Indonesian 'Drinks'

There are a few Indonesian beverage specialties that I would consider desert; I find them unbearably sweet. But, they're a 'must try', for their unique mixture of ice (usually shaved, sometimes chipped, or, very rarely, cubed), fruit and syrups. Here are a couple of the classics:

Es Teler
(literally 'overexhausted' or 'drunken ice')



'Teler' means overexhausted, or, in Indonesian slang, 'drunk' or 'high' or 'completely wasted'. I can't really tell you why this descriptor is applied to this gorp-esque drink, except that maybe you have to be drunk to actually order it, or, perhaps it was the million-dollar epiphany (Yes, Es Teler is now a franchise!) of some Indonesian drug addicts best trip!? This sweet medley is also, more aptly, known as 'Es Campur' (mixed ice).

The barrage of ingredients in this drink is overwhelming. Bits and chunks of fruits (such as avocado, jackfruit, young coconut, pineapple, green melon), are mixed with susu (sweetened condensed milk), and sometimes nuts and chocolate or other syrups. Usually it melts pretty quickly into an unappetizing pinkish-brown soup...

If it didn't have the additional trimmings, and merely contained ice and fruit, it would be called 'es buah' (literally iced fruit). See, now that makes sense.


Es Cendol
(literally tapioca blob ice)



Icky, sticky, sweet-ness! This is layer upon layer of sweeter, stickier substances. The bottom layer you see is basically pure brown sugar, next comes the susu (sweetened condensed milk), then the drinks namesake: the tapioca blobs (green and Pink in this particular case). This is no substitute for a Chinese Pearl Milk Tea.


Es Soda Gembira
(literally 'happy soda ice')



Simply ice cubes, soda, and strawberry syrup. Who knew the recipe for happiness had only three ingredients!? I figured it would be pink.

To be honest, I've tried all of the above, so as not to reneg on my 'try anything once' policy... But when we're in the city, I usually stick with a simple es jeruk (freshly squeezed orange/lemon juice). Of course, I have to order it 'tanpa gula' (without sugar) or else it will end up like all the above drinks: too sweet!

Es Jeruk
(literally citrus ice)
(notice the inch of whitish, as-yet undissolved sugar on the bottom... this is post-stir!!!)



Es Jeruk (tanpa gula)
(literally citrus ice, without sugar)

looks the same as the above, minus the inch of sugar on the bottom!


Of course, my drink of choice on the islands is fresh young coconut (straight from the tree)!



Even better when shared with friends!

Other Waiwo Visitors

I've been staying at Waiwo, the CI Field Station in Dampier Strait, Raja Ampat, for the last ten days. I can work from here, and have email access, and it is a much more tranquil and agreeable setting than SoooWrong. I have also been helping facilitate one of CI's guests (doing research on fish biomass in the area)... and it's a good thing I've been here, because operations here are less than optimum (but THAT's another story).

Something interesting (and completely annoying) that happened last week were repeated visits from a Belgian guy (Danny) and his Indonesian wife/girlfriend/friend (depending on who you talk to). This character was so completely rude, and conducted himself with such blatant disregard for everyone else around him... I could hardly believe it!!! He showed up one morning and took two dive tanks (which we had already prepared for our guest's research trip that day) and a CI staff's dive computer, and took off diving. When he got back, he was acting as if he was the boss of the place, and talking about how our field station is a resort and he is going to become the manager!? (um... talk about mis-informed!) I quickly set him straight, but he was still under this notion that I was the one in looney-land!? I think it was a misunderstanding on his behalf from someone he had been speaking to earlier who told him to go ahead and feel free to use what he needed at Waiwo (this MUST have been in reference to one of the other organizations that has an office on-site), but even when I tried to explain that there were several organizations working here, and CI knew nothing about him, and couldn't support his diving (for many reasons, not the least of which being the fact that we already have a research expedition in progress... not to mention liability!), he continued to pester US daily, instead of coordinating his visit with the organization that was hosting him... IF anyone was hosting him!? This is another interesting possibility... maybe he's one of these holiday scammers... basically, just trying to get as much as he can for free by acting as if he's studying/helping another organization!? Supposedly his wife is doing a masters in Eco-tourism in Raja Ampat... but why has no one coordinated their visit!?!? I've heard that this is something that happens for Travel Guide Books... people travel around and pass themselves off as writers, demanding free accommodations, etc, in exchance for a good review!?

Anyway, we have had some less obnoxious visitors over the last week as well... Several nights, we've been visited by an electric green tree frog, who seems quite at home! He's really quite massive, and I can see how people might think these guys have personalities... just look at the look on his face!?!



