Magical Misool

The Kalabia education vessel has just come back from a two week trip around the North and West areas of Misool... where I learned that actually, Misool is a relatively new name for this, one of the 'four kings' of Raja Ampat (literally 4 kings... see this other story about the name, myths and origins).

On the old charts, and locally, the island used to be known as Batanme, which in the original, local language means 'the land of the Me people', Me (pronounced May) being the original name for the tribe that first inhabited that area (now also called Makbat).

Anyway... I'm super busy right now getting everything in order, but I wanted to share a little bit about our trip (this, from the personal, non-programatic side... ie. some tidbits not included in my official report!)  A little story was also written about our program here.

OMG what a trip…  There must be something out of balance in my life, because I have never had so many issues!  I'll tell you, from bumps and bruises to scrapes and falls, to head lice (or some other thing living on my scalp)(!?), sun burns, a burst blood vessel (or something worse) in my eye... and the very last and strangest... looking like a character from startrek (swollen forehead and eyes???), or better yet, Avatar!  Oh yes, then at the end of the trip, FLU!

But there were some amazing highlights as well, not the least of which were the amazing sunsets, daily!

Our only day off (a holiday only in Papua, for Christ'sAscention), we went to church at Limalas (Dece’s village)... the Eben Haezer Church at Limalas has absolutely the coolest pulpit I have ever seen!  In keeping with the sea-faring traditions of the parish, the pulpit is the shape of a conch shell...

After the service, we kept with the sea-faring tradition as well, and went looking for "bia darah", the not-mis-named 'blood mussels'... when you pry them open raw, they are brimming with blood.   This is one of only two areas in all of Raja Ampat known for these particular mussels...  the most interesting thing about them, however, was not their biology, but the way the locals collect them.  We maneuver slowly into the large shallow bay, find 'the spot', and bury a long pole deep into the ground, tie the boat off, and jump over the sides... crouching, and thigh-deep in mud we plunge our hands up to our elbows time-after time scrunching around in the mud until our fingers clamp around one of the precious 'bia'.  One-by-one, our small group collects enough in an hour for several high-protein, high-iron meals - Certainly low-impact!

Saturated in mud (which, by the way, I am still rinsing out of my bathing suit!), we found the most amazing place to rinse ourselves off!  Spilling into the same mud-filled bay was a gorgeous aquamarine river... we were able to forge up-river through beautiful mangrove-flanked banks, and over lush underwater leafy-blue gardens... after a tight-squeeze under a low log across the river, we came upon a secret secluded opening, where we played in the chilly waterfall and dove in and around the frigid swimming hole.

The mussels that we gathered earlier were made into gou-gou (mussel ceviche; 'cooked' only in a citrus marinade) - a delicious picnic!

A few other notes from this trip in the Magical Misool:

The students in the village of Atkari invited me to go on a fun mini-field trip up the river to their refreshing swimming hole on our lunch break during a day of programming there.

The Kalabia was welcomed by dolphins when we arrived at sunrise at Waigama, and surveyed by them every morning we were anchored there.  In the evenings, a sea turtle took his turn doing the patrol, and once, a crocodile even came by to take a look!

The Kalabia team and crew went snorkeling at the world-famous Blue-water mangroves on the only other half-day of the program - it was completely surreal - like being in an acquarium, the water was SO clear!  It's a very unique ecosystem... corals cling to the roots of the mangroves like in no other area.

The last village we visited for a full program was Aduwei - the home of another of our education staff, Mery.  This was a special treat, since she hadn't been back to the village for years, and people were so happy to see her!  We enjoyed the fruits of the gardens there (my favourite:  rediscovering sugar cane on the deck of the Kalabia!), and bathing in the fresh smooth river!

Oh, and a dive... yes, just one...  I took the opportunity after the expose of the program for our CI International guests, and on the very last hour of the very last day of our trip I had an hour-long dive at the TNC field station... but at least i got in the water!  Not much to see in the poor visibility, although lots of jellyfish were washed in with the storm, but I did catch a glimpse of the classic Misool nudibranch...  

Coincidence or not, after that all my ills were no more!

Now we’re off again on the Kalabia, this time to Waigeo Barat, Gag and Fam… I’m told that an interesting trip awaits us as this area is the centre of the destructive behaviours in Raja Ampat!