Pulau Kadidiri (12-15 Apr 15)

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Moving on from Tentena, I continued my way north towards what I presumed would be one of the highlights of my trip -- the Togean Islands. But first there would be the small matter of a 6h drive to Ampana for an overnight stop, before another 4h boat trip to Wakai, the unofficial capital of the Togeans. From there, it was a fairly quick speedboat transfer to Pulau Kadidiri, my intended destination and where I would hunker down for a few days.

Quite a lot has been said about the Togeans, the location's relative remoteness, serenity, and of course, natural beauty. With its relatively untouched corals and clear, still waters, the islands are of course a boon to diving enthusiasts, several of whom I met at the resort where I stayed. Not being much of a diver, I contented myself with the usual fare of kayaking, snorkelling, reading and lazing around in the sun.

LP warns against a difficult struggle to depart from these island paradises, but being the through and through city boy that I am, as picturesque and lovely the sunsets and azure waters are, there's a limit to the number of days without wifi that I can manage (even the cellular reception here was very patchy, so much so that the credit card machine's connection was frustratingly unreliable for the free-spending divers, a problem I was happy to skirt). And so the factor preventing my earlier departure was less so the idyllic surroundings than the broken down public boat for the return journey to Ampana!

Stayed at Hotel Oasis and Black Marlin Dive Resort.

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Photos

Pulau Kadidiri
Picture perfect.

Tentena-Ampana
Temporary road closure, and the looooong queue along the Trans-Sulawesi highway.

Tentena-Ampana
The guy cooking was also the driver for the trip! Turns out he drives the route and pretty much forces everyone to stop at his restaurant for dinner.

Rumah Makan Ibu Linda
These cats are not shy.

Ampana Martabak
Slightly different from the ones back home -- these were meatless but flufflier with more eggs, and much BIGGER!

Tuna Tomini
Open sleeping berth on the ride from Ampana to Wakai.

Black Marlin Dive Resort
I finally decided to shell out for something decent. Rp250k per night with meals included, so it wasn't half bad at all!

"Snorkel Test"
Kinda dark but if you look closely at the topless guy sitting bent forwards, he's wearing a snorkel connected to an inverted bottle that's been cut open. Apparently these divers always prep themselves the night before a big dive with the "snorkel test", which involves pouring copious amounts of alcohol down the breathing tube. The local poison of choice is of course, arak, a fermented palm wine.