... and check out those deditos!

Keanekaragaman Hayati

Try to wrap your tongue around THAT one! I think it's the only word in the Indonesian language that gives me real problems... even after knowing it for almost a year, and no matter how slowly I attack it, I feel like my mouth fills with marbles, and I just can't spit it out!

Funny thing is that it means Biodiversity... kind of a key word in conservation! The other day I was speaking on stage to a group of about 300 people (at a Muslim gathering in Kalobo); you would have all had a good laugh seeing me struggling to pronouce KE-ANE-KA-RAGAM-AN HAYATI!

Sometimes I just cheat and indonesian-ize the word: Biodiversitas.

Fish Soup

No, I'm not referring to a nice bisque or bouillabasse or any other new-found Indonesian gastronomic delight...



This is a photo I took on a dive yesterday at a dive site not far from the Waiwo Field Station... "Mios Kon" (in the locally language literally Mios = island, Kon = small/little; so the dive site is called "little island"). It is quickly turning into one of my favourite sites in Raja Ampat! The fish in the photo are mostly fusiliers, who were thick in the water yesterday! With every dive at Mios Kon there is something new to see, and it has the absolutely the most variety of fish of any site in the vicinity, from big to small (sharks, barracudas & jacks, and of course, fusiliers, snappers and anthias, right down to some wonderful little gobies and blennies). The site also boasts great coral coverage and lots of other interesting eye candy (Wobbeggon sharks, Giant clam, pygmy seahorse, and lots of shrimps and crabs on anemone).

KALABIA *** PHOTO UPDATED BELOW! ***
(the boat)

The Conservation Education Vessel that will soon *(again, barring further delays!) become our home and office, is called the KM Kalabia. My previous post was about the namesake for the boat... This one is about the boat itself! I think I already introduced you to her in a previous post.

Here are a few pictures of the Kalabia Education Vessel... in progress... I will definitely add a picture of the finished product!


What they had to start with...
(a tuna trawler from a fisheries buyout)



The Plan...




In progress...




Almost there...







The paint scheme...





Finishing touches...






OUR NEW HOME!

*** check back for a photo later! ***

!!! HERE SHE IS !!!




The non-technical Specs (I figure the technical ones won't mean much to many of you - I don't understand them myself!?):

- 37 meter hull, bow to stern; 6.5 meters wide
- a huge, wide-open front deck space (and projector for playing films)
- scuba equipment room (with compressor and minimal equipment)
- dining room, meeting room, library
- 14 guest beds, 8 boat crew beds, 1 captain's room
- 2 washrooms

A few more technical Specs:
- Capacity:
- Diesel: 24 tons
- Water: 24 tons
- Extra fuel: 4 tons
- Fuel Consumption: 24-hour non stop = 1.2 tons
- Cruising Speed: 9 knots **( IN ACTUALITY, we've only ever made it up to 8)

KALABIA
(the shark)

The Conservation Education Vessel that we will soon* (barring further delays!) be working on is called the KM Kalabia. Our namesake, and mascot, is a funny shark who 'walks' on his pectoral fins. Kalabia is one of the local names (from the original tribe of Raja Ampat, suku Maya) for this shark species. Funnily, the more widely-known local name is 'hiu bodoh', which literally means 'stupid shark' (I guess they figure that any shark that would choose to waddle along slowly on his fins instead of swim must be a little unbalanced)! What's more they seem somewhat lethargic if you happen to see them during the day, when they typically seek shelter under large rocks, ledges or coral formations. They are nocturnal creatures -- much more active, seeking food and moving about, at night.



In fact, they should call him the well-hung, midget walking shark, since he's actually got TWO you-know-what's (that are significantly larger than other sharks of similar species)!!!

This is the little guy who someone (* name yet to be released) pledged 500,000 USD to name at The Blue Auction!

P.S. A few months ago, for the first time, we (ie. Martin) found a Kalabia on the CI Waiwo Field Station House Reef! As you can see, they're quite small... and no danger in handling them (other than to traumatize the poor things!), since they don't have any teeth (they crush molluscs with their strong jaw for food)!

A Touching Moment

It seems incredible to me, that in a program with a duration of only three days, our team creates such a strong bond with the local children we are working with.

Yes, the program is a very intensive one; yes, we have a great group, with team members who actually enjoy interacting with the kids; and yes, the highly-interactive nature of the program and 'playing while learning' (belajar sambil bermain) is a novel experience for most of our young participants.... but even so... it's only three days; not like 'summer camp' where you're together for months with the same groups!

