Pretty leaf?

Found this stowaway aboard the ship... And would have passed it by allowing it to remain an inconspicuous leaf, had it not been for the strange attitude it maintained (hanging upside-down from the roof)...  I had to really take an angle on it to get a shot to show the head and legs!  Nature is amazing at mimicry!

You can check out his ginormous cousin and some of the other related critters I've put on my blog before as well!

Daisey Chains

Although there are many differences in the lives that these kids in the remote areas of Raja Ampat live compared with Canadian kids, in fact, up until a certain age, where social and technological influence becomes a mitigating factor, there are so many similarities as well...

... Like daisy chains...

I don't know how many hours I spent sitting or roving through a field weaving daisy chains to make myself into a princess... 

Since is a princess, too.

Your going to feed your... ghosts!?!

One of the stories people get the biggest kick out of from my repertoire of funny language learning stories, is the mixup with the ghosts... In fact, on a recent trip back to Bunaken last month, I found out that the family that this occurred with still recounts the tale to all family and friends as well as any travelers passing through!

It was one of our first visits to Bunaken Island and the village of Alung Banua, where we would come to feel like family in short order...  And needless to say, we were still very much in the steep part of the learning curve of the Indonesian language.  Every day, early morning, Vera's father, a lovely man and respected leader in the community, would head off to the kebun (the farm/garden).  When we would all meet up in the afternoon after our days' activities, we would sit and relax in the cool shade of their luscious green garden and try to converse.  Vera's father, although not fluent, certainly had a decent English vocabulary, and was very patient and kind in aiding our attempts at learning Indonesian, so we stumbled along through stories and conversations, not getting much past the contents of our days...  When I was asking about what he did when he went to the farm, he would tell me about the crops, and the animals... And he said he would "kasih makan kambing"... 'kasih makan' I knew (he would 'feed')... but kambing was a completely new word for me... we played a little charades, and I still didn't get it... couldn't figure out which farm animal he might be referring to... then he said, in his timid English... 'ghosts'...   

Ummmm.... OK?

So, I tried not to blanche visibly... and carried on the conversation... asking him if he visited the ghosts every day... what did they 'eat' (since he had ostensibly been feeding them)... could anyone visit them, or was it only him that could see them... had they been there forever....  

I was getting more and more confused... and thinking that either this senior was not as on-the-ball as I had taken him to be originally or, he had some mystical connection to the next world... (you never know really - I wasn't willing to make any assumptions... what with the language and cultural barrier and all)...

When Vera came out with some fresh young coconut to quench our thirst, I couldn't stand it any more... I thought I must be going nuts, sitting having a conversation about this man and his ghosts that he visited daily, like there was nothing more normal in the world... I mean, if it were ghosts, you would think he would recognize the rarity in the situation, right!?!  So I asked her if she happened to know the English word for kambing... 

She said "Of course, you know, GOATS"!

I cracked up laughing and proceeded to try to explain to them the misunderstanding... and once we finally found the Indonesian word for ghost (hantu), we were all practically rolling around on the floor, tears streaming down our faces in laughter trying to imagine the two completely different conversations that were happening at the same time about the ghosts/goats!!!

Kue Putu - A Pandan Pancake

A little pandan pancake-type thing, filled with coconut and palm sugar...

... and cooked and available right on the street in Indonesia!

Tebu

Sugar Cane

A tasty, natural snack...

I remember loving to gnaw on this stuff when we were in Montserrat, but hadn't had it for years and years, until one of the sweetest little girls who participated in one of the Kalabia programs brought some to the Education team after the program was finished... what a treat!

Thus I found out that it grows in most of the islands of Raja Ampat, and is often considered a weed!  Now I know to source it out!!!  In fact, I have since read that sugar cane, actually a grass, is thought to have originated in Papua, and spread throughout the world from there.

It’s so addictive!  I love just sitting around, hanging out, chatting, chewing sugar cane… that unique crunch, then squishing all the goodness out of the pulp… mmm… I can't believe that after several years in Raja Ampat, I have just become aware that it grows here!

Hangin' out on the bowsprit, chewing sugar cane, enjoying the stunning scenery in Misool.

... and brought some back to Sorong with me as well!

