Beachy Christmas

The weather was wonderful... sun with a nice breeze to keep from roasting... and the best part, as far as Martin was concerned, were the waves!

We spent part of Christmas day, and the few days after, on a beach not far from our current lodgings... Martin just couldn't get enough of the surf, even with his skin literally peeling away from his feet because of blisters from his new set of fins!




I enjoyed the beach-time as well... I got my dose of vitamin D, caught up on some podcasts and read an entire book on the Balinese culture and way of life, and even managed to take a few pictures of Martin in the waves.... and although we were on a fairly quiet beach (some surfers, but certainly no other tourists, and very few locals), I still enjoyed watching the variety of activity that was going on all around!


























Of course, even with limited clientele, the fried-things vendor shows up, displaying his wares on the back of his motorcycle!

Christmas Trees

One day when I was running a few errands around the town of Sorong, it seemed to me that on every street corner I saw a fabulous little Christmas display... there were trees decorated in all different manner, creche scenes, banners, etc! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, and the next day, when I went around to try to capture some of these unique Christmas displays, I could only find one... This Christmas tree was at the local motorcycle taxi stand... made by the members of it's cooperative to commemorate the holiday!



Arriving in Bali, of course, there were a whole different species of displays... and on an island of Hindus, Christmas is of course, purely commercial, and put on for those visitors that might be celebrating! These Christmas trees were in front of one of the largest malls in Southern Bali.

Friwen

The Kalabia was out in Raja Ampat last week, where we delivered an education program at the small village of Friwen. Friwen is actually pronounced “free when”… funnily, as it turns out, because with the speed and flow of life in this hamlet, the answer is invariably, ‘anytime’! A german film crew came out for part of a day to catch us in action as well.



Here are just a few photos from this program. It never ceases to amaze me that in such a short time, we are able to create intense bonds with communities, while at the same time, have so much learning and environment-loving going on!










Obviously, our program is closely linked with the sea, and since our activities are interactive and experiential… that means we have to be close to the sea in general, and thus we spend a lot of time near shore. During our last program, I had occasion to watch and appreciate lots of the activities happening on a tiny island beach. Children in Raja Ampat are virtually born in the water! They are learning to swim by the time they can walk… and by the time they enter primary school, they are swimming like fishes!









When we take the program participants snorkeling, the main thing we have to worry about is that the kids don’t eat the bite-tabs on the snorkels.




The covered hut on the jetty at Friwen was host to a few conservation-minded messages – here is one of my favourites:


It reads: Once the last tree has been cut down, the last river has been polluted, the last fish has been caught, only then will people realize that they cannot eat money.

Anak Raja Ampat

One of my favourite turns-of-phrase here in Raja Ampat, Paua, is when people (adults and children alike) refer to themselves as “anak raja ampat”, or ‘a child of Raja Ampat’. It just has such a beautiful connotation, and envelopes the idea of community here… children are not just children of two parents, but of a community, and of the natural environment that sustains that community.

The phrase implies the belonging, and ownership and dedication that all people feel over/to Raja Ampat, and also the close connection that they still feel with their homeland. Traditionally people here live in harmony with their natural surroundings.

It's one of the reasons I have great confidence in the conservation efforts in Raja Ampat - the essence of conservation is at the core of their very being.

Whirlwind Canadian Tour

I'm getting all out-of-order and out-of-sorts again... but here's a quick recap of our last hoorah in Canada before coming back to Indonesia at the beginning of November...

Martin arrived in Canada at the end of October (after a great long visit with his family in the Galapagos), with a small window of time just before we were set to head back to Indonesia. Because his summer visit had been cut short, and he didn't get to spend any time in Ontario, or visit his brother in Quebec, we decided a whirlwind tour was in order.





I picked him up from Pearson airport on the morning of the first snow in southern Ontario, and we spent a blustery day in Toronto. We met up with our friend Cecilia (it was the first time seeing here since all of our return from Indonesia), rode on the street cars, walked around Kensington Market, and had Pho for lunch. In the afternoon, we did a bit of a driving tour of the city, then headed further west to the great Canadian tourist attraction: Niagara Falls.



