Friday 16th August
I think a few
of my bloggeries have been lost in cyberspace so maybe nobody knows where we
are…
9 degrees
south, 120 degrees east – on the beautiful island of Sumba.
We left
Nemberala with beautifully clean, dried, folded laundry, thanks to Mamma Effie
who works out of this hi-tech establishment:
who works out of this hi-tech establishment:
It cost us
approx. $15 plus two cold cokes from Jenet’s Café (opposite Mama’s.) One coke for Mama Effie, one for her sturdy,
smiling young underling… We were SO relieved to see this capable young woman
carrying our bags of washing; the thought of tiny, frail Mamma Effie pounding
away at our sheets on a rock in the river…well it didn’t bear conspiring! But Mamma Effie outsources!!!
We had a
beautiful sail from Rote Island to Sumba.
Not sure what
we expected…
But as we
cruised along the coast I was startled to see what looked to me
like…Africa! A bit of gentle scrub on
the coast, limitless savannah rolling away into the hills…
Any minute
would there be giraffes??? Elegant
springbok?? Maybe a meerkat or two??
Once we
actually got on land our perspective changed…
And did you
know that Sumba, pop. 700,000 has a large and thriving town called
Waingtapu?? With roads, schools,
impressive buildings, buses, the works??
LOVE it!!
We arrived at
dark – bad mistake, but there was nowhere to stop – the wind had changed and we
couldn’t go and anchor on a lee shore with an easterly blow…
NO idea where
we were or what was happening, other than a bit of a biff and a bang on some
unexpected rocks…
Oh deary me…
(my language, not Pete’s…)
We eventually
dropped anchor in some deep water in what looked to be a big harbor and hoped
for the best.
The next
morning, early…
All was
well! We were not far at all from where
we should be, anchored happily next to Marieke* III, a Swedish Rally boat.
And the Men
With Guns were here to help us!
We have been
having a most fabulous – if exhausting – time and I can’t recommend Sumba more
highly.
If you are a
VIP celebrity guest, as we are…
Yesterday we
had a late afternoon tour, but first kind Steve (the one without uniform or
gun) took us on a quest to find someone to fix my internet problem.
This man,
appropriately called Hart (Heart??) from Lombok Teknik – his own business
empire in Sumba – very patiently re-configured my modem.
And did it
AGAIN in the early afternoon when it stopped working… (I was very upset…)
We went back to
see him on motorbike/taxi (ojek.) This
is an AFTER photo
Because I am
smiling…
Our tour began
with a trip to the market.
Dried fish – so
pretty, but possibly yucky…
Beautiful
children – naturally…
And another one...
The rest is a bit of a blur but we went, I know, to an ikat-weaving village, and then to see some young children dancing. SO beautiful, these kiddiewinks…
The rest is a bit of a blur but we went, I know, to an ikat-weaving village, and then to see some young children dancing. SO beautiful, these kiddiewinks…
They got us all
up on stage, of course. Ingvar and Seija
are great; they join in with enthusiasm and are very good company.
Here they are
with Pete, all in Rally t-shirts… I have a similar one but…it is TOO HOT to
wear such a thing for a True Tasmanian!!
Seija,
originally Finnish but now Swedish, was a language teacher – she and I sneak
off to speak French together. And Ingvar
had the COOLEST job ever…he was a zoo vet and travelled the world to all major
zoos!!
Seija told me
that they have scoured the Indonesian dictionaries for a word for vet. Animal
doctor? WHAT could this mean??? Too weird for words, literally!!
They have tigga laki-laki…(three sons) in their
30s and 40s. And a smattering of little ones coming up. We are very much enjoying their company.
Which is a good
thing as…we are the only ones….
And we are
getting a LOT of attention!
This morning at
9.00 we set off in triumphal (I AM NOT KIDDING!!) procession. A blue car - Pete, me, Sam (guide) Igor
(driver) Arris and Alex (extras) in the back seat… A red car with Steve (guide), Seija and Ingvar,
driver, Immanuel and…entourage… An outrider car with people from the Department
of Tourism. A police car behind.
And a police car in front of us going WHEEEOOOOO WHEEEOOOO all the way for 200 ks!!
We stopped and had lunch at a dam and looked down...
We stopped and had lunch at a dam and looked down...
And look what
we saw – no not monkeys!
But a BIG
estuarine crocodile!! WOWEE!!
The villages we
went to (Prailiu, Umabara, Melolo –don’t take my word for this…it all got a bit
jumbled in our heads…) had huge stone tombs, part of the animist religion. They had been dragged from the top of a
hill, down a valley, up a hill, into position…and then…crash CRUSH! Hmm,
said Ingvar, then I suppose they had to
go and get more huge rocks to bury the forty who died…
The children
love playing in and around the tombs
We had a
weaving demo or two…
This afternoon
we had another dancing session.
Oh so lovely!
So much joy,
stories, music, drumming!!
The younger
boys and girls were so full of fun and laughter; we love every minute.
And afterwards
I took photos of them – look how full of life, wickedness, mischief they are!!
Immanuel took
lots of photos with my camera.
This is me
looking as polite as can be when offered betel nut… SO TOTALLY YUCKY!!!
Tomorrow…
OH YES tomorrow
is another day and it begins at 7.30am!!
Indonesian Independence
Day!
In the morning
we are expected, all dressed up, at a ceremony.
And in the
evening…a gala dinner and we are being dressed in…traditional costume!!
Yes there will
be photos…
Aaagghh…
But
seriously…come to Sumba; it is SO wonderful!
* Marieke III named for one of my very
favourite Jacques Brel songs these
people are COOL!!
Birthday accolades – today it is – Fleur Harmsen! I did try to ring, this morning…it went to
yuckerella MessageBank… And when we got back from our L-O-N-G tour today…it was
too late in Tasmania. But Fleur, Pete
and I did think of you…and had a belated G &T in your honour!
One of my best
FleurStories indicates what a very good person she is… She is a quiet, gentle, self-effacing woman.
We all know
this…
So WHY…when we
went to see Barrie Humphries at Wrest Point Casino, and we had first choice of
seats as we walked in – Harmens are hyper-punctual – did I say, brightly, Let’s sit in the front rows.
Fleur knew she
was doomed….
I did NOT mean
to be so unkind!
Dame Edna raked
the crowd with his/her cruel, piercing eyes and selected his/her prey. And what is your name, dear? Fleur quivered and looked at Dad, with some
anguish. Dad hissed, Say your name is Claire!! (Fleur would have made her even more of a
target for Dame E…) It didn’t work… So you don’t know your own name? You have to ask your ventriloquist? And it was all GO for the rest of the
evening. Fleur and a few other victims
were dragged, willy-nilly, onto the stage, where they had to wave gladioli
suggestively in the air – THRUST!! And do all manner of indelicate things with
cucumbers. The whole Dame Edna
routine.
When we left, a
few people came up to Fleur and said, Well done! What a good sport you are!
INDEED!!
And…she still
speaks to me!!
Thankyou for visit sumba
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