Ambon Manise

Retro-posting!

I was in Ambon to help with a ten day Sustainable Fisheries Management Planning Training... the training was excellent, but draining, as it always is when I'm functioning morning 'til night in multiple-languages.  It also meant I was in an area of Indonesia that I had never been before... and with the long Easter weekend on the horizon, I decided there was no better time to extend my ticket and explore a bit!  Luckily I wasn't going to have to do that alone, either... ii came and joined me and we had a fabulous weekend!

We explored the underwater Ambon diving for two days and then explored the terrestrial portion of the island as well!  We literally covered almost every square inch of the island!  There are a few stories about it I wanted to share... but as they say, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'... so...

Hukurila

Hukurila Cave

Laha Piers

"Dad, what's a toad face..."? 

Better keep that eel in your trousers!?

Coy eel

Posing mandarin fish

Tube anemone

Lionfish dead ahead

shoefish

Bottle sponge

Lightbulb eel

Squat lobster catching a ride on a fire urchin 

Stylin' underwater Ambon

Dive log

The diving at Laha was the most utterly surreal experience of diving I've ever had... I can understand why they have named this area 'the Twilight Zone'... because it is!  You're diving in a black sand slope FULL of garbage under the constant drone of the active fishing vessels at the jetty, which throw all their waste directly overboard...  at one point the only exposed skin on me was so itchy... it was disgusting to think of the cause... but then on the other hand, everywhere you looked there was another unique an interesting critter... The types of creatures that choose to make this place their habitat are seriously special!

Our overland exploring consisted of a two-day road trip around the entire island!

Best umbrellas ever!

View of Seram from Fort Amsterdam

1642... still standing after all these years (with a new roof) - good ole Dutch construction!

So many eels at Larike!

Seaside mosque near Larike

Gardaria... the Ambon specialty... size and texture of a plum, tastes like Mango!

Standing on "Pintu Kota", the Gates to Ambon City

Pintu Kota

Downtown Ambon city

A lone rooster with his pink wall

Gimme five!

Hug an eel today...

quite content

I really don't know exactly what it was about this place... the people, the place, music, food...  Ah, Ambon, Sweet Ambon (Ambon Manise)!

Survivor in Raja Ampat!?

I remember watching the first season of Survivor back when I was in university. I didn't realize it was still going... or that there were French, Serbian or Israli versions either!?  And certainly when I was watching it then, I didn't think much about the area in which the 'teams' were living, other than to think it was beautiful scenery and backdrop for the game.

Now, however, that there is a French television team shooting a Survivor Series in Raja Ampat, I am seeing things in a different light.  I am seeing how oblivious foreigners are when they come to an area with a single aim.

Obviously they are here because this is such a beautiful area, rich in culture and nature.  But is their presence here going to do more harm than good in the long run?

Apparently a substantial amount of money has gone into this project... fair enough... but that money was paid directly to the central government and to the government of Raja Ampat... I would wager a very very small percentage of it ever reaches any of the communities of Raja Ampat... its impact will not be felt where it could do some real good and is needed.  As far as I'm concerned it is a complete lack of respect for the traditional village systems which exist in Papua.

This is Indonesia, but Papua is a special case... things don't work here exactly the way they do in the rest of Indonesia... I mean, the level of corruption is still there, or perhaps worse even, but there are two systems of law/government here that should be abided by...  The 'hak wilayat' (traditional tenural system) has been in place in Papua for generations, and has worked to maintain peace as well as protect resources throughout local history.  This traditional governance is the system that the local people live by, abide, and should be respected by the any visiting foreigner as well.  The dualism created when the Indonesian government moved in to Papua is hard to reconcile... but possible.  Papua has special autonomy, and legal respect for their traditional systems... but when foreigners come in without knowing about this, it is easy to step on toes... and the people who lose inevitably are the locals.  I could write many posts on this problem, but don't want to make this blog political and get black-listed from Papua... so I won't.