The people consider it a weed, and other than chew it (and mostly just kids, at that), they don’t use it.

… why they don’t take advantage of it in the villages to produce their own sugar puzzles me beyond belief… I mean, maybe the initial overhead is a little high, but if the community went together to purchase or engineer a crusher/squeezer/juicer, and all used it only for personal use, then it seems to me, they would save a LOT of money on sugar (in a world where money for sugar is very scarce), and make good use of something that is currently a ‘weed’!

Hercules Moth

I have seen these ginormous moths on each of my trips to larger islands of Raja Ampat, especially Waigeo and Misool.  Believe it or not, these are not even the largest ones we've had onboard!?

They are attracted to the flying insects which are attracted to the bright lights of the ship in the artificial lightless nights in the field, and often call the ship home for several days at a time while hunting and feasting away, giving them a leg-up on foraging and survival for the coming times once the boat moves on.  Last week a pair of these guys hung out and even asked us if we would mind posing for pictures with them.

They are hercules moths, one of the largest species of moths on the planet (apparently females can reach up to 27cm), and have long 'tails' on their wings.  Somehow 'moth' has always been a bit of a bummer of a word for me... I much prefer the Indonesian term kupu-kupu malam, literally translated it's night-time butterfly.  Of course, be careful how/where you use that term... it has another less literal meaning as well ;)

Chillaxin'

This photo actually makes this look a lot cooler than it was - I wish I had the photo from 20 seconds before as I tried to scramble up the tree trunk to show you!  haha!

... not to mention the worrying CAUSE of these coconut trees in this state - coastal erosion due to sea-level rise resulting from climate change can be my only guess...

Sagu for sale

Sagu, the traditional staple in Papua, was not in short supply in Kabare village, North Waigeo back in the month of September.

I really appreciate the way they package the sagu for sale... all natural wrappers of banana leaves and rattan here!

Giant Pineapples!

Maybe this is not abnormal, but I had never SEEN a pineapple this big before!

It was delicious and sweet too!

Natural Products

The gifts from the forest aren't always in the form of food... Here in Papua, the forest provides everything... from food, to the containers in which to cook and keep it, to homes, etc!  Pandan is one particular tree from which each part of the plant is used - coconut as well!

When we were in the village of Beneraf the ladies there showed me how to make "tali hutan" (forest string), which is made from the fibres of the forest as well!

Clothing is traditionally made from bark cloth... straight from the tree, it's much softer than woven fabrics from tali hutan.

Food, clothing, furniture, homes, art, decorations... everything in Papua comes straight from the source:  nature!

Changi

Changi is the name of the Singapore international airport (there is no domestic airport in Singapore, as it's a city state, so no where else in this 'country' to fly...).

I find it a very appropriate name, just with reference to the Indonesian language, where 'changi' actually means ultra-modern, super-fancy, chic... and that's certainly a great description of the Singapore airport, and most of Singapore for that matter!  It was officially classified as a 5-star airport, and also unofficially on sites like sleepinginairports.com has been recognized as a fabulous place to be stuck in transit (if one has to be stuck in transit).

So that's what I am... and that's why you're hearing about this airport (from an ultra high-speed free internet connection in a swank free lounge/relaxation oasis)...

From Wikipedia:
There are many versions for the etymological roots of the name Changi. One source says that it comes from a climbing shrub, the changi ular(Apama corymbosa), which grew in the area. Another claims that it gets its name from a tall tree, the chengai (Balanscarpus heimii), which abounded in the area in the early nineteenth century. Changi could also be a variation of the local timber named chengai. This heavy local timber is commonly used for buildings and furniture, and is valued for its strength and renowned for its deep rich colour.

Magic Cream

Since I was little and visiting our family cabin in BC in the summers, I have known this little tube as "Magic Cream", as do all the neighbours!  Cetavlon is a french antiseptic cream that we can't get in Canada, but without fail, my Aunt would bring several tubes to re-stock every summer.

It's magic I guess comes from the only listed active ingredient, Cetrimide, a mere .5g...   I was happy I carry some with me, as I'm employing it as a remedy for my rotten road rash.  I hope it does its thing!

