Drying fish

Fresh coffee, avocado, and pancakes with nutmeg jam for breakfast. I walked down to the fish market to meet Abu with Kevin. Abu is a kind old Bandanese fishermen who befriended Kevin and I. He speaks no English, but is friendly and excited to be with us. We walk around the village now in the afternoons and he helps us learn Indonesian. One of the first words he taught me was teman, friend.

These islands sit in the hear of what is known by some as the coral triangle. The reef life here is out of this world and perhaps the riches in the world. The visitors that make the effort to get out here often times come for the fantastic marine biodiversity and snorkeling. I am no different.

This afternoon Kevin and I snorkeled out on the reef closer to the village. There are many, many reefs both close and on neighboring islands here. The coral gardens were like a rainbow and we saw so many fantastic species. Most I knew nothing about. It makes me think about Wallace. I wonder if he had been given a snorkeling mask and flippers what would he have seen and discovered from the undersea world here long ago. His study of ecology and evolution was limited to the land, but with so much biodiversity just beneath the surface of the shallow seas here what too would he have said? How come he seldom commented on the fantastic marine life and coral gardens here? It makes me wonder...

In the afternoon another plane arrived and we met a charming, slightly older Dutch - Muluku couple. The wife was originally from Muluku and this is one of several trips they have made back here over the years. We talked over a massive and delicious dinner spread out in the home of a local woman. It is a Muslim home and pictures of the haj in Mecca and Arabic scripture decorate their parlor. On the table plates heaped high with grilled tempeh, fried octopus, salad, rice, and a delicious whole baked bonito tuna in a rich nutmeg sauce. All of this for only about 40,000 rp. About $4USD. I am living so well here, spoiled :)

That evening Kevin and I were invited to drink arak, the local palm wine, with some Bandanese guys in town. We met them at the ruins of the old Dutch Fort, the one time fortress of the island whence the spice trade was dictated. From the ruins you can look down on the whole village. This is where we met our new Bandanese friends to drink arak. When we arrived they were sitting squat on their hamstrings in a semicircle. They smoke and pass around cups of palm wine. Each cup is downed in one big gulp like a shot.

It is a Friday night and all of the villages young people are out looking for things to do. Many of them have gathered here to play western hip-hop songs and break dance. Under the shadow of an ancient Dutch Fortress in the distant Spice Islands of far eastern Indonesia I find this amazing! Aside from the weekend release the air is electric with excitement for the arrival of one of the large Pelni ships that serve as inter-island transport. No one ever knows, but the rumor is that is will be arriving sometime after midnight. Such a boat comes only about once a week and is the island?s life line to the rest of Indonesia and the world.