Suka dan Duka di Indonesia: Expedition to the Banda Islands (Day 5)

As I stepped outside my room, my watch read 5:30AM. It was still dark out, grey clouds filled the sky, and a light mist settled over the bay. I walked to the kitchen and dining area where Pak George, Ali, and a couple others from Banda were waiting. We were about to embark on our hike to the summit of Gunung Api. For Pak George, this was just a nice morning exercise. George Tahija is the chair of CTC’s board and a prominent Indonesian business man. He has reached the summit of some of the tallest mountains in the world and is preparing to summit Aconcagua in Argentina, the tallest mountain in the southern and western hemispheres, to raise funds for CTC. I, on the other hand, have no experience climbing volcanoes or mountains, so this was to be a good physical test.

Contemplating my climb up Gunung Api

We took Pak George’s small boat to the base of Gunung Api. The 5 of us then began our journey up the volcano. There is only one trail to the summit and it is basically a straight vertical ascent. The trail begins as a dirt path through thick forest, but is overall manageable. Besides the burning of my quads and calves, I thought this was going to be a pretty easy climb. I was mistaken. About a fourth of the way up, the ground became rolling, unstable gravel and lava rock. For every one step forward, we took two steps back as rocks rolled down behind us. This combined with the vertical path made the climb up rather arduous. The only way not to fall was to grab on to the vines for stability, and every once in a while, a tree trunk provided some much needed relief. If the trail had been made to zig-zag up the mountain, this climb would have been much easier. As we got higher, the ground got steeper, and I found myself often on all fours scrambling up the slipping rocks. By this time it had started to drizzle, and I did not care about the dirt or scrapes all over my body, but just the thought of reaching the top. Climbing with the chair of the board and an avid mountain climber also provided some much needed intimidation and motivation to keep going.

After an hour and a half we broke through the forest and reached the barren, rocky summit of the volcano, 666 meters high. The view was breathtaking! With clouds to all directions, I couldn’t see a single thing! While I thought I should be disappointed by the fact that there was no view, I was just happy that I had reached the summit and completed my goal. While it is not a long climb, the conditions make it a challenging experience.

For the next 30 minutes we relaxed, re-hydrated, and took a few photos with the worn-down, damaged sign. I could smell the sulfur and there were still some warm spots from the spewing gas that served as a shelter from the cool, damp conditions. It was exciting and a little nerve-racking to think I was standing on the top of a still active volcano. We waited for a bit longer hoping the wind would blow the clouds past us so we could see the entire archipelago. Unfortunately, the clouds remained, so we decided to begin our journey back down.

Finally reach the summit!

Not much of a view

Group photo at the summit

We all dreaded the thought of going back down. Not only were we already sore, but we all knew what was ahead, and it didn’t seem any fun. Going down was definitely harder than going up and took much longer. It had started drizzling a bit more, so not only was the ground already loose rocks, but now it was slippery, loose rocks. With every step, I slipped a few steps down, and had to figure out a method to almost ski down the path as the rocks slipped out underneath my shoes. Grabbing onto trees and vines was a necessity to maintain balance and it was rather common to fall as the ground unexpectedly let go underneath.

Not too long after leaving the summit and slipping down the trail, the clouds opened up a little, offering an amazing view of the islands and life below. From the top of Gunung Api I could still hear the prayers at a mosque in Banda Besar. After five minutes of enjoying the view below and realizing how small the islands of Banda actually are, the clouds returned, and we continued on our way down.

View from the top of the volcano (just a bit too cloudy)

After two more hours of slipping, falling, scraping my hands and arms, and sweating like crazy, we finally made it back to the boat at the bottom of the volcano. It felt great to have accomplished that climb. What made it even better was realizing that this year marks 10 years since I had my brain surgery to remove a brain tumor, and 10 years since I started therapy to regain movement on my right side and build up my strength. While Gunung Api isn’t the most challenging of mountain climbs, it felt great to know that I can physically accomplish a challenge like climbing a volcano. Also, now that I have made it to the summit, I am now considered a citizen of Banda!