On one hand, the French TV folk can't be blamed for being utterly oblivious to the appropriate manner of doing things here... they expect that things work as they do in their own country and no doubt no one from the Indonesian government told them any different... But on the other hand, if they're planning such a big and impactful investment in an area, shouldn't they do a little background research and find out the way to do things best???

Anyway, a funny story from the villages since Survivor has come to the area... the villagers in one nearby village were utterly appalled that these poor people had been left to fend for themselves without food, water or fire... so they snuck them over food!  These are the Papuan hearts that I love!

The Sleeping Lion

The Sleeping Lion (actually Leon Dormido in Spanish, and for some reason known as "Kicker Rock" in English) just off the Island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos is one of the most impressive formations on these enchanted isles...

This is the view of the 'other side' of the sleeping lion... from Puerto Grande...

Neither of these above photos shows the lion sleeping... but if you get it on the right day, and the right time of day, with the right lighting, from the right angle, (and have the right imagination), you can sometimes see it...

This is the best I've been able to capture it...

Can't fight fate!

Well, so much for the Best Dive Job...

I was under a time crunch to complete the application, but put something pretty good together considering the limited time, and went to submit it... and the internet on the island went down!  For the better part of the day I ran around to all the internet cafes, and wireless spots I know trying to get a connection to upload my application...  Finally, at almost exactly the deadline hour, I got a connection and thought I got it uploaded... I sent it separately in an email, just to be sure it went through.  Alas, it seems the online form didn't work, and the email was passed the deadline.

Aahhh, what can you do!?  Instead of get upset about it, wail and moan at the incredible opportunity lost, I decided that it just must not be meant to be this year.  Perhaps next year...

The Best Dive Job in the World!

I just found out about this "Best Dive Job in the World" in the nick of time - applications are due on Feb 28!  I consider this deadline a fortuitous sign, since it will be absolutely the perfect birthday present for me!  A really do lead a life of luck - honestly, I think you'll all agree, this is the perfect job for me, and I'm the perfect person for this job!

Entries were supposed to be video or written, but since I found out on such short notice, I didn't have time to put a video entry together... so am relying on my savvy written style of prose to clinch the deal!  ;)

I will post it here for you all to see, but for now I'm off to package myself up into "500 words or less"...

Wish me luck!

Best Dive Job

Galapagos Dreams - An Announcement!

Many of you might already know by now that Martin and I are starting a little dive business in the Galapagos... Tranquilo Divers!

I've been working on the website (a lot of learning involved!) - check it out: www.tranquilodivers.com

I just wanted to let you know that if you're starved for my blog (which I've been neglecting a little because of this new focus, and also because I know about the dire internet connection I'm going to have from the Galapagos)... you can also check out the blog that I'm maintaining for Tranquilo Divers:

http://www.tranquilodivers.com/Tranquilo_Divers/Blog/Blog.html


Wish us luck!!!

or better yet...

COME DIVING WITH US!

Merry Christmas!

Yay!!!  It's Christmas!!!

Wishing you and yours a Wonderful Holiday:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I actually took these pictures in the village of Wawiyai way back in June... it seemed to me just the most disjunct thing at the time... but works for this Christmas card!  All the best, Ange xox

Papua Penuh Damai (PAPEDA)

That's the slogan on one of my favourite Papua tshirts (I bought if for Martin last year when he was away)... As my last pre-Christmas post, I wanted to share with you its origins:

Papeda is the traditional staple food (read glue) in Papua.  It comes from the sago palm.

Indonesia is FULL of acronyms and 'singkatan' (putting parts of words together to create new words)... So they expand Papeda to Papua Penuh Damai (which literally translates to Papua full of Peace).  I like it.

Anyway, I started this post to share a little more about Papeda itself.  We have had it a few times aboard the ship... when you buy it in the village, it comes neatly packed in bamboo and banana leaves like this:

Then our cook works his magic, and we eat it with the yummy yellow fish curry...  The fish is not yellow, the curry is... the fish is usually snapper (called 'red fish' here!).

Urotherapy

Is that what I think it is???  Yes, the use of urine for therapeutic reasons... also known as auto-urotherapy.

