Coach Around Tual
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 22 Jul 2016 22:57
Coach Trip Around Tual
City
After lunch boarded buses for a tour
around Tual City. Grant and Mary (El Gato), Gary
(Wirraway) and of course Bear posed by our
chariot – a Polisi bus. Our first stop was the town park.
The statue is a
celebration of the Kei Islands independence.
Photo-bombed by a certain Deb (Matilda) who
managed to leap in over fifty pictures during the day, herself or her sparkly
hat that is, just as well we both love her...... An amazing
tree root system.
I said Salaam Alaikum to this
gentleman.........., he replied in the usual
way “Alaikum Salaam” quickly followed by “please my I have my picture taken with
you”. Certainly, at which point he snuggled in....... We went off to explore the
park and thought no more of it.
Pity the lovely
old fountain had a big hole at the far end. The turtle was cute but judging by his cracks he’d seen better
days.
We walked the rest of the well kept gardens and exited by a
small archway to return to the bus. It was at this point that our guide
came racing over “are you a Muslim??? My supposed gentleman had dobbed
me in for not wearing a hijab. I reported that I was not........... very angry
that my greeting had been so misused, our six weeks in Morocco had never
resulted in such a result. Cross as a wasp.
Not invited in for tea by the Mayor at his place, we boarded
the bus.
We passed a
handsome house and the symbol of the city, an
eagle.
Our little booklet
says: Tual City is one of 11 Regency/City in the Moluccas Province. The
total area of Tual City is 19.448,13 km2, the 352,29 km2 is land area and the
19.095,84 km2 is water area. Tual City is an archipelago area consists of 66
islands, 13 of them inhabited; the other 53 are still uninhabited. Tual City has
3 archipelago clusters, Dullah Island, Kur Islands and Tayando Islands with
338,50 km2 shorelines.
Our next stop was at a house – the
front room all laid up for afternoon tea. Cassava waffles on the side.
The inner room was also decked in colour. A door
to........ We all crammed in the garden for a
cookery demo.
First the cassava is peeled, then it
is wrapped tightly and pressed to squeeze out the arsenic rich juice, then it
was grated in a machine run on a generator. Lastly it was
sieved.
Kerosene waffle
machines heated. Fillings plus Deb’s
hat.......
Out of the waffle maker, buttered
with the back of a spoon, chocolate 100’s and 1000’s,
chocolate sauce, soft cheese or a mixture of any of
the above, folded in half and sectioned by a pair of scissors. We sampled and
thought them a sweet, slightly chewy bread texture.
The other rooms in
the house, neat and tidy. Time for a sit down in the front
room.
Our next stop was a school, a new build happening. New
teachers........
The children (all 14)
were very pleased to see us.
Outside the
builders were working hard.
Everyone took pictures
of everyone else.
We all had a
smashing time. Back to base, home for a quick shower and back for the
evenings entertainment.
ALL IN ALL A BUSY DAY
INTERESTING
DAY |