially the groom was accepted by a member of his family, a member of the bride's family, and the Imam).
(We should stress that we were warmly invited to witness every part of the ceremony and welcomed by everyone--at times we were even pushed right up front to see everything! We have never met such welcoming people in our travels.)
Then the fun really kicked in. We went outside with the groom and a group started playing drums. We all started marching towards the bride's house and people were spontaneously cheering and laughing. Love was in the air! When we got to the bride's house, she was waiting in her room behind a closed door covered with a red curtain. We piled up outside the door and began banging on it and cheering. Finally they lifted the curtain, opened the
Send-Off
Most of the people at Fadhilla walked us out to the boat to see us off. We will miss them! door, and the groom entered. Next thing we knew, we were also packed into the room, and we were able to witness the exact moment when they became husband and wife.
Then the bride and groom went to the covered market area and sat up in front of everyone. They did their best to keep serious faces--we later learned that weddings are serious affairs. This was a real challenge for the couple because everyone there is always smiling, teasing, and laughing; several times they had to look away and cover their faces to hide their smiles! While we sat there and admired the newlyweds along with the rest of the people in the village, everyone present was served tea and amazing cookies. Around 4:30 (about a half hour later, right?) we were in a boat back from Katupat. There was a big dance party that night that lasted until 3 a.m. Unfortunately, we did not attend because we had gotten sick the previous night drinking
arak, the local fermented palm wine (we did not get sick drinking too much, but instead we think from drinking the final bits of the batch).
It was a wonderful experience, one that
could not have been planned, and we were very humbled by the generosity and friendliness of the people.
Onwards We Go
After leaving the Togeans, we spent a couple of days in the Bunaken Marine Protected area, an island off of the coast of Manado where many people travel to go diving. It was a pretty place also full of friendly people. Unfortunately, large amounts of garbage produced by the city of Manado wash up on to the shores of Bunaken.
Now we are in Singapore again, where we are spending a few quick days exploring the city. Today we walked around shopping malls for seven hours, but didn't cover half of the main shopping strip. Joe visited the Singapore office of Gibson Dunn and we enjoyed the panoramic views of the city from the 37th floor! Tomorrow we are planning on seeing Little India, Little Arabia, and a night safari (the "first and only"!). On Thursday we are headed to Paris to make our way to the France/Spain border to begin the Camino de Santiago.
We hope everyone is well! Sending you positive energy!
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anonymous
non-member comment
whow, great, felicitaciones y carinios Augusto