We only spent one night, and the better part of the next day exploring around the Niagara area before heading back to pick up my brother in Guelph (and have a great Indian dinner with cousin David), visit Martin's uncle and family in Toronto, and head back to Madoc. Thank goodness Jonathan was with us, and took care of the last leg of the driving (including a hilarious encounter with police just minutes from home)... we got home at about 3 am or so! We spent Hallowe'en in Madoc, and even went to a 'haunted corn maze' with the whole family!







Then it was off in the other direction... to visit Martin's brother, Carlos, and his wife Valerie, in Sherbrooke. We spent a nice few days with them, then headed back to Ontario.





We had a short visit with some good friends of mine in Ottawa, toured our nation's capital (and even did a few geocaches there!), then headed back home again.



We had a few last visits with friends around home, then had to get packing, and get on the road! It was wonderful to be home for so long, and spend so much time with family - how lucky!

The Box




Here is another classic 'reused' toy: the box.

Like children all over the world, lots of kids in Raja Ampat get high mileage out of a box as a playmate. Unlike their counterparts in the 'developed' world that prefer to play with the box their expensive toys came in, these kids usually don't have the choice. But little Diti doesn't mind!

Tire Swings and Recycling



A universal toy... and such a practical, simple one (not to mention, the best use I can think of to re-use an old tire)! These tire swings have sure gotten a lot more mileage out of this tire than the odometer of the car would have read! Funny though, no cars on these islands!



I was talking with someone here about garbage the other day; The 5 R's: Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... and the importance of the ORDER of them. It's interesting to be in a society where, for the majority of people, refusing or reducing is not an issue (because of their economic state, they live an almost completely non-consumerist lifestyle), and the concept of reusing exists purely out of necessity. The concept of recycling doesn't exist at all of course, because the facilities don't exist; and creating the infrastructure in an area like this would be a nightmare (in terms of being geographically feasible, and also given the climate of corruption that envelops the Indonesian government)!

Of course the major problem with the lack of recycling is the same as anywhere: in the amount of packaging! Packaging, and plastics and consumerism is in its raw beginnings even in these far outreaches of the planet... (urged on by industrial giants, media, and a very small affluent minority of the public that believes that their wealth can be affirmed by being big-time consumers)... but the facilities to deal with the impacts of all the waste that will be generated are nowhere in sight! (Why, why, must developing countries repeat the same mistakes made by all 'developed' countries!? A whole step in the cycle could be averted and save a lot of earth-ache.)

The charming, traditional, practical and natural banana-leaf bungkus (packaging) is going by the way-side and being replaced by colourful, expensive, NON-BIODEGRADABLE, turtle-and-whale-killing, sea-smotering, plastic. uuugh.

EARTH DAY in Arborek

The Kalabia team attended the celebrations and declaration of "Raja Ampat Earth Day", to be celebrated the 10th of December each year.

The Bupati, or Head of the Raja Ampat Regency, was on-hand to make the official declaration. He planted a tree, presented awards to local conservation leaders, and gave a fairly succinct speech about conservation and the reason that Earth Day should be celebrated in Raja Ampat.








The village of Arborek is on a very small island of the same name - probably 2 square kilometers! The population of only one hundred live very closely interconnected with their natural environment. They are dependent entirely on the sea for food, and some of the elders here tell stories of the good old days when fish would literally jump into their boats in their abundance! With the currents raging around the island it is no wonder! One of the best-known, and most awesome dive sites in Raja Ampat is 'Manta Point', a feeding station for the giant Manta Rays on a reef just to the South of Arborek.





Aside from the abundance of fish, Arborek is also known for their 'Topi Durian', or Durian hats... not because they're made of that noxious fruit, or the tree which bears it for that matter, but instead because of the weaving style, which results in a somewhat spiky shell. The hats are woven from palm leaves, and used to use only natural materials; I note that mine is held together with fishing line, and the colours are much too bright to be from natural dyes - the times they are a-changin'. During the welcoming ceremony, the village presented one to the Bupati. I bought one to support the local initiative - the woman in the photo below is the one who made mine, and is the head of one of the weaving cooperatives.











