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Published: September 3rd 2016
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This place is part of the endless islands named "Tukangbesi Islands" off the coast of the southeastern part of Sulawesi and does not receive many tourists.
I caught a ferry from a town called "Bau Bau", the place is just a tipical small fishing village on the the coastline but what picked up my eyes in this little town was, just walking around the port while waiting for the ferry to depart for my destination, that inside a creek there were schools of tropical and colourful fish of different varieties and it was something that has never happened to me before.
Ferry was about to arrive and I got myself ready to embark on it. The view of the pier was really pretty with all the fishermen boats anchored to it forming a row along it.
I have been told that the trip would have lasted about a day and that made me feel a bit uncomfortable to think to sleep on a wooden boat for so long since that I did not even have a pillow and mattress.
Once on the boat, immediately, I got surrounded by curious
local people starting to talk to me in Bahasa Indonesia which is not a difficult language to learn and the characters are like the latin alphabet letters so it was fairly easy to read and thanks to the dictionary I had I was able to slightly communicate with the local people around me.
I good part of the day was spent chatting a bit with these nice locals telling me their stories about fishermen lifestyle, in the rural areas of this part of the world, and also offfering me some local staple food like local biscuits which tasted very good.
It is very surprising how friendly and happy the people living here are with only very little available and always smile to you all the times.
It is something that should make people to reflect and that to be happy you do not need much more than that.
On the boat there was an upper floor and the breeze was warm enough to sit down and looking onto the quiet sea.
Soon dask came and a sunset was commencing to show off its beautiful colours.
Every time I watch a sunset I always admire that as the first time I have seen it, it is my favourite natural wonder.
After the sunset disappeared, it started to be a bit chilling and I headed down where there was a woman selling some groceries, chips and some cookies not that there was an ample array of choice but better than nothing.
I could see lines of people sleeping on a few sort of benches and that scene gave me a bit the idea of being on a boats carrying workers to some remote places where labourers stay for a while just working long hours and see nobody for months.
At this point I had to try to get a bit of rest on these hard structures that were all but comfortable before eventually arrive at destination.
Morning came and when I got up surprisingly I did not have any bloody pains and ,good news, we were about to get to this far away island.
Crystal clear water, white sand and basically no sign of tourism is what I was looking for and
the endless boat journey was absolutely worth of it.
I spotted some cabanas and I rush there to see if any accommodation was available and luckily it was almost empty with plenty of space and just e few steps from the beach.
After a bit of fine rest I went to explore the island in the afternoon with marvellous palm tree lines slightly aiming toward the sea and looking on the sand while walking I spotted a dead crab which had a tiny claw and a bigger one with some blue dots on the back.
further on I discovered a little lagoon and swam, the water was warm and perfect for relax and absorbing the beauty of this amazing place.
But the only negative thing about these places are the mosquitos and sand flies that are unbearable and ubiquitous, so in the room I loosened my mosquito net to have a tranquil night sleep.
Back for dinner time, there was a nice local fish to eat with plenty of vegetables and fruits.
I sat down with the local people that run the
place and invited me to share the food with them and that was very polite and also more interesting to share such a moment with the local people that is what I always look for when I travel around the world, this is a priceless experience and I leave the modern and traditional world to enter in another way of life which is simple but that gives you a lot and with the locals I can have a better knowledge of the country I am visiting and about the culture and traditions of the families living there.
Sunset was just in front of us and I must say it was probably one of the best I have ever seen. It is quiet unbelievable how nature can be so attractive.
Day after with a local guide we went for a visit to a village on the island. The way leading there was along the beach the first part and then delving through mangrove trees and a bit more adventurous and finally taking a row boat to cross a little stretch of sea.
We then could spot the shacks and fishing boats on
the shoreline. As we arrived there a few nice kids rush toward us playing, laughing and joyful.
The local guide presented me the head of the village and I was showed around how the villagers sustain themselves and live.
One thing that caught my eye was how they eat the fish they catch, getting it to dry on a turndown basket and then chewing it.
At that moment some of the adults were about to set off and going to drop the nets off shore and come back in a few hours.
Definitely a very interesting day trip to discover a bit how people find their way to survive on an island.
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Great pics Marcos
Keep 'em coming