At the end of our last day of our most recent program in the village of Kalobo (with a mix of kids from Kalobo, Sakabu and Waijan, all on the island of Salawati, mid-Raja Ampat), several of the kids broke down in tears when it was time to say good-bye! It's usual that kids will hang around, help us clean up and load our gear, or just generally tag along until we leave the village... but this time, before all that, they asked for our autographs as well! So sweet.



I can only hope that we are able to foster as much love and understanding about the environment in this short time as well!



This was our most memorable 'character' of the group - Robo - a super-outgoing little guy from Sakabu!

Papuan Rhythms!

The Christmas celebrations in Ayau got me thinking about this post which I began ages ago... thought I should revisit it, and maybe even post this time.

Music is an integral part of the culture here in West Papua, and it takes many forms!

Tifa, Suling Tamboor, Yosban, guitar (EVERYONE can play guitar - should help me learn in the next few months as well!), and talk about harmonizing ability... these people have got it in their GENES!

Suling Tamboor (Pipes and Drums!)
Not just for Christmas, but any special event or celebration! This is a picture from the MPA declaration in Mayalibit Bay last year.




Tifa is a traditional drum; a symbol that has come to represent West Papua. It is used in more of a story-telling accompanyment, such as this village elder (chanting in a language that is no longer understood by the majority of his people).



The tifa has truly become the symbol of West Papua... it is almost the only form statues take here... at bus stops and intersections.





Yosban is actually a combination music/dance... it is stories set to music, usually improvised with fun twists to include the people at the dance. The dance itself is performed in two lines, with everyone following along doing the same steps... similar to what we call 'line dancing', actually! Except in this case, instead of combinations of steps, it's the same step over and over several times, then a new, different step, and so on. The steps usually involve lots of stomping and slapping. It's really a riot! This is our friend Rudy, who is the king of the yosban in these parts, and usually leads the dance!




In West Papua you will find music anywhere and everywhere!





... and of course, if the appropriate tools aren't close at hand, either you make them...






... or you improvise!




It's no wonder everyone here seems to be a natural musician... they start from an early age!




Well, I'm off again to another new area today... we will be doing a three-day education program in the village of Kalobo. It is a unique and completely different area than most of Raja Ampat; a village comprised completely of transmigrants from Java. The village head is known for his ability to 'call' the dugongs, so I hope that we'll also get a chance to see these gentle 'sea cows' after our programming is done!

Funny Sense of Humour!

Sasi is a sanction/stay imposed on certain crops, usually by the church, to allow for its recuperation. It is usually employed for Pinang (Bettlenut) or Cabe (Chili Peppers), or other plants that people would tend to go through rapidly if left un-checked.

Coconuts are year-round crop and superfluous on this island in Ayau; someone's idea of making folks smile was to put up a 'SASI' sign - in the middle of a huge coconut plantation! It worked on me, and we had a good laugh last week!



The sign reads: Warning Coconut Sasi

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very happy holiday season... I hope it was a memorable one.



It was another tough one for us, being away from family and friends, home and snow (!?), for the second Christmas in a row (unheard of for our family!)! But of course, because of good new friends here, it was special and memorable in its own way! But I still don't think I'll ever get used to a green/hot Christmas!

So what did we do??? Well, after getting back from the wonderful diving trip, I met up with Martin in Manado (he had gone back ahead of time), and we spend the few days before Christmas just enjoying having our own space (our house, even though it has now become an office as well, was vacated for the holidays), and visiting with friends, and people-watching in the malls (which were over-crowded, stuffed, and crazy... and surely no longer adhering to building codes!).



We had a 'Latino-style' Christmas -- on Christmas eve we gathered together at the home of the soccer coach, with his family, and the other Latin soccer players living in Manado (above). We had a nice meal and drinks (a yummy Chilean specialty called "Cola de Mono" (yes, that's the tail of the monkey!)), and gift opening. I was spoiled with a guitar from Martin, which means I'll have a chance to continue to learn (since I didn't bring the guitar that my brother gave me for Christmas two years ago to Indonesia with me!)! I'll definitely have time once the boat arrives and we're at sea for three weeks each month!



"Cola de Mono"

6 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup instant coffee
2 cups tequila
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Bring the milk, sugar and cinnamon to a boil.
2. Dissolve the coffee in the hot milk mixture.
3. Put in the fridge to cool.
4. Once cold, add the tequila.
5. Pour into capped bottles and return to the fridge.
6. Serve very cold.
7. This keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks

We came immediately back to Sorong on the 26th in order to leave that same day on a boat headed to Ayau (the farthest group of islands in Raja Ampat), where we attended 'Christmas Together' and ran a 3-day education program.



