My ancestors were sailors. To sail the vast ocean…
ITHAT is a song written by Ibu Sud in 1940 that I used to sing when I was little. Long before Copernicus stated that the earth was round, westerners stated that the earth was like a flat table.
Of course our ancestors (probably) did not know about this, and continued to bravely sail the seas.
Finally, I tried the challenge like the ancestors. Try a sea trip from Lombok Island, through Sumbawa, to Flores Island.
**
I am currently in the middle of the Sumbawa ocean. Farther from the mainland. The background of Mount Rinjani is still there with the setting sun, starting my journey shortly after leaving Labuhan Lombok. The sound of the ship’s engine is very noisy. I don’t know if I can close my eyes or not tonight.
“Your english is very good, I can understand you well,” said Marteen, backpacker from the Netherlands who became my acquaintance on the voyage to Flores. I’m quite confident in English, but it’s just a theory. Now a Caucasian is praising me, that means ability conversation I’m not that bad!
I have twenty new friends here. No one is Indonesian except me and crew boat. I’ve been told beforehand by the tour agent about this, but I certainly gladly accepted it.
My foreign friends on this ship came from the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, France, Korea, Canada, and the Czech Republic. They all speak English. Although sometimes they use their own national language, which sounds very strange. Especially Russian!
Marteen is a very talkative. He works in an expedition company as a communication manager. He seems to get along very well with everyone. Then there are the couple Aaron and Canada and his girlfriend Soun Yu from Korea, Mike and his wife from Australia who have often been to Indonesia.
What caught my attention was the Russian family, they seemed very mysterious. After investigation, it turned out that they could not speak English except for their children. His daughter, Vera, said that her father really liked Indonesia since he first came here a few years ago. The other has said the same thing. “You have a very beautiful country,” Mike said patting me on the shoulder with a smile.
Our ship is just a wooden boat painted white, looks like Fiber material for speedboats, but it’s really not at all. With a speed of no more than 10 knots, naturally three days later we just entered flores. When you meet Ferry who was heading to Sumbawa who was racing away racing our boat, Mike said to our guide with a mocking face, “We should’ve take that boat instead.” I can only laugh.
There are four crew on our cruise. One captain, one guide, along with assistants and cooks. The captain, Sanusi, is a native Bugis. “I built this ship myself,” he said proudly. Incredibly, the Bugis and their phinisi boats are famous for their toughness over the ocean. Maybe it’s true that our ancestors were sailors.
“You have a very beautiful country,” Mike said patting me on the shoulder with a smile.
During our introduction, we still talked a lot about places in Indonesia. And, mostly discuss about Rinjani. Because on average they have already climbed Rinjani! Luckily I’ve been there, so I’m still connected to them. If not, at least you can just mess around.
“I need three hour three and half hours for summit attack, what a long walk!” said one Canadian Caucasian.
“What the fu**,” I said to myself, which at that time took twice as long…..
What’s interesting is dinner time. All these Caucasians eat a lot. Nothing is not two plates. The rice and fish curry that night were all sold out with no leftovers! Until the Jerome from France was desperate to lick (by hand he meant) the rest of the fish curry until the place was clean. Haha, these foreigners are sedated by the savory flavor at the shop.
The ship continued to move, the whirring sound of the ship’s motor continued to the north of the island of Sumbawa. Took us to the first stop the next day, Moyo island.
Moyo Island
After three kilometers of waters north of Sumbawa, we finally found an island. Shortly after sunrise, the island that was black began to appear. Mangrove forests blanket this island.
We entered the forest of Moyo Island, trekking to the waterfall. Moyo Island forest is very lush. The sound of birds chirping a lot, accompanied by a small low-current river whose water is very clear. It appears that some stones are hung by ropes in the trees, because it is believed by the residents to be able to grant their wishes.
“Waterfalls!” shouted one of my friends. Without command, the foreigners immediately jumped into the waterfall, whose water was very refreshing. Surprisingly, the rocks here are not slippery at all! I, who was traumatized because I had a bad experience with a waterfall, was just relaxing on the edge. But seeing the actions of other friends, I couldn’t stand it. Finally, I don’t regret jumping into the water, because the morning shower at this waterfall will be the only shower for the next three days. Moyo is fresh water paradise.
Satonda Island
It was still early in the morning when we arrived at Satonda. Hmm, this island is very interesting in my opinion. Because there is an ancient saltwater lake in the middle of this island, whose salt content is much higher than in the ocean itself. Fantastic! I tried a little water in this lake, very salty! (Yes, of course)
And snorkeling at Satonda can be said to be very special. Only a few meters from the beach near the harbor, the colorful fish and coral reefs are very tempting. In stark contrast to the lake on the island. There is almost no life there. Naturally, because the salt content is very high, there is no way that life can survive there. Except maybe with millions of years of evolution.
The ecosystem on Satonda Island is still very naturally preserved. Maybe because no one lives here except a few island guards for tourism purposes. Seen some bats and monkeys living freely here. In conclusion, Satonda is a very exotic island!
Once satisfied. The ship started moving again. “We are depart for Gili Laba on Flores, We sail overnight, twenty hours from here!” said one of the ship’s crew. (continued)
**
Komodo sailing trip story #2 : Gili Laba & Pink Beach
Komodo sailing trip #3 : Meet the Komo!
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