Road Rash

Yikes - I am thankful that I'm here to write this post to you all... I took a little spill off my motorbike yesterday for the first time... and hopefully last.

I was pretty darn lucky!  The entire lane was full of oil and I don't think there was any avoiding what happened...  The bike lost all traction, and all I had time to think was "Oh shiitttt...", then my head bounced off the pavement and I proceeded to skid on my chin for about 50m along the road with an unsettling view of oncoming headlights. Before I had even skidded to a stop I jumped up and ran the 50 more metres that the bike slid, picked it up and got it off the road, and then I checked myself over for missing appendages etc.  I was fairly shocked to find I was pretty much in tact, minus some major road rash that hadn't started to sting yet (side note:  post-adrenaline let down they have proven insanely painful!)  Apparently I was the 4th bike to slide out on it - and after I made sure they covered it with dirt to soak up the oil and avoid anyone else going down!  But I drove myself home, cleaned out the wounds and am hoping for a quick healing process.

I am not big on taking a lot of hard-core chemical drugs in general... so I'm hoping the good ole magic cream will do the trick!

Raja Ampat Festival

Raja Ampat has been holding a Festival Bahari (Marine Festival) for several years now.  Usually it is in May, to coincide with the 'Birthday' of the Regency on May 9th, but this year it was postponed and happened in October.

Pantai WTC (Waisai TerCinta - Beloved Waisai Beach) with Kalabia at anchor in background

The postponement had to do with the worrying poor health of the head of the Regency back in May (fortunately he is in better health now, and when I met him at the Festival, he seemed fit-as-a-fiddle), but in fact, this is better timing from several other aspects.  It is much more favourable weather and sea-faring conditions, and the Liveaboards which operate in Raja Ampat have just about completed their 6-month Komodo season and are generally heading back up at this time of year, so there is potential to attract international guests and attention from here as well.

This year the festival was bigger than previously, and seemed much better organized.

There were several activities including a Photography Competition, Traditional Food Fair, where I taste-tested 'Grub Kebobs', there were traditional dance troops from the villages which gave periodic performances throughout the festival and there was a 'Travel Mart'.  A Symposium on Environmentally-Friendly Diving was held one day, although my major comments at that were that it seemed a little futile to be discussing diver impact when the scale of the environmental damage that can occur in that respect is miniscule compared to some of the major issues threatening the reefs and marine conservation, like rapid unsustainable coastal development.

We took the opportunity, at the invitation of the local government, to participate by maintaining a Kalabia stand at the fair, and hosting a drawing competition for Raja Ampat children.  The Kalabia team was very proud that their stand was by far the most popular one at the fair, both for kids and adults!  And of course, the drawing competition was a great success... the top 12 winning entries will become part of the Kalabia 2012 Calendar, but they were more excited to receive their prize of a snorkel set each!

And we hung out and enjoyed the bad food, interesting dances and festival atmosphere!

Ange & Yesaiah @ WTC - a friend who leads a traditional music and dance troop as well as conservation programs in Sawinggrai village

 So it seems like the Festival was a decent success from most points of view.... BUT... there are still a couple issues regarding planning, and the MAJOR issue of waste management that the government needs to improve upon for coming years.  The Festival dates were announced only about two weeks prior to the event - so it doesn't give either participants or guests much chance for preparation!  But the bigger issue in my eyes is the non-existent waste management.  Part of the message of this festival is about how fabulous Raja Ampat is as a fabulous holiday destination... BUT although they at least had someone cleaning the festival area daily, they still don't have a long-term viable solution in place for waste-management in Waisai.  They are still going with the typical 'treatment rather than prophylaxis' (ie. bandaid) approach.  Someone from the Kalabia team was in Waisai for 2 weeks prior to the event canvassing for the inclusion of waste bins around the entire festival area... BUT in the end, the waste bin at the Kalabia stand was the only one visible in the entire area!  And the area just behind the festival grounds looks like this:

Kalabia August September October

I've had a chance to be out in Raja Ampat aboard the Kalabia several times over the last couple months.  Each time I'm out, I fall more in love with the area, and I'm more impressed with the ability of the education team to overcome the limitations presented to them working in the villages here!  Here are just a few of my favourite random shots from the last couple months in the field in Raja Ampat... Enjoy!