I heard about this a few years ago, but given that some people think I'm gullible, and often try to put one over on me, I assumed this was just another... and dismissed it as fiction - turns out I was wrong!

After a little investigation I found out that this is anything but a new concept!  It's not a very appealing alternative, and probably makes most people as squeamish as myself just thinking about drinking glass-fulls of your own urine (or having it injected into the bloodstream, for that matter)...  But tell that to the many people who have had to resort to it as a cure to anything from skin and hair problems (like acne, hair loss, warts, wrinkles, psoriasis, eczema and infections) to more serious illness such as multiple sclerosis, colitis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, hepatitis, hyperactivity, pancreatic insufficiency, heart disease, diabetes, herpes, mononucleosis, adrenal failure and allergies.  There is even a World Congress on Urotherapy!

I guess it could make sense... Urine contains 95% water 2.5% mixture of urea and 2.5% is mineral salts, hormones, vitamins, enzymes and antibodies.  There must be something in the combo that could act as a medicine and/or immune booster!?  Unconventional to say the least.



What reminded me of this story was another type of "Uro"-therapy that someone I recently met was attempting.  He was soaking his feet in urine each night to get rid of some fungus or something that was growing beneath his toe-nails.  He thought it was really a great treatment, until he woke up to go to the washroom in the middle of the night and accidentally knocked over the bowl of urine that he had used to do it with!  ewwww....

Again different from the only kind of "Urotherapy" I knew of previously:  cure for jellyfish stings!

Langsat/Duku

While we were in Misool back in May, I learned the way langsat and dukuh grow.  These yummy fruits are almost identical to eachother, I've been enjoying them for years in Indonesia, but for the first time saw a fruit-bearing tree!

Strange isn't it, the way the fruit grows in bunches directly on the trunks of the trees!?

Medusa's Cousin

Yes, it was the mythical one I was thinking of... not the sea-dwelling version.  But we're talking worms... not snakes.  And dried worms at that... and...

...you probably won't turn to stone if you look me in the eyes... although I have been known to stop a few people in their tracks!  haha...

These worms, known as insonem in the Ayau-Asia Archipelago in the north of Raja Ampat, are actually a traditional food... you can read more about that tasty meal in this previous post.

My cousin Caroline came to this area on her visit, and got to try them, as well!  Caro's experience.

Geocaching!

I have been geocaching now since 2006... I don't get a chance to do much when I'm way out in Raja Ampat...  Although I did actually place a cache in a rather exotic, remote location in Wayag.  But it has since gone missing... presumably taken by non-cachers.

I cache under then name bushbabe... a nickname affectionately given to me by my non-bush friends during the times I was living and working in the bush in Canada!  At the time of this post, it looks like I've found 355 geocaches... but I think this tag will update as I make more finds... which I hope to do when I'm home for the holidays!



One of the neat add-ons that one discovers about geocaching quickly is this thing called "Travel Bugs"... they're items that get moved from cache to cache, but their location is logged, so can be tracked.  I was just asked to rescue a bunch of travel bugs from a cache in Bali that was closing down, so I will have to move them all along somewhere soon!

More things on bikes...

I seem to have accumulated a LOT of photos of things transported or sold on motorbikes and/or bicycles in Indonesia.  You can see some that I have posted previously here, here, here, here and a little here.  As you can see, it's a common theme!  Well, here are a few more to add to the collection - who would've thought you would find welcome mats sold on bikes!?!

Penida & Lembongan

For the last several months Martin was in Indonesia he was working as a Dive Guide on Nusa Lembongan Island in Bali.  Lembongan is the smaller kidney-bean-shaped island that is part of the group of islands collectively known as Penida, just to the east of southern Bali.

When I was not on the Kalabia, I would join him there... it is a beautiful island, and although the rate at which development has taken off in the last few years is sad, it still has some of the best diving around Bali.

I only got to dive a few times with him (you can see a few pics from one of the dives here), and mostly I worked while he dived... but at least we enjoyed the beautiful sunsets together.

And one day, we had a chance to go on a little exploration of the three sets of islands, from motorbike, to walking, to rented boat, to another motorbike, we used every kind of transportation possible on the islands and got to even the most remote corners!

stairway to heaven...