Arborek is a quaint little town with two well-kept sandy streets, and a new jetty which is going to be opened for Christmas!

Kopi Luwak
The Rarest Coffee in the World!

Those of you who have seen the movie "The Bucket List" will have heard about this coffee... but otherwise, unless you are a true coffee-connoisseur, perhaps not, since only about 300kg are produced per year for distribution globally!

It's a coffee-connoisseur's crown jewel.

Kopi Luwak is coffee made from coffee cherries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). You can see from the picture, he's a small little guy, so no wonder the production is limited! I don't know how many people realize it... you probably wouldn't unless you'd been to a coffee plantation where there were ripe fruits, but the coffee fruit itself is really delicious! The bean is encased in a thin layer of red flesh which has a sweet, slightly bitter, taste (no, it doesn't taste like coffee), and an almost grape-like texture.



After collected, the beans are processed hygienically, and given only a medium roast so as to not destroy the complex flavours that develop through the process.

This Kopi Luwak process takes place only on the islands of Bali, Sumatra, and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, where the Palm Civet lives. Producing no more than 300kg per year to be distributed throughout the world.

There was a sale on at Kopi Bali (a nice coffee shop in Sanur)... you could enjoy a pot of Kopi Luwak for only 200,000 Rp (approximately 20 CAD). We thought it was ridiculously expensive for Indonesia, but there was someone there who obviously didn't, and was savouring his indulgence. On our way out, I asked him how it was, and he replied "Well, it tastes like... (he paused dramatically)... coffee." I could have SWORN he was going to say 'it tastes like shit'!

On display was a 'gift set' of Kopi Luwak as well... you could purchase 100g of coffee, a small information booklet, and a preserved sample of Palm Civet scat (!?), all nicely packaged in a hand-carved wooden box, for the bargain-basement price of approximately 150 CAD!

The Crocodile
- by Lewis Carroll

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every shining scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!



We went by Taman Festival, an abandoned safari park, and met up with the crocs again... it made me remember this old poem.

The crocodiles at this park are enclosed and cannot escape, and have been left to their own devices, and yet they seem to be thriving... the most recent theory I heard as to how they are surviving so sumptuously is that their enclosure is used as the dumping ground for the Balinese mafia's prey!? I hope I never find myself on their bad side - seeing those shiny teeth behind a wall was close enough for me!

Back in BALI



After the longest time in transit probably ever recorded in the history of 'simple trips', Martin and I are back in Indonesia! Actually we arrived on the 11th... so I guess, technically we've already been here for TWO WEEKS!

After all the commotion of trying to get visas through embassies in Canada and Peru, we were finally advised just to get ourselves to Singapore and process the visas there. The Indonesian Embassy in Singapore was the epitome of efficiency, and after just a short 6-hour stopover, we were back on the road to Indo with our fresh visas in-hand!

In fact, I almost wish we had had the whole day in transit at Singapore's Changi Airport. It was like a refreshing haven... other than the armed guards (ie. children) walking around making you feel 'safe' (Aaaah... the police state). In fact, if I had to live in an airport, I would definitely chose Singapore. We took in as many of its luxuries as we could in the relatively short time we had IN the airport... full-body massage chairs, sleeping lounge, relaxing oasis, and butterfly garden complete with GEOCACHE (all free-of-charge)! We didn't even have time for the free movie theatre, games-rooms, shopping, or complete city-tours offered!



The trip itself wasn't so bad either... although we were in transit for 60 hours (door-to-door)! Now that we're back, we're starting to get RE-acclimatized to the heat and humidity, eat some mangoes, and get into work!

Step one: Figure out what, if anything, happened in the four months you were away!




(I absolutely LOVE my new MADOC bag (courtesy of Tonnie Braden), and carry it around everywhere with me... knowing, as an added bonus that it's making something good of those insidious plastic bags! Most people think it's made of rattan, or some other natural woven fiber!) p.s. that's a fresh mango-papaya fruit smoothie... aaaahhhh... enjoy the snow everyone! xo