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| Banda islands- Christmas 2009-Whole Family Wilkinson! |
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21 Feb 2010 (161 days ago)
Christmas 2009
Wilkinson Family trip to Banda
From diary notes
22nd December
15 of us gathered in Kuala Lumpur- Grannie, Sally and Peter with Holly and Sam from London, Bill and Anne with Ben, Lara and Ellie from Sydney, and the 5 of us from Penang. We flew Air Asia to Menado, Sulawesi- 3hours 50 min flight- where we arrived for dinner and quick to bed.
23rd December
Woke at 5am, coached to the airport and flew-1.5 hour flight- over spectacular terrain to Makassar, South Sulawesi, where we had a 3 hour wait. We hung out to J Co Doughnuts and had reflexology. KFC was ordered too! Then we flew onto Ambon- 1.5 hour flight.
In Ambon we all got registered, met Wouter and then whisked off in 4 vans to a wonderful pebble beach- a shame about the rubbish in Ambon- where 2 runs in the speedboat got us all on board.
Then it was straight on to Banda on calm seas. We celebrated Sam's birthday with a cake specially made by Adi- icing, candles and all!
Sunset was a stunner and as we sailed alongside Ambon and out to sea a large pod of Pilot Whales finned lazily about the boat. Their fins caught the last rays of sun and they glistened as they surfaced out the water. There was a lot of them!
Dinner was fabulous- an Indonesian welcome- curry, gado-gado, chicken satay and prawns. Jack, our chef did a great job. We ate it all!
We then set about decorating the Christmas tree we had brought with us. The kids and I set it up in the Salon, ready for Christmas Eve.
Then we all crashed and slept. The sea was calm with the odd roll through the night.
24th December
Up at 7am to find the Allens already at the breakfast table. As we sailed on the kids decorated their own Christmas decorations for the tree tonight. They did the most lovely stars!
We arrived at Run- where the poor Brit Nathanial Copthorn and his men, of "Nathanlal's Nutmeg" died trying to keep the tiny island of Run and the minute Nailaka, from the Dutch. I always wonder at the thought of all the brutal history of this little remote place, always so beautiful but now practically forgotten. I went for a dive- my first in 3 years!- with Wouter and Anne. It was very pretty and once I had settled into it I enjoyed it despite the fact that I was not breathing out long enough and in too much of a rush to breathe in again! Great coral, lots of fish, really pretty. I came up early and Wouter and Anne went on.
I joined everyone else snorkeling, which I totally love because I can just hang above the corals and take in the colours and the patterns and the fish and try to make it all stick in my head for my paintings. Swimming in Banda is like being in a giant swimming pool full of coral and big fish. It is all supersized. A shoal of huge parrot fish 'sailed' by looking at us, pooping non stop and clouding up the water.
We all went back for a relaxed lunch of chicken stir fried with peppers, and rice. All of us happy to be in the sun and sea. Wouter then took some of the group out for a 10 minute intro dive whilst I went snorkeling with the kids. Our shoal of 40 parrot fish came in over the reef and we were treated to the sight and sound of them all crunching through the coral. It was great and they were funny- quite curious creatures, coming very close to us to inspect us with their knowing eyes.
Then, we were off to Pulau Ai for the sunset. We all got off onto the beach- except for Arthur who was asleep.
It was hot. Had a quick snorkel with the kids and then hung out on the beach whilst the bar was brought over. Bonfire was built, great gin and tonics and a gorgeous sunset over Run.
The younger kids made a separate little fire and then spent their time stoking it- loving it!
We board Tiger Blue in the dark and sailed onto to our night mooring at the base of Gunung Api. We pulled out the Christmas Tree hats we brought for the kids and sung Christmas carols on the high seas! Tessa had bought a CD with a book of all the songs. It was great fun and really set the tone for Christmas- getting the kids into the swing of Christmas Eve.
Dinner was oxtail soup, roast duck, great vegetables washed down with mulled wine. Divine!
Sally and I managed to get the kids to bed and set up the stockings on deck for Santa. We then set up the Christmas Tree on the deck dining table. Looked wonderful, then to bed to await the arrival of Santa sometime in the night!
Christmas Day!
Woke early to find Sally and Peter hard at work. Sally was making fake snow to put on the tree and the dining table. Amazing stuff! I got all the little presses out and, voila! we had a fully dressed tree! We had breakfast as we waited for the kids to wake up.
Then they were up, stockings tipped out, presents opened, a lovely Christmas morning! As breakfast was being eaten there was a commotion on the shore and a kora-kora boat was being hauled through the undergrowth and into the sea.
