Sahid Kawanua Manado

... hotellin aamupalapoydassa kana- ja naudanlihaprinssinakkien kera tarjolla. Wau! Ennen lentokentalle lahtoa kiertelimme viela kavellen Manadon keskustan kirkkojen pihoja, jotta saisimme kuvattua sellaisen hienon punaisen "Hyvaa paasiaista" -ristin. Ja loytyihan sellainen ties monennenko kirkon edustalta. Kirkkoja Manadossa kylla riittaa joka lahtoon. Nakemiin vaan Indonesia taas talla eraa. Josko jo myohemmin tana vuonna tavattaisiin?

20 Dollars less in our pocket, a lot closer to the equator. After an amazing final night in Bunaken we took the ferry back to Manado. From there, the bus to Gorontalo. A nine hour jeep ride through tiny villages, by an abundance of rice fields, passing election posters, rivers and not so solid bridges. When we reached the mountain range the drive became less pleasent as the many curves that our driver had to enter with a speed of 80 km/h kept ...

... was once again excellent, and the staff here at Lembeh was just great. They were always so friendly and helpful, and we'll certainly have a difficult time saying goodbye. Seems they will, too. Whenever a larger group stays at the resort, they always make an effort to make their last evening a memorable one. It definitely was. Children from the local ...

... Several times, we also passed primary schools that always seemed to be in recess as we drove by. All children wear uniforms to school, and all were diligently doing their teacher-led exercises. We did eventually see many of the kids walking in the road headed home from school. They were all totally adorable in their little uniforms. Our first real chance to get out and ...

... while we were there. The coral gardens stretch on forever, and are teeming with life. After the first dive, everyone hopped back in the water in swimsuits so we could snorkel a bit. It felt great, but it sure doesn't take long to get a sunburn going in the tropical sun here on the equator! Once the second dive was finished, we hung out a bit longer having lunch ...

We learned that things move a lot slower in Indonesia. That information came quickly to me when I struggled into the mass of people all clambering for the ticket counter in the Jakarta Airport. There was some flooding in Jakarta and this delayed flights (including Mike's, let him tell you about that) and stranding people in the airport over night. So I joined the ...

... a ctenophore that looked like a radiolarian, very beautiful colonial tunicates, and many other creatures that I have never witnessed before. What an amazing experience to see a reef so beautiful and healthy! It is great to know that there are reefs that are gopig to be protected in the future (bc it is connected to Tangkoko), and that no one knows about. A great site indeed and good news for the future of reefs!We bode farewell to Jently and his family at Tarsius homestay ...

Today we arrived back in Manado, which is the biggest city on Northern Sulewesi. It is about 45 minutes by boat from Bunaken. We have arranged a flight to Denpasar Bali tommorrow early tommorrow so we are staying in Manado for the night. Manado has a large "Mega Mall" (its actual name). The mall is airconditioned with a big internet cafe and several coffee shops. We are taking care of errands today. We first went to an ...

... such practices on the non-muslim (and very tired) members of the community. Anyway, the city of Manado was a really refreshing change of culture, somewhat like an Asian version of "Home and Away". My memories of it include sipping shakes in "Dolphin Donuts", beer and barbequed meat on the seafront, customised blue mikrolet (the Indonesian alternative to auto-rickshaws) and their b-boy drivers cruising the streets puffing on ciggies and listening to 80s rock ...

... to cleverly conceal that fact with a stubby ponytail that pulled his final wisps across his bald spot. A self-proclaimed hippy, ("just like my dad"), he says he's hitchhiked through 39 countries. Unfortunately, according to his stories, most of his time traveling was spent getting ripped off by the "damn - <insert racial slur here>". Inevitably, the story would go on to describe how he then outwitted them by telling them to **** off and leaving without paying ...