What a neat few days. The Ayau people celebrate 'Christmas Together' on the 27th or 28th of December each year... all the people from the 5 villages spread around the group of islands gather in a different village each year for their celebrations. This means a trip as long as 12 hours by dugout canoe in favourable conditions for some! Their celebrations are fairly simple... they parade doing 'Suling Tambur' (drum and pipe bands) day and night non-stop for days! It's not a parade in our understanding of the word, either... because everyone participates, and there are virtually no spectators; the people who aren't playing a drum or flute are dancing (not marching) along behind! Each village has its own band (and sometimes more than one!), so there were about 8 different groups marching in the streets (that sounds funny... there are only TWO streets in the village of Yenkawir, and of course, they're sand). The instruments are mostly made from natural materials, of course, and the drums are absolutely wonderful... each one unique! They use tarps, pig, goat or shark skin wrapped taught over wooden bases they have carved themselves.








They usually also have a special church service and a 'feast' (which usually includes seaturtle!). This year, the people of Ayau have committed to not eating sea turtle, in an attempt to help conservation efforts... they have not been consuming it (apparently) for almost a year! CI made sandals for all the residents of the islands (about 2000 people) with the message 'thank you for not consuming turtle' in the local language, indonesian, and english, and we took them as christmas presents to the big celebration! Folks were thrilled!






After the 'Christmas Together' celebration on the 27th, we ran a conservation education program for 21/2 days in one of the villages with kids. The program included activities about corals and coral reefs (including a snorkeling trip), coastal ecosystems ecology and, of course, sea turtles! It was a lot of fun as well, and although our new 'education assistants' are still pretty rough, it looks like they're 'coming along'!








Needless to say, the kids had a blast!

Wow! The Trip of a Lifetime!



What more can I say, really!? I think the smile on my face says it all... I had an incredible trip. I just got back into Sorong (Soo Wrong; it seems even more-so after coming off a ten-day high!) this morning, and already the whole thing seems like a magical dream!

An intense dive trip (35 dives in 10 days!) which spanned Raja Ampat's most celebrated dive sites, and included a few new special spots! I even hit my 100th dive! The group was a very interesting mix of people, and I really enjoyed getting to know them all.



When the possibility arose, I was upset that this opportunity overlapped with Martin's trip to Ayau with the Coral Reef Monitoring Team, because he had taken my dive computer and my log book, as well as my camera and underwater housing with him! In the end, it was of no consequence, and indeed I thoroughly enjoyed not being burdened with lugging a camera on every dive, and more-so, with feeling the pressure of getting good photos. In fact, diving without a camera is so much more 'real'; you can see and appreciate so much more! As it turns out, I'm a pretty decent spotter! Who knew... I guess a little marine biology knowledge goes a long way... it helps you know where to look anyway! Of course, my better-than-average vision (which recently astounded the local doctor treating my eye infection, and I am convinced is to balance my less-than-average hearing!) probably has a lot to do with it as well!

A little bit about the experience:

The boat - an immaculate schooner, built in Indonesia by the master boatbuilders in Makassar two years ago. Classic and tasteful. The most exquisite liveaboard dive vessel operating in Raja Ampat. Far outstrips my current digs in the staff house in Sorong... the boat not only had showers, but they had HOT water!




The crew - a delightful group, warm, friendly and professional. Lucky for me, I was able to actually get to know them on account of my Indonesian! The team is headed up by the phenomenal cruise and dive director, Stew.




The DIVING - incredible! Lots of new eye candy for me... things I've never seen before, new sites, awesome caves and caverns, beautiful coral reefs, unbelievable amounts of fish... I even saw my first manta ray underwater!



Here are a few more pictures... sorry, I know scrolling through them isn't a nice format, but with blogger there is no other way.






The scenery was stunning, above and below the water!






We went sunset-kayaking to explore the many channels amongst the coral karst formations in SE Misool.






The "study/massage lounge". The study lounge for those of us doing the Nitrox certification course while on-board, and the massage lounge for those needing a little extra relaxation at the magical hands of Yovin!




Meet Sandra... a fabulous english/auzzie who I clicked with, and whose company I enjoyed immensely... she also happens to be an amazing photographer, under- and above-water. I am including a few of her underwater photos below her here, most of which I'm in, to give you an idea of her talent.










(crocodile fish)



(nudibranch)



(This is the lionfish that stung me! - Yikes... it can be more serious, but luckily I was fine... although it is incredibly painful!)








What a wonderful early Christmas present!