After washing up and eating some much needed lunch at the hotel, I met one of the village leaders for Banda Neira for an interview. Him, Bu Lilhy (from the conservation organization), and I sat down and talked for an hour. I asked him questions about the relationship between the Bandanese people and the sea as well as ceremonies, stories, and legends unique to Banda. While I knew how to ask these questions in Bahasa, understanding his answers was a whole different story. I think he knew that I was having trouble understanding most of what he was saying (despite my smiling and nodding), but nevertheless, he continued on and we talked for a good hour. My next task is to listen through and work with my co-worker Bimo on translating what he was actually talking about so we can create some new communication materials about Banda. Hopefully stories of people in Banda, like this village leader, will encourage other's to support CTC's valuable conservation and capacity building work. Of course, marine conservation is about protecting the coral reefs and marine environment, but a healthy marine environment means healthy people. The majority of people in Banda, and millions throughout Indonesia and the Coral Triangle, rely on the marine environment for their livelihoods. CTC's work to conserve the Coral Triangle and build capacity for marine conservation is thus an effort to safeguard the livelihoods of current and future generations who are directly connected with the ocean.

Interviewing one of the village leaders from Banda Neira

Before dinner, I had one thing left to do in Banda before I left on the plane the next day. Another of the countless reasons Banda is special is that it is home to the beautiful mandarin fish. Mandarin fish are small, multi-colored fish that live in the pacific. Since my days working in the New England Aquarium, they have been my favorite fish. Before learning the actual name, I used to call them mardigras fish, a testament to their psychedelic coloring. Fortunately, the best place to see mandarin fish in Banda is right at the front step of the hotel in between the rocks that line the wall. I walked over to the nearby dive shop and asked to borrow some equipment. After setting up my gear, I dove down to only about 2 meters and sat and waited for the fish to appear. The fish come out around sunset, so there was only a good 30 minute window to see the fish with adequate lighting. After waiting for about 10 minutes and cautiously avoiding the spiny urchins and venomous lion fish, a small, colorful fish appeared. It was the first mandarin fish that I have ever seen in the wild! I was so excited and started taking tons of pictures. While watching the small mandarin fish come out, I noticed something moving under a rock near my right hand. I lifted the rock, and there was a gray frogfish. These are very ugly and strange fish that actually walk on their fins. I have seen them on National Geographic, but never 2 feet away from me in real life! The sun started setting and the visibility was getting worse under water. However, more mandarin fish started to appear, and a group of five fish started swimming just a couple feet from me. They then started their daily mating dance, which they perform every evening. The male and female swim up vertical with their bellies touching each other, and then suddenly split apart and dart back down to the rocks to avoid any predators. This dance was repeated countless times as I watched, mesmerized by what I was witnessing.

Lionfish

Don't know what this fish is called, but its creepy

Blurry photo of a mandarin fish

More mandarin fish (again blurry)

Two mandarin fish performing their mating dance (blurry...again)

At least you can see the colors (but again...still blurry)

It started to get too dark to stay down, so after what felt like only 15 minutes, but what was really an hour, I got out of the water and cleaned my gear. We then headed up to one of CTC’s friend’s house in the center of the island for some fish soup, cassava, and a fish paste that took three days to cook in the sun. We then took a short walk around the village to collect some souvenirs (mostly nutmeg jam), and then went to sleep for our early morning flight on the 18 seat old Cessna plane that was making its last trip from Banda back to Ambon until next Christmas.

This was my Thanksgiving Day, and probably one of the most memorable Thanksgivings I will ever have. While I missed my family and everyone back home and wished I could be sitting at the table eating some turkey and apple pie, I loved my experience in Banda. Banda may be one of my favorite places I have ever visited in the world. Banda’s amazing and living history, beautiful reefs, and friendly people make this archipelago a true gem in the middle of a vast stretch of ocean. CTC is leading efforts to conserve Banda’s marine environment. They plan to establish a MPA network in Banda that will protect biodiversity but also safeguard local communities by ensuring adequate resources for local industries like fisheries and tourism. I am incredibly fortunate to have joined CTC on an amazing expedition to Banda and see firsthand what makes this place so special amongst Indonesia’s 17,000 islands. Hopefully someday I can return to this small archipelago that had such a large influence on world history, will play an important part in global marine conservation, and what I believe is one of the most unique places on earth.