They came rowing out to us shouting and at racing speed, paddled around us and then headed to the channel into Banda Neira. Wouter whistled for them to come back and they all paddled alongside us and waited for us to lift anchor. Wouter had arranged a special Christmas day welcome to Banda!
This was very exciting- we lifted anchor and immediately the kora- kora oarsmen went into racing mode and Tiger Blue raced them alongside through the channel. 26 men pulling oars as fast as they could and we were head to head. We were all on the bowsprit shouting them on, their boat master pouring water over his oarsmen to keep them cool. They were wonderful. They then turned into us and were right under the bow spit and we were forced to turn to avoid a collision- a racing tactic they had obviously employed before! And then we let them win………of course! It was all laughs and waves as we said good bye to them.
We immediately prepared to go on shore at Des Alwi's hotel and were thrilled to see him there as we landed. we had a quick chat with him and then went up to tour the island.
First to the museum and onto Fort Belgica. Everyone enjoyed the hike up the steps to the Fort but it was really swelteringly hot. We had thought about climbing the volcano but with the the kids, grannie and family out to relax we decided against the volcano hike, which is not easy. Everyone was happy with this decision as we climbed up the fort steps!
We lingered for a bit on the ramparts of Fort Belgica and enjoyed the views.
Tiger Blue looked amazing in the bay below Gunung Api. Peter bought the Tshirt " A Fish called Banda" and I bought some lovely green pearls at INR150,000 a string. We walked back down the steps of the fort where a trishaw was waiting. Grannie was put into this. Water was purchased and we strolled along to the Governors House where we were allowed to wander in. It has a great veranda and would make a fabulous home.
The kids then all got trishaws and went off in a chatter. We strolled along via Fort Nassau and the market. I bought bundles of real cinnamon, nutmegs, kenari toffee and biscuit cinnamon rolls which would be delicious stuffed with cream and a cup of strong coffee! I also managed to buy a nutmeg picker, a woven contraption that is attached to a long stick allowing you to pry the nutmeg off the tree and it falls into the basket below instead off getting bruised on the ground. As usual I could not resist the odd little woven basket- this one used to steam rice or cassava pulp.
We also stopped into the Chinese temple which was totally delightful and charming. We had not seen this on our last trip and it is certainly worth the time.
There are tables in here that are made with 1 big square plank of wood and these are stunning pieces of furniture. Unfortunately the Church was closed and locked up, the main service this year being held on Pulau Ai. It was a shame because the family missed seeing the wonderful floor with its carved granite grave stones. Next time…..
Back to the hotel where we found Des holding court at the table set out with tea, cakes, sweet pastries and nutmeg jam.
Des was wonderfully chatty and told us that Bill Bailey bought the lease on one house for about £200,000 and was setting up his English school for Banda. Des also gave us copies of maps and letters which outlined the wonderful story of the taking of Fort Belgica by the British Captain Cole. It was an amazing incident in the history of Banda and I'm surprised not more is said of Captain Cole. He was given a house in Banda- now in a state of sad disrepair but you can see it would have been lovely in its heyday.
Back on board Tiger Blue we had steamed Emperor fish, blackened Emperor fish, deep fried garoupa, stir fried beef, broccoli and rice. It was fabulous!
It was boiling in the afternoon sun with lots of flies in Neira harbour. After much sorting we set off with the kids to our named 'Catseye beach' on Banda Besar.
We snorkeled. It was calm and fantastic and the coral had improved dramatically from last year. This was a great sign. There was a lot of fish life with many many varieties. We spent a long time in the water and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is something so special about being on a beach, away from everything, no TV, phones, computers and watching kids play, a volcano in the background, a jungle behind us, lots of sand and sea. It is totally blissful.
Wouter arrived later and took Ben, then Lara for their first proper dive. The younger kids and I looked for catseyes and this beach never disappoints. Catseyes are the operculium - the 'door' of a mollusk shell, and by the size of some you can find on the beach, these are huge. David managed to find a live shell while snorkeling and showed the kids how the mollusk uses its door to keep itself sealed and protected.
We had a lovely ride back in the speedboat now anchored back under the volcano. As we came up to Tiger Blue we noticed a huge fig tree in fruit, full of the lovely large pink pigeons of Banda. They are big, hoot and really are the loveliest shade of powder pink. Gorgeous things!
