One night at Daniel’s, I looked around the dining area and noticed all the different conversations taking place. Russian, French, Spanish, Indonesian, Dutch, Canadian, a woman from China, a man from South Korea, a couple from England….what a mixed pot!
One of the Russian’s got a bit belligerent the next afternoon. I think substituting beer for lunch in a hot environment can make a person more susceptible to being a little goofy and stupid in the afternoon. A tense situation was abated when the managers of Daniel’s sent the boat to shore with these two guys to catch a bus to town. They didn’t understand there was no way for them to get where they wanted as it was too late and they had missed the deadline. Drunk and logic don’t mix.
Amidst a lot of confusion, I decided to leave yesterday. The confusion was about the ferry to the Togian Island and the method of getting there. Transport options ranged from bus to mini-bus to shared taxi to private taxi. Whether or not there was a ferry and when was a point of confusion. Where the taxi’s etc. where located and which would be the fastest connection presented another dilemma.
What I knew was that it was time to leave so I’d step into the experience and see what unfolded. After breakfast, I loaded my pack to start for the ferry when I was stopped by Helme. They loaded us (Rinald and Camille from France) onto their boat and dropped us so we wouldn’t have to walk.
A link to Daniel’s and their dive center: Daniel’s
Schedules here are pretty meaningless. The 8:00 am boat really loads at that time then mozies around the island to the other side where it parks and waits and finally leaves near 9:00. Thoughts of getting a car by 9:30 faded. Approaching land, a very assertive Indonesian woman told them to go to a different area. Looking where we were headed, no place to dock appeared. She walked to the back of the boat and told them clearly where to go and even where to dock with shore.
On land, we headed off to find the area where the shared taxi’s were stopping at an ATM on the way. Arriving at the Togian Islands, you need to bring all the money you expect to spend. The ATM didn’t work. The cars we talked to weren’t the shared taxi’s. The minivans either were all gone for the morning or we were being told that because they didn’t want to lose potential customers. Onward we walked toward a banking complex where the ATM did work. Back across the street with my friends, I noticed a hotel so went inside to ask them for directions.
The woman spoke little English but enough and was very intent in helping us by drawing a map and labeling it do we not only heard the words of where we were headed but saw the names in print. As we turned the corned looking for the shared taxi’s, a 4X4 Toyota drove by shouting toward us, “Gorontalo? Gorantalo?” and stopped. Here was our ride. A quick negotiation later and $120,000 rupiah lighter, we were off.
Our 8 hour ride lasted nearly 11 hours over rough and bumpy roads. I got the middle seat since they were nearly loaded. Middle as in not really a seat at all, just some thin padding over a hot transmission. My butt is still numb which is part of why I’m sitting and writing. It’s hard walking with a numb butt!
We had explained we wanted the night ferry to the Togian Islands and it was the only one. Taking our needs into consideration, they dropped everyone else off, shuttling them around Gorontalo, and eventually turned to us asking what hotel we wanted. Surprised, I told him again that we wanted the ferry for the Togian Islands. Several more times, he asked what hotel we wanted before he reluctantly drove out where the ferry terminal was. A gated entry suggested there was indeed no ferry!
He drove down and talked to a couple guys on motor bikes then stopped at a friends house, a friend who spoke English. He explained that there was no ferry, it was the night before. The next one would be the day after the day after. So, conceivably, there will be a ferry tomorrow night at 8:00 pm. Or maybe earlier, maybe on Friday….we think so!
Our driver was tired, had taken three hours longer than he promised and was now too tired to drive us back in town so we hired his friend and another with Tuk Tuk’s to drive us into town. He told us a hotel he would take us to. I remembered the one my friend Jerry from Holland mentioned, Hotel Mulati, and he nodded his head in agreement. “Nice hotel too”!
We checked in, then went walking looking for food. After about 45 minutes of looking, we were back at a market beside the hotel for a beer and were headed across the street to the vendors in the park. A voice behind stopped us. They also own the restaurant in front of our hotel and set about making Nasi Goerang for us. A very private dinner that was wonderful.
Looking ahead, I’m going somewhere sometime. If the ferry is here, I’ll be sitting in business class where the chairs recline and you can sleep for about $9.00 US tomorrow night headed for the Togian Islands. Once there, another boat will take me to a resort I want to visit. My friends Tory and Paul from England told me to expect to spend extra time here.
Here’s a link to the Gorontalo and Togian Islands area: Gorontalo and Togian Islands