We also found out a lot more about the main economic activity on the islands, which I wrote about previously... seaweed farming!

Leapin' Lizards!

LITERALLY!

I was trying not to squirm too much as Martin fumbled to get the camera out quickly to catch this funny moment of a gecko climbing up my arm... he didn't get it.  Anyway, as the gecko got to my neck, it was too ticklish to restrain any more, and I squirmed... the gecko leapt... and Martin caught him in mid-air!!!  He landed as if there was nothing to it, and skittered off.  I guess they're used to it... at our old house, there were always so many of them along the ceiling beams... and they were always dropping from the roof with a great 'splat' onto the tile floors (again, no harm done!)!

Dive Glasses

Kaca Molo, or Dive Glass, are the traditional masks for seeing in the ocean in Papua, and the rest of the Pacific islands for that matter.  They're literally coke-bottle bottoms artfully embedded in home-made wooden casings... gives a whole new meaning to what we usually think of as coke-bottle glasses, no!?!  And they're not as easy to use as these kids make them look!

I tried, and because you have to sort-of scrunch your eyes to keep them in place, it's hard to get a decent seal, and they leak like crazy!  Not to mention the strange sensation for us scuba mask wearers of having the nose exposed... there's another trick to it!  Anyway, everyone had a good laugh at the 'bule' trying out the local-style scuba gear...

Cap Tikus (pronounced Chap Tee'KOOS)

Martin prefers to call Cap Tikus (“Rat’s Brand”) by the more appropriate name, “Racun Tikus” (or Rat Poison). This is the Minahasan version of Moonshine!

Cap Tikus is the local Palm brandy, mostly made in small distilleries in the jungle. It is a VERY strong distilled version (usually 40 - 50%, but sometimes up to 90%) of a liquid they get from a common tree in these parts, the sugar palm. 'Palm wine' is actually a less-fermented version of Cap Tikus, obtained during the beginning stages of the process of making Cap Tikus. Palm wine is a slightly more appealing, although still nauseating, drink!

The labour-intensive distillation process is actually quite simple and basically employs metal ovens and bamboo tubes.

The people around Manado have told me that cap tikus actually has medicinal qualities; they hold firmly to the belief that cap tikus is a health-preserving as well as a health-restoring liquid. It is used when people feel a cold coming on, or to cure digestive disorders... I suppose anything with an alcohol content that high would kill any germ on contact!?

Don't drink this alcohol to excess, though... some locals have gone blind or died because of the high level of methanol in Cap Tikus! Anything in moderation, I suppose. There is nothing pleasurable about the cap tikus experience, so as far as I'm concerned, it's not worth the risk!

Our first encounter with the stuff was rather innocent, but was enough to turn me off the stuff for good. We were simply having a quiet night, hanging out with a few friends on the island and having a couple drinks. When the few beers we had brought ran out, they pulled out the plastic bottle of moonshine. No matter how little CapTikus you had nor how much Cola you mixed it with, it was NOXIOUS! The problem was the cola ran out even faster than the beers... I was smart and decided not to push it, but Martin kept up with the boys and drank a couple glasses of it almost* straight. He was sick for the next TWO WEEKS!  Needless to say, he didn't ever try it again either!

The picture below is actually not from Minahasa, but from Sorong... this is the infamous local hangout called the 'tembok' (seawall)... you can tell if someone is indulging in the captikus depending whether or not he is facing out to sea (getting plastered), or back toward the road (safely tottling tea).  Hahaha.

Christmas Trees in the Sea

This is one of my favouite sea beings... and I can't believe I haven't written about them before!

You can see for yourselves where these colourful, bushy-tailed segmented worms (polychaetes) get their name!

These aptly-named Christmas Tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) burrow into massive coral heads to make their home.  They expose only their fluffy tail, which they use to filter-feed as the current brings plankton and other goodies their way.

This featherduster worm is a close, less-colourful, relative!

I am looking forward to seeing another kind of Christmas Tree in the not-so-distant future!