The Journeys ... The Current Trip

First of all, I would like to apologize for a little technical error. Not everybody received the notification email for my last diary entry a few days ago. So, you might want to check the last log as well...it is quite a long one too.

For the past few days, we have been chillin' here in the town of Bajawa. One reason obviously was to give our legs some recovery time. But another reason is the weather. Riding for five hours in a tropical deluge is just not that much fun. Also, we would really like to climb Gunung Inerie, the volcano ten kilometers from Bajawa. But so far, the weather hasn't permitted an assault on the summit.
But the time spent here in Bajawa isn't a problem. We have two weeks to get to Labuanbajo – which we probably can reach in three riding days. In two weeks we intend to catch the ferry from Labuanbajo (Fores) to Raha (Sulawesi)...and there isn't an earlier ferry anyhow.

Yesterday, we rode our bicycles (sans luggage) to the traditional Ngada village of Bena. It was drizzling most of the time and not only did we cover yet another 749 meters in altitude during the 32 kilometer ride, no, half of the rode was in a more than deplorable state. The driver of a volunteer we met actually tried to discourage us from riding there. But by now, we are pretty strong and off-road riding is second nature to us anyhow. It was good fun and actually felt more like a mountain biking ride than a touring ride.

As for the town itself...I always feel a bit torn about these kind of experiences. On one hand it was great to see such a traditional village, where fairly strict animistic rituals and ancestor worship is still practices. The town still sacrifices bulls and the heads of the animals slaughtered are hanged off the front porch as a sign of prosperity. Also, between the two rows of thatched houses stands a interesting mixture of death cult. Pairs of ngadhu and bhaga (see image) symbolize the continues presence of the ancestors – the parasol like ngadhu for the male ancestors and the minute thatched house like bhaga for the female ancestors. In Bena, these ngadhu and bhaga mix with megalithic tomb-like structures and quite literally graves of the newly adopted Christian faith. It's strange.
But, despite the obviously fascinating nature of all of this...I always have a strange feeling in such places. For once, I feel like a voyeuristic intruder. I mean, c'mon, I am virtually wandering over the graves of these people's loved ones. Isn't that macabre enough. At the same time, I feel like these people must feel like a zoo animal. I am completely aware that tourism helps these people actually protect their culture that they otherwise would have to forgo in favor of a modern economic approach. Still. But maybe, it is just impossible for me to comprehend the situation the Ngada are in and it really is for the best for them and their culture. Of course, it would be great to have this conversation with a Ngada...but after only 14 days in Indonesia, our Bahasa Indonesia doesn't quite enable such a discussion yet.

To more mundane issues. We decided to stay yet another day in Bajawa and give the weather another chance to let us climb Gurung Inerie. Also, we are desperately trying to not only wash our cloths, but also get all of them dry for the first time in at least five days. I will also check, if we can get some more money in order to buy us some liberty to explore the road less traveled. As I said, taking the Southern route to Labuanbajo (Mborong, Ruteng) would probably take three or four days. There is a alternative route going along the northern coast through Ruteng and Reo. That would probably take a bit longer and running out of cash in remote village is not a great prospect.

I hope my little travel diary keeps you distracted from work a bit. There are also plenty of new pictures in the gallery if you want to see some of the spectacular sights we have come across so far.

So long,
Adrian