Saturday 17th August
Snapshot: It is 5pm and we have a brief respite
from celebrations. Pete is writing a
speech and I am drinking a much-needed cup of tea and playing with my
computer. I have been for a bit of a
swim around the boat so I have cooled down; this constitutes my Beauty
Treatment for this evening. On the boat
next door things are much the same.
Ingvar is inside, writing emails, and Seija too has been swimming around
the boat… At 6.30 we are due back on
shore. There is a hue gala dinner and we
are guests of honour (hence Pete’s speech…)
Alex, one of our guides, is waiting with itak weavings in hand, at the
house of the president of the regency… The itak is for us. We are all four of us going to be all dressed
up in Sumbanese national costume…Seija and I are just slightly worried that we
won’t fit into the clothes…we are both just slightly bigger than the average
local woman…
Today is
Indonesian Independence Day. We went to
shore at 7.30 and were ceremonially driven to the parade ground (not very far
at all…but we are celebrities and as such need to be driven in our entourage.)
We had front
row seats and little snacks and drinks of water, all very nice. And we all loved the precision marching:
The
speeches…not so much…especially as we were expected to stand for the
duration. But…all very interesting, and
so nice to be surrounded by such hospitable, beaming people.
After this,
back into the cars to go to another traditional village, Prainatang, with itak
weavings and megalithic tombs. This was
quite awe-inspiring…it was a truly ancient, inhospitable place, built on the
top of a barren, stony hill:
The only reason
it was built up there on this stony, arid ground, was because it was easily
fortified.
One of the traditional
dances we saw yesterday involved a ceremony from this very village, with the
gate keeper calling, basically, Who goes
there, friend or foe? A friend or
family member was welcome, a foe not so much – there is a big dry branch stuck
upright in the ground with three pointy limbs, for displaying the heads of any
foe who dared to breach the ramparts…
I have been
waiting to capture my ideal Sumbanese house, all cosy, like a big woven basket,
with a big thatched roof. This was my
opportunity… But the houses up here are not very cosy…they are very old, very
dry. And I suspect that nobody much
actually lives there…except for a litter of hot little pups…
There are
rivers on either side of the village, but a long LONG way down, with steep ravines. Any water has to be carried up…by women,
using some sort of utensil to balance on their heads. Down in the valleys it is quite green and
fertile…I think only a few crusty old custodians live up here, with the tombs
for company…
Up on the
plateau it is horse country. Not much for
them to eat…
or drink but
they seem quite happy – they have freedom, and the company of friends.
Our entourage grew
today – not only a police escort, but a vanguard of ambulance!
On the way back
we stopped at a little resort, owned by a Balinese man.
It was just lovely!
Go there!
We were only supposed
to stop for light refreshment but…the Komodo Rally tribe was restive and dug in
its heels… Ingvar, Seija, Pete and I had a most delicious lunch and very much enjoyed
our time sitting in this lovely dining area.
We had a tour of
the rooms and were all very tempted to hop off our boats for a night or two…
So now we are
having our boat time…
I will close with
a photo of a small boy on a small horse…
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