The girls and I had outdoor hair washes on the dive platform and we changed- fresh and clean and now suntanned- the girls looking picture perfect with their flushed cheeks. We enjoyed our gin and tonics during sunset and Anne had arranged Chris Cringle- a game involving swopping silly presents. It was great fun.
Then dinner of steak and chips and salad followed by a fruit sponge cake. Its amazing how hungry you get on these trips! I completed the evening with a small g&t and lovely chit chat with my 2 big boys watching the stars on the deck bed. The stars really didn't disappoint here and the night skies are wonderful to stare at. All the little girls slept on deck with grannie and Ed. Arthur took the bunk room with Lara and sam spent the night with his mum and dad in the cabin. A really wonderful Christmas Day!
26th December
We lifted anchor over bacon sandwiches and went out to Hatta island and its atoll. It was a lovely sail behind Banda Besar- lovely jungle, big trees, wonderful water and you could anticipate a very big sea when the weather was bad.
Hatta is a pretty island with swaying palm trees and low hills that come down to the sea and white beaches. Blue sea that splashes pure white on the shore.
The atoll was something altogether amazing though. It appears as a smudge of the most glorious turquoise in the middle of deep blue, the reef just below the water surface. Tiger Blue idled here as we fished,snorkeled and dived. I really enjoyed this amazing coral garden. Again it seems like the coral is growing, recovering super sized. Lots of soft corals and lots of fish. Wrasse, parrot fish, fusileers, rainbow runners, all curious and then come in to check you out. On the atoll above the reef you get bobbed up and down quite a bit and this keeps you alert but there are clear bombes you can stand and rest on to clear your mask or take a rest because although you don't notice the current you are moving quite a bit to adjust to the up and down motion of the sea over the reef. It is quite tiring and its easy to forget how long you are floating about.
After exploring the atoll, the wind picked up and we moved around to Hatta but could not anchor as it was too deep. The boys went off for a dive and Peter and I went to check out the beach.
White sand, lovely trees, lots of birds. the reef protected this beach so much that you could still see footprints of the local fisherman on the sand in the lagoon. The water was hot like a bath, too warm, incredibly still and even when you splashed around in it because the sand was so fine, your footprints remained imprinted under the water. It was weird. Seagrass made it look green under water and crabs made little 'fortresses'- they looked like sandcastles- below water. I found a fantastic broken nautilus shell on the beach- a real treasure.
Kids and grannie arrived later, as did the boys.
Wouter brought along the drinks and gin and tonic- good man! And we all rested on this quiet beach- another lovely end to the day.
We were tendered to tiger Blue just as the sunset fired up the sky and Hatta's coconut trees displayed their shapes against the horizon.
We sailed back in the dark to our calm anchorage under Guning Api. We enjoyed scrumptious beef satay, kangkong and rice on the way.
27th December
Tiger Blue lifted anchor and we set off for Catseye Beach for the day. We all walked, collected shells and found shards of old Chinese pottery washed up by the sea, snorkeled. The water temperature was fabulous and it was so clear. Those who wanted to dived and came up so happy!
David and I took out the little tender and did a recci round the back of the island. David snorkeled on the underwater lava rock shelf that sloped up into the beach. i walked the beach and found this rock shelf fascinating. The lava rock has melted and corals had become embedded into it- it looked like pieces of dark coral had been pressed into soft dark toffee and hardened- like a toffee brittle. The vegetation here was especially lush and green, there is coconut plantations and signs on the beach asking people not to take sand away- obviously this is needed of construction. It was goo dot see that people here are policing this kind of activity as it would change the whole landscape dramatically if sand was being removed at any commercial level. This 'back' of Banda Besar is very attractive, with turquoise spots of water , craggy rocky ridges coming out of the sea and big trees hanging over the water. It would be good to spend more time here on a future trip.
Back on board for lunch we had amazing fried fish in batter. Giant trivially- delicious! after lunch david, sally and I went back to Neira to see if we could take a look inside Captain Coles house. We had arranged this with Des Alwi the day before. On arrival we met 2 Dutch guests who were now stranded on band by the cancelled flight. They were worried that they would miss their flight out of Bali as it looked like they could not get off the island for a week.
The keys to Coles House were found for us and we were shown in.
It was sadly a mess, a lot of the woven bamboo ceiling fallen in, It has been left and bizarrely, there were 2 wax figures of soldiers- one with a gun and bayonet charging towards you and it was startling as the main door was opened.
Despite the mess it really wouldn't take a lot to get it into shape and I must say that the temptation to get hold of this building was rising in me. There were a few pictures and copies of paintings on a abroad, all dusty and fading. behind the house, the old officers mess is now tenanted with various families and if Des Alwi does get the funds to restore tis building, they would have to be moved or incorporated into the project.
