Blog 51. Pasar Wajo cont. 25 Aug. 05.39.31S 122.50.94E

Alcedo
David Batten
Fri 30 Aug 2019 00:25
Completely forgot to mention the gala dinner in Pasar Wajo. It was in a posh part of the great stadium where the “Big Day” was going to be held.

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The “top table” beautifully set out for the VIPs. Unfortunately it was not undercover and we had a monumental downpour just as we arrived. Quite unsuitable for open air dining and the rest of us had to move our tables around to stay dry in the surrounding tents. Great dinner though and the Regent or whoever it was that gave the speech also sang while Helge from Morild played spoons, really well as it happened. The spoons that was, not the singing.

One free morning in Pasar Wajo, so Ship’s Boy and Skipper’s wife set to cleaning and polishing while the boys do what boys do at such times. Then a visit to an Asphalt Mining operation. No photographs at the processing factory, heaven knows why, where a brief explanation of the mining process was given. There was a secret ingredient added to the raw product to produce the thick liquid asphalt for export and we saw the dust made from crushing the rock extracted from the open mines, also exported.

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One of the charming guides that came with us to the Asphalt factory at the open mine we visited. He learnt English to please a girlfriend who then dumped him, so now broken hearted and unmarried at 28! Note how far away the group at the bottom of the mine look. We were assured this was a working mine and you can see the digger marks by his feet.

Then, on the 24 August, the “Big Day”. A bus to the stadium where we see; babies being “inoculated, no photographs and.... girls dressed up to

Off to the

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50 ladies weaving

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A group of girls celebrating the end of “seclusion”, a somewhat mysterious event where they are shut away for several days once they have reached sexual maturity

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Rows of local women, about 4 or 5 from each village, dressed for the occasion, in front of the food they have prepared on the cake stands. So on the menu, eggs, fish, bananas rolled in cassava and fried and cakes, mainly made of rice flour and palm sugar and rice. Also chicken, vegetables and a very good omelette on our platter. These platters were kept under wraps until the Governor of South East Sulawesi arrived, over an hour late, which means the women were sitting for well over 3 hours before we joined them for a second time. Then we had to listen to a long prayer and who knows how many speeches, we certainly don’t know, because our end of the tent was completely ignoring all the pomp at the other end and there was much chatter and use of mobiles.

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The celebration dance finishing with about 5000 students from elementary, junior high and senior high school all together. It was quite a spectacle.

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Some of our lovely guides, protecting us from traffic and the cries of “photo, photo”

In spite of the “Big Day” and busy program, we managed to up anchor early this morning and are sailing to Bau Bau, the capital of South Buton. We did sail most of the way except the last 10nm or so, which was dead to windward in light airs. We are anchored in about 28m off what we hope will become the dinghy dock, with Kandiba, Sky Blue Eyes, Hylit, Morild, CV, Little Explorers and one or two others for company.

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Alcedo

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