Sulawesi part 2 of 3: Central Sulawesi

We only spent a few very short days in Central Sulawesi, and the majority of them involