I can now report that Mission Larantuka has eventually been accomplished but not without incident. I set off at 12.30 pm on Saturday after work, stopped for a coffee break at Boru (about 100kms from Maumere) and was looking forward to the last climb and descent to arrive by 5.30pm or so, just before dark. However, about 15kms past Boru I heard a strange noise from my motorbike which I first thought was a branch caught underneath. I stopped but the noise didn't and I quickly realised that the electric starter was engaged as if I was pressing the switch (and before you ask, no I wasn't). I tried turning off the ignition but the motor kept turning the engine over, I tried removing some of the fuses around the battery (obviously not the right ones though) but no luck. Eventually, I put the engine into a high gear, let out the clutch and let it bump forward until everything finally stopped. Unfortunately, I really mean everything – the bike was now completely dead – no electrics, no engine. I tried kick starting but it was obvious that something crucial in the ignition circuit had given up the ghost. It was now about one hour before dark, I was at the side of the road about 35kms from my destination so there was nothing to do but wait and hope for a lift. Public transport here is quite plentiful but completely disorganised, there is no bus company with schedules and timetables, just plenty of people making a living by using their motorbike, car or truck to ferry others around. One of these (a small pickup) arrived on the scene after about twenty minutes (going the wrong way with about ten people in the back) and we flagged him down and asked him if he could bring us and the bike to Larantuka. He said yes of course, after he had dropped off his passengers. We waited for another while and about twenty minutes later he reappeared again, this time going the right way but with even more people and goods in the back. We waited yet again and eventually he reappeared and started reorganising the back of the pickup to fit the bike. We then started the discussion about price. His opening bid was Rp400,000 which is an extortionate sum and equivalent to about €27.50. I countered with Rp100,000 which he said was impossible. After coming down to 300,000 and then 200,000 we finally settled on Rp150,000 which is still a great price for him. However, at this stage it was almost dark, we had an hour's journey still to go and then had to try and get the bike fixed and find somewhere to stay so I was getting just a little desperate !
We arrived in Larantuka at about 7.15 pm to find the two main bengkels (workshops) closed so unloaded outside one of the hotels, found a room (Rp85,000 per night for two people for a room with fan). The hotel had two cold beers in the fridge (but only two) so we quickly relieved them of those and then headed out for a meal.
On Saturday morning, we pushed the dead bike to the nearest bengkel and I left Frid to explain the problem and wait for the repair while I explored Larantuka. I was finished before he was as there ain't much to explore and he arrived back in the hotel twenty minutes later with a functioning bike (but a disabled starter motor) and a bill for Rp20,000. We quickly decided to take another day and return to Maumere on Monday instead to give us some time to look around.
The rest of the day was spent touring the area around Larantuka – this busy town is at the eastern end of Flores and boasts a busy harbour (well, two actually) with services to the Solor & Alor Islands and also to Kupang, the provincial capital in West Timor. Apart from that, there isn't a lot to say about the place although it has an interesting history – it was dominated by Portuguese influences up to the mid-19th century as it was on one of the important sea routes used by them while removing sandalwood from Timor. Apparently at Easter the town is jammed with visitors and all accommodation is booked up as there is a strong tradition of huge Easter cross bearing processions. There are good views of the islands and straits as you approach the town.
On the way back to Maumere on Monday, I stopped to take a few photos for you. Just outside Boru, in an area called Hokeng, there are coffee plantations beside the road. Last week on my first attempt to get to the end of Flores, I took these two pictures of the coffee plants.
This time (just one week later) the whole landscape had changed completely and this is what I saw as the plants have all suddenly burst into flower.
Later on, I passed through an area which has many kapok trees. Now, I already knew that this stuff is used as a filling for mattresses and pillows but I have to confess that, until I got to Indonesia, I did not know that it just grew on trees ! The pods are all bursting open and the trees look as if they have been decorated with cotton wool balls.
Last bit of the biology lesson for today – at the VSO Annual Volunteer Conference every year, the activities include a Community Day, when the volunteers attending the conference spend a day doing some work for the community in the area where the conference is held. Two years ago (long before my arrival here) the AVC was in Maumere and the Community Day involved planting mangroves in a tidal swamp to prevent or slow coastal erosion. I was pleased to be able to stop off and take some photos of the flourishing mangroves to send to Jo Marie, the volunteer whose initiative this was.