As we left the house we bumped into Des Alwi in his Toyota Landcruiser and he insisted we take a drive with him. he showed us all the properties available for restoration or projects, if we were interested. he then showed us old photos of the perkenier houses before they were ruined. Des also said that he was stranded with his guests. He was supposed to have left the island and met his family in Bali for New Year. Des also told us about "Spongybi"- Spanish Bay, his nutmeg plantation and suggested that we take a look at it and the ruins of the house there. I have seen paintings of Spanish Bay, done at the time by the soldiers and explorers of old and we decided to try to take a look later in the day and visit this nutmeg plantation instead of making the climb to Lontar.
We left Tiger Blue at Catseye Beach and visited 'Spongybi' with great success.
The ruins of the house sit on the shore with a fabulous view of sierra and Gunung Api- it is just as in the old paintings. The view has not changed.
We walked to the back of the ruin and into the plantation. the nutmeg trees full of fruit shaded by wonderful kenari trees.
These old kenari trees are really impressive with their buttress roots. They traditionally provide shade for the more delicate nutmeg trees and provide the 'almond' which can be eaten raw or cooked- in a stew or put into toffee brittle.
We took a short very pleasant walk through the nutmeg trees followed by an interested group of villagers and children. I learnt that the Banda Islands produce 200 tones of nutmeg a year. It is sent on to jakarta and exported. Still a substantial amount of nutmeg.
We took the speedboat past Niera and through the harbour between Gunung Api to meet Tiger Blue in our calm bay below the volcano.
The kids were then treated to the knee board and spent ages being towed around the boat. they had to stop in the end only because it got dark.
As we sipped our gin and tonics on top deck, our last evening in Banda we sent a message to Des and his 2 Dutch guests that we could offer them passage to Ambon with us next morning.
Our last dinner was pork ribs, sashimi, salad, chips, baked potatoes and cake for dessert. We all crashed at bedtime and slept well until woken by the sound of water…rain!
28th December
Woke up to find Des Awl and his 2 Dutch guests already on board.
We chatted and discovered that he was a dutch architect now working for the Dutch government and he had come out to offer the advise and instructions to restore 'Spanish Bay'. This is to be restored by the Dutch government and work was to start immediately. Spanish Bay is expected to be restored in 6 months. This was exciting news because if we visit next year we will see it. I was also excited to tell our friend Yu Chee who specializes in old maps, prints and paintings of this area. Yu Chee exhibits and has published the old paintings in various catalogues and books through work with her gallery in Paris.
The rain in the night had given us a hint of what to expect of our return trip to Ambon. It was windy and, not rough, but there was a swell and the waves were choppy. As we set off for a quick stop at 'Bird Island', a rocky outcrop that plunges down to a depth of 2000 meters we could see that we have a wet passage.
At 'Bird Island' Bill went trolling, the boys went diving and David, Sally and myself and the kids took the kids snorkeling. this wasn't that easy here because it was a bit choppy with the little ones but the sights beneath were lovely. There was a lot of green corals here, lots of outcrops, a dramatic undersea scape. Time was running and we were back on board quickly and setting off to be back in Ambon in time to get our early morning flight out.
As the passage progressed it got windier and we managed very well to avoid a great big black cloud and band of rain and wind bearing down to the side of us. We skipped to the right of it and missed it, getting just a bit showery and wet. I spent my time in the cabin reading- which I hadn't done at all at any other time, I packed and gathered our belongings from around Tiger Blue, and slept early. We had a 4 am wake up call.
Our guests did well during the night, not getting too wet and spent their time in the salon. The kids all slept well.
29th December
We set off for the beach on Ambon in the dark but the colour of the sunrise just starting to light up Ambon harbor. It is a truly stunning setting. and we were on the rocky beach with vans waiting in sunlight. Quick good byes to our passengers at the side of the road and to the airport and off to our flight to Jakarta and on home to Penang.
This trip was wonderful. There was 15 of us with a mixed group of adults, teenagers and younger ones. Everyone had beds and everyone throughly enjoyed themselves. There was plenty to do all the time, always a space to find for privacy if you wanted it and the time went too too fast. It was really sad to say good bye to Tiger Blue and we really had to pull ourselves away from her and the wonderful crew that looked after us all that time. And, we all felt major culture shock to be thrown back into civilisation after all that time on the gorgeous islands of Banda. |
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