Lembata
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Three days passed quickly at the
island anchorage before we returned to the town of Loweleba on Lembata for our
'welcoming ceremony and dinner'. We were also able to replenish our
stores at the street market. Fish, fruit and veg, all very fresh and colourful
but a little dusty from the road!
The council of the island of Lembata is desperate to promote tourism and see the yachties who arrive en masse each August as the start of something bigger. However, there are many hurdles they will have to overcome before tourism really takes off. For yachts, the problem is the paperwork and the import restrictions. If we were not on a rally we would have to post a bond that is up to 10% of the value of the boat and have heard from previous skippers that this is a complex process and it is not always an easy exercise to get this money back. For other tourists the problems are the lack of infrastructure. The roads on the island, except for the town, are all dirt roads or in places worse in that they were tarmacked once but are now so pot-holed as to be bumpier than a dirt road. The next problem is that the people seem to be unaware of litter, plastic waste is everywhere. For instance most people drink bottled water in one form or another and thin plastic cup containers are everywhere together with masses of the small, thin carrier bags which they use. We have started burning our rubbish as although there are some bins, the suspicion is that they are turned out into the sea, which near the towns is just full of plastic bags and other stuff.
Yachtie Invasion at Loweleba
Another problem for tourism development is that there seems to be a lack of real understanding of the tourist perception. The best example of this is the prominence the tourist literature gives to whaling. There is a village, which we did not visit, where there is still active whaling from small open boats using methods largely unchanged from the past. One suspects that more tourists would be attracted by whale watching than whale slaughtering. The Tongans have realised this and we had a very memorable day swimming with humpback whales there. Finally there is the problem of language. The Indonesians enjoy a good speech as we have witnessed on a number of occasions already and their tourist literature reflects the same verbosity, but translated so badly as to be meaningless. For instance:
“Match for adventure Lembata seemly poses for reference. Chain of its natural beaches are adrenal respite. The natural panorama and the medley of cultural arts for making visitors involved are such of names to be mentioned. Deep impressions are collided with the screams and joy of the boatmen are back from the sea with hunted whales “ (This from an expensively produced booklet, 136 pages long, full to the brim of the same stuff. Quite funny for a few pages but such a shame.) Hospitality is second to none and we were offered a wonderful welcome. We were met at the quay by at least 300 people from all over the island who processed through the street to a restaurant where we were entertained by 8 different dance groups and treated to a buffet supper. Speeches,
music and dance from surrounding villages,
and welcome gifts.
Out and About
We opted to go on a tour to the village of Petuntawa. We are becoming accustomed to the reception now and were royally welcomed with lots more music and dancing...
….a welcome drink and a smoke for those brave enough - note the Oscar Wilde pose.
An exhibition of village crafts and cooking....
Making cornflakes Indonesian style, the corn kernels are heated over a small fire then smashed with a large stone.
Weaving the famous Ikats used for sarongs, dresses, scarves and wraps, throws and just about anything else.
....collecting palm liquor (he's near the top in a blue T-shirt)
and distilling it to make Arak in a bamboo still.
And all the while we were followed and feted by wonderful children keen to try out their few words of English and delighted when we called out a greeting in Indonesian.
Peter's Indonesian is coming on a treat which the locals love.
Finally the music is very percussion based ...but I have never seen the rope ladder as a musical instrument before. This woman not only made it produce a very rhythmic beat but also moved delightfully whilst playing it!
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