Tifu and Beyond…

Selamat Pagi Boatbloggers® and welcome to the latest edition of the Boatblog® brought to you direct from Wonderful Indonesia.

It was a two day sail from the Lei anchorage to the island of Pulau Buru,

… where we dropped the hook in the delightful village of Tifu.

Once again we had the most fantastic welcome from the village. We were greeted by the village elders as we came ashore.

There was a marching band,

And a concert by the Tifu Ukulele Orchestra.

All the villagers went to such an effort to make it a really big day, and what they lack in ‘stuff,’ they make up for in ingenuity – if you look closely you can see that all the bunting is made out of plastic bags.

In the evening Ju & the Tiffuettes got to play the Tifu Festival.

Everyone here really loves music. The kids all play the ukulele and the next day followed us back to one of the boats for a jam. One piano, 42 ukuleles, 2 guitars and a pair of maracas.

Sadly we couldn’t stay in Tifu for ever, and all to soon it was time to head for our next stop – Waketobi. 

And once again we were given the warmest of welcomes. As luck would have it, our visit coincided with Independence Day. For once Independence Day wasn’t a release from British rule which was a relief – it’s the Dutch who are the villains of this particular story. We swapped our flag with one of our new friend’s Indonesian flag and went on a procession through the main town.

We ended up in the parade ground where we were guests of honour.

A word about this strange hand signal that we are all doing.

It’s actually a “W” for Waketobi. I’ve got lots of pictures of us doing it, but you have to be careful because if you get the angle wrong and can’t see your thumb it sends a very different message. And you have to be very careful how you do the sign for Indonesia.

Then there was a lot of Independence Day marching,

And plenty of pomp and ceremony.

And like everywhere else in the world, the Indonesian kids were bored stiff being made to sit around for so long in their fancy costumes while the grown ups messed around. But they made a brave face of it and managed to smile for the camera.

Until finally the flag was raised.

It’s quite weird being such celebrities. The paparazzi just won’t leave us alone.

All those years in showbiz trying to get a bit of attention when all we had to do was come to Indonesia. 

But it’s not all functions. There’s still time for scuba diving. Even if there are sea snakes down there.

Apparently ten times more poisonous than a cobra. Still quite cute. As deadly venomous creatures go.

We went round a Bajo village. In the past the Bajo were a nomadic seafaring people, but now they live in houses built on stilts so that they can remain connected to the sea. 

Their way of life is under threat worldwide, but they seem to be thriving here in Waketobi.

One of the Bajo delicacies is dried puffer fish skin.

Looks delicious, but these ones weren’t quite ready to eat so unfortunately we couldn’t try them. Never mind – next time.

Even for hardened sailors like ourselves used to the gangplank, it’s quite hairy getting from one house to the next.

They now have more modern housebuilding techniques.

Sadly when the tide goes out, you get some idea of the scale of the rubbish and plastic problem that seems to be endemic in Indonesia.

But it’s fascinating to see this traditional way of life.

Even the shops are on stilts.

The Venice of the East.

Another interesting place is called “The Thousand Steps,” which as it sounds is a thousand steps that you climb down. To be honest, it’s probably about two hundred, but it feels like a thousand by the time you get to the bottom.

A long way, but when you get there, there is a natural spa.

You put your feet in the water and all the little fish come out and start nibbling away at the dead skin on your feet like mini piranhas.

You’d pay a fortune for that in Chiswick.

It’s a thousand steps down, and unfortunately a thousand steps up.

So by the time you get to the top, your feet are all covered in dead skin again.

We had a night off the boat at a luxury local resort. It was nice having all the little things that landlubbers take for granted. Flush toilet, unlimited shower, walk around bed and of course air conditioning.

We bought some new goggles so we can fit in with the locals when we go swimming.

Not sure these are going to catch on.

There have been lots and lots of festivals. Each with their own characteristics. This was an Indonesian version of Love Island, where boys and girls meet and attempt to woo each other.

We’re not sure what the fish is all about. 

If love blossoms, the happy couple get to go on the swing together.

All overlooked by a man on a horse.

And to celebrate the romance, they fly the an impressively long kite.

A lot of fun, but what it all means is anyone’s guess.

One day, Ju managed to climb a palm tree.

What a hero!

Just time for the Arty Farty Competition.

The first entry is Ju’s Bajau ladder.

Also by Ju – Starfish

And Lyn’s Almost Sunset.

And the winner is Lyn, with Almost Sunset.

Ok – so we weren’t being exactly truthful with Ju climbing a palm tree. That’s the genius of AI. This is how the photo started – with a horizontal palm tree. 

And then Rory photoshopped it. It was still quite hard holding on though – so you should still be impressed.

It’s not as easy as it looks producing a world class blog like this.

Rory made a few other options we could have used, but they weren’t quite so convincing.

That’s all folks!

Sampai jumpa from all of us here in Indonesia.

Ju & Lyn