Inter-island transport

Waves lapping the shore again just outside my door at dawn. The ferry leaves early back to Banda. A slippery plank board in the waves is our walkway into the boat. It is full of boxes, big bundles of leafy green vegetables, and bunches of green bananas. There was the most perfect dawn light when we left. The island's rythm seems in perfect sillhoute all around here in this light. On the small boat beside us Guenther and Stevie smile back having just made it from the beach.

We chugged calmly through the swells towards the volcanic crest of Banda. A single booby followed us and circled the boat - like a good luck charm from the open sea. Back in Banda everything is as we left it at Allen's. It feels comfortable, like returning home. Breakfast and laundry dominate the morning and later Daniel comes to visit and chat.

In the afternoon Lari, Coen, and I got some lunch and talked about leaving. The next Pelni ship coming to the island arrives Monday morning onward further East to the Kai islands. Kai seems even remote than here, but it is bigger with regular flights back to Ambon. The trip by Pelni ferry takes two days stopping first to the southeast in the Tanimbar Islands not far from Northern Australia. Two full days in a crowded ferry doesn?t sound so appealing, but what else is there to do? My visa is running out and I have to allow time to get back and meet people in Singapore soon.

We talk about it and get excited about the prospects of Kai and its remote beautiful beaches. That far east is very close to the Aru Islands, the holy grail of Wallace and truly a place at the edge of the world. Should we go?

I need to try to make contact with people and arrange my plans, but there is no way to connect to the outside world from here. It is a blessing and curse. In the afternoon I tried to connect to the schools lone internet connection, though it was the most maddening experience of my life dripping sweat in the heat waiting ten minutes for each page to load.

When I returned to Vita though I did learn some news. A huge 8.8 earthquake had just rocked Japan followed by a devastating tsunami. Everyone back at Allan's was a little worried. We worried about after shocks and tsunami's here on this remote islands so vulnerable in the middle of the sea. It was very unnerving, especially when a neighbor brought in a television and began showing us images of the tsunami racing over Japan demolishing everything in its path.

As in Wallace?s time, earthquakes, volcanoes, and tidal waves are a very real threat here also. Daniel jokes over the phone with his worried father that if a tidal wave comes we will just climb up the volcano. It is funny, but not reassuring. So we sat there on our remote information starved island watching the devastation replay back on TV with Ayu and Chinta and Daniel. Eventually logic kicked in and I decided it was not a threat here. We are too far and too protected by so many other islands here in South Muluku.

And so we finally tried to relax and walked down the street for dinner at the Arab families house. Ayu walked with me and held my hand in the dark streets. We had grilled tuna, salad, fried octopus, and potatoes. After dinner we strolled the town to walk off the meal before saying goodnight. I fell asleep looking for comets above the sihoutte of the volcano...