On December 23rd, I, along with my co-workers including Bimo (communications manager), Boy (training coordinator), Bu Rili (executive director), and two consultants, Ben and Jost, traveled from Bali to Jakarta and then Jakarta to Ambon. Ambon itself was an interesting place with nice
bays with a city-like feel. After a
feast of fresh grilled fish, shrimp, various soups, and sayurs (veggies), we
all headed back to our hotel rooms to get some much needed rest. Waking early the next day, we all packed into
the vans and drove the 45 minute trip to the bay where we met our spaceship
like torpedo boat.
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| Our torpedo shaped boat that we took to Banda |
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| The cockpit |
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| My coworkers enjoying the very spacious interior |
We thus began our
five and a half hour journey from Ambon to Banda. The ride was surprisingly smooth and while my
stomach would at times feel a little bit queasy sitting and reading inside the
torpedo shaped interior, I spent most of my time sitting out of one of the
hatches off the port side. With the
breeze in my face and nothing but open water ahead, the trip brought me back to
the sweet memories of sailing the Corwith Cramer up the Central Atlantic and
longing to be back on a sailboat.
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| View from the boat's hatch |
I
spent a while talking with Ben who is a Cetacean expert who has been doing work
with whales and dolphins throughout Indonesia for quite some time. The Banda Sea is unique in that it is
extremely deep. At one point we were
only 3km off of the shore and it was already 1 km deep. The deepest we ended up passing through was
about 4.5 km. This creates perfect
places for upwelling and the collection of nutrients and thus plenty of fish, which
attracts various species of whales including orcas and sperm whales. Keeping an eye out on the horizon for any
blows from a whale, all I saw were a bunch of birds called boobies which are a
sign of a healthy ecosystem since if they are flying around that means there
are fish, and when there are fish there are whales! While taking a break and eating inside the
boat, Ben knocks on the roof and said he saw 4 beak whales which are pretty
rare to find. Unfortunately, we were
driving too fast and did not see them surface again.
About 4
hours into our journey, a cone-shaped figure appeared on the horizon straight
ahead. I knew right away this was Gunung
Api, the volcanic island of the Banda archipelago that is infamous for its
eruptions, the last one occurring in 1988.
Seeing this small cone protruding out of the ocean was a surreal
experience as I imagined the countless sailors, Dutch and English, who would
spend weeks on end doing the same journey from Ambon that took us 5 hours. I can imagine the relief they must have felt
as the crew around them dropped likes flies to various sicknesses and
malnutrition. I can also imagine the
excitement they must have had knowing that what was ahead was a natural
treasure chest of nutmeg that could make any man at that time rich beyond their
dreams. I could not believe that I was
approaching the islands I had been reading about, and that had served as one of the
most important places for European and consequently, world history. I cannot describe in words how fortunate I
felt and continue to feel to be able to explore and see first-hand these
historically and naturally rich, remote islands.
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| The first sight of Gunung Api. A view thousands of sailor before me have experienced |
As we
approached closer to the chain, many of the other islands were visible, and
surprisingly not too far, which was much different compared to what I had
thought based on the accounts of long journeys between islands from my book. One island that excited me the most was Run,
one of the westernmost islands in the Bandas.
Coincidentally, I had just finished the chapter in my book about the
English spice trader,
Nathaniel Courthope’s, 2 year stand against
the Dutch on Run as it served as the last of the Banda Islands yet to be
conquered by the Dutch. The island of
Run was later made famous for an extremely important trade. The British, who owned Run, traded the island
for a similarly Dutch-owned small island called New Amsterdam, which is now
known as Manhattan!
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| Run Island |
Passing
by Gunung Api and the lava flow that was created during the 1988 eruption, we
entered the protected bay. Stepping onto
land at our hotel, I could already feel the rich history as if I was
transported back to the 17
th century. I could picture the fleets of ships coming
into the bay and people walking throughout the port, preparing shipments of
spices and bartering deals. The hotel we
are staying at was built by Des, one of the most historical figures in
Indonesia who played an important role in the Indonesian revolution. After a quick lunch and a briefing of our
schedule, we moved our bags into our seafront rooms overlooking Gunung Api.
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Gunung Api and part of the lava flow from 1988
(notice the little hut on the right corner. I wouldn't want to live there) |
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| Our hotel |
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| Waterfront view from my room |
With 2
hours to spare, I decided to walk around and get a feel of the island. We were on Banda Neira, which is the most
populated island in the Bandas and served as the central stronghold for the
Dutch East Indies Company. While walking
along the streets, I did not feel like I was still in Indonesia. The buildings were mixed with old Dutch
architecture and newer buildings with similar structure yet more colorful. It looked more like some places I had already
experienced in Bermuda rather than Indonesia.
One of the first buildings I passed was a mosque, which is a testament
to the majority Muslim population on the islands. While I continued, my first sign of history
rested in front of me on the side of the street. 2 large rusted cannons rested off to the
side, probably about 400 years old when they were likely being used to fire at
Bandanese or English ships.
I
continued walking along the road and paused to take a photo of a historic
house. As I was taking some photographs
I heard in a high-pitched giggling voice, “ayo masuk” (“come in”). I turned and there were a group of 7
children, mostly girls laughing with each other and asking if I would enter
their school. I followed them in and met
their teacher. The teacher holds
voluntary English lessons every Sunday free for any interested student. It was great to see this group of kids voluntarily
spending a Sunday studying English. We
talked for a while and the kids practiced their English while I practiced my
Indonesian. After going through some
introductions in English and some charts about their favorite animals, I asked
them if they have seen coral reefs. They
all replied yes and said they love to swim and watch the fish and reefs. This was extremely nice to hear because in
Bali, most people I talk to either don’t swim, and if they do, they have never
seen a coral reef. Just from this one
conversation with the kids, I could tell the people of Banda have a strong
connection with the ocean.
We
continued to walk along the narrow roads with warungs and stalls to either
side. While the people and the shops
were clearly Indonesian in nature, they existed within a very European
foundation that made the entire area feel a bit surreal. We passed one doorway and saw 4 people
sorting through nutmeg. They invited us
in and I got my first look at what Europeans had killed each other and sailed
for years to obtain back in the 16
th to 19
th centuries. The room we entered was a processing center
for nutmeg that had been freshly harvested.
The pungent fruity smell was the first thing I noticed as I stepped into
the room. In the back of the room was a
large, endless pile of thousands of nutmeg.
Unfortunately, the prices have changed since the 1600s, and while the
amount of nutmeg I was standing in front of would make a man 400 years ago rich
beyond his dreams, presently, it doesn’t get me a big profit. Once the nutmeg is dried the 4 people by hand
sort through each nutmeg and make sure to choose the best ones. I talked with the Ibu who ran the processing
facility and she told me that all of the nutmeg was destined for Surabaya via a
boat that was currently docked in port.
From Surabaya, the nutmeg would be exported to China. After reading about the historical spice
trade, there I was, standing in front of the modern day spice trade. I was very happy that I had not had to travel
for 2 or 3 years and loose hundred of my crew before I could enjoy the plentiful
nutmeg.
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| A gateway from the old to the new |
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| Nutmeg processing room |
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| LOTS of nutmeg |
Bimo
and I continued along the streets, passing by various stores, fruit and
vegetable stands, and eventually a fish market with various catch of the day
sitting out waiting to be bought. In
addition, the fishermen had set out hundreds of sliced fish to dry in the
sun. We walked along the rest of the
road until we reached our hotel. Even
though I had only been walking around Banda for 1.5 hours, I already felt the
uniqueness, charm, and beauty that so many people had told me about. Even though history is in the past, I felt
like I was living amongst it, and witnessing it firsthand.
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| A cute kitten |
After
walking around the area, we all proceeded up the hill towards Fort
Belgica. Along the walk we passed
several broken walls that were clearly built when the Dutch had first arrived
to the islands. Mixed with the stone
were large chunks of coral used to help build up the walls. As we approached Fort Belgica, I again
experienced the surreal feeling of being transported back in time. Belgica, was one of the Dutch’s most
strategic strongholds to maintain control of the Banda Islands and had a
perfect view of most of the surrounding bays as well as Gunung Api. Unfortunately, the gate was already
closed. I thought we would have to turn
around, but instead, another co-worker, Marthen, made a quick phone call and then
an old man who has been a guard for many of the cultural sites since the early
70s came over on the back of a motorbike.
Supposedly, this man has most of the keys to the cultural buildings on
the island. He opened the gate and the
large doors to the fort as we got to experience our own private viewing of one
of the most important historical sites for the world spice trade. Walking around the top floor of the fort and
climbing up the wobbly ladder to the top garrison, I could picture the Dutch
men looking out onto the bay and horizon to make sure no Englishmen tried to
come to the islands and take their valuable spice. Again, I felt so fortunate to be sitting on
top of Fort Belgica’s garrison looking out to Gunung Api as the sun set behind
it. Never in my wildest dreams did I
ever think I would be coming to a place so remote, so historically important,
and so beautiful.
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