Month in Mind

Before the Dili-dallying noted below there was a month of travel that took me from Sumba to Bali then all the way to Flores and West Timor...what the hell happened then. It's hard to say, but in this hot, stuffy room I remember this:

2 buffalo and 6 pigs being sacrificed right in front of me. I watched with the entire village that I was visiting. I just happened to come upon it and someone told me they were sacrificing the very buffalo that was resisting being pulled from his area...you could tell he just knew. With machete in hand these men with traditional selendang on their heads thrust their machetes into the beast's neck, then sliced it and waited while 10 men on either side tugged their side of war to keep the buffalo stationary. He fought and fought but after another blow to the neck you could feel his dizziness as he faltered to the blood-stained soil at his feet; he might not have been dead before they were bringing another to the same decisive end. The chief of the village took me to his other village nearby and after a good chat asked me to return in Sept. for the burial of his father. I told him I would love to and would see if I could, as life leads us where it may. We returned and as I asked to be dismissed, he begged me to have lunch with them; he said the daughter of the deceased formally requested it. She agreed and went to the buffalo that they were carving up on palm leaves, sliced off a thick slab and held it up to my face saying, "for mister." They told me I was the only "tourist" (damnit) that would actually eat with them. I could see why when I sat among the 50 people that would not remove their eyes from me. They all laughed at how I managed to drop half the rice that I tried to feed to my mouth with my hands--that's right no utensils...none needed. The rice stuck to my hands as I tried to be delicate and proper about it...but the children (must've been 25 of them) just bellowed at the foreigner; but that was the freshest piece of meat I've ever eaten and it was glorious!!!

I promised myself this wouldn't be long so...after a ferry I wanted decided to just skip the port that I had traveled 3 days to get to, and another ferry broke down after I traveled a day to return back to "that" port, and a plane didn't leave because of lack of passengers, I FINALLY managed to get off Sumba and over to Bali, then to Lombok where I met a "pacar" who originally put up with my drunken blabbering in a South Korean bar 3 years ago.

Rinjani was more spectacular than I could write here, brief or not. 3 days of good hiking and I was looking into a crater that held a lake that might be the most spiritual place I've encountered...I think I will return to that place one day. I hope to get the pics up for you all to see that; magnificent.

A 4-day "cruise" from Lombok to Flores was Indo-style down to the lack of snorkel gear. Had several harmless encounters with the largest lizard on the globe named after the island they were first spotted; Komodo. Also were blessed with several dolphins that greeted our boat somewhere in that vast sea that was so choppy in Nusa Tenggara.

Did some fabulous diving near Komodo/Rinca Islands where I swam with white-tip reef sharks 2 feet away, full of muscle and torque but peaceful; lionfish, frog-fish, sea snakes, morays, and turtles were all on the menu that day. But the most incredible thing I saw was the Manta Rays that were swimming when we got back on the boat and went to Manta Point. Holy Hell...this beast was twice my heighth in breadth. I heard them shouting at the sighting of what looked like a big oil stain in the sea; everyone leaped towards it from the boat. Fortunately, I was a bit late getting to my gear and saw that the beast was moving to quickly to jump TO him so I jumped where he might eventually be. I swam directly above what could have been a small underwater ship; no snorkel so I had to keep pulling up for gasps of air as I was held by this phenomenal marine spectacle...so graceful with the slightest movement of his 12+foot wingspan and he would be gone. I was swimming not 6 feet from this landing pad that still makes me incredulous that something that shape and size can just appear. We saw 6 of them that day, but that one was the friendliest for me.

Parties ensued, then long bus journeies across an island that for every 1 meter you move forward you must move vertical two meter...slow to say nothing of the least. Just 170K (100miles) took more than 4 hours...I randomly chose a spot where I counted that just 10km (6miles) lagged in 45 minutes...the time I ran a 10km in.

Cheating to the top of a volcanic wonder where 3 colorful lakes are ready to be examined, we went. The lakes are always changing colors and the local people of course hold a spiritual value to each of them saying that the souls of the dead will pass to one of the 3 lakes. When we were there the lakes were of the colours, coffee, bright-fluorescent green, and a dark black--where the souls of the evil go. Pictures of this won't give you the sense of their size or their impressive nature, but I will manage to get them into folders when I get to better i-net conditions.

Sampling some fine rice wine made locally I got pissed more times in Eastern Flores then in all my time in the rest of Indonesia...that doesn't say much at all beings this is a muslim country for the most part and beer/alcohol is difficult if not impossible to find in most cities East of Lombok.

Larantuka on the east coast spat me towards the island of Timor in a boat where arriving was not to be assumed. After having just finished watching "The Perfect Storm", the only western movie that would play of their pirated copies, a loud voice cried out from down below. I was one of maybe 3 people awake at the time (I was thinking...as I do) and heard this lady shout in Indo, "FIRE FIRE!!!" People must have heard the movie in their subconscious...or maybe they just know Indo too well...cuz everyone flew towards the lifejackets and one guy actually ripped the wooden doors off their hinges instead of just moving the latch; idiot!!! I just stood in my row watching the whole event transpire finding it funny that in case of fire, they go towards the life jackets. Obviously, I kept my eye on the number of vests left and was ready to leap if I needed, but was just humoured by the whole thing. Then the event I saw on t.v. 4 months ago of the passenger ship in Sumatra sinking came to my mind...a chuckle and another look at remaining vests. I remember walking around down below and seeing all the people lying on the floor with hundreds of chickens, pigs, bananas and other produce. People were sleeping everywhere from on the stairs, to the floor, to the tops of the trucks that were on the same level. Of course, everyone in Indo smokes so it was no question from where the fire started...they're so careless when it comes to rubbish and consequential actions. What really got me was when people finally chilled out and were forced to put their vests back in the compartment (I bet the guy really felt stupid about ripping the door off at that point) the guy next to me did the understandable sigh, "phew, ahhh safe..." then he lit up a clove cig and asked if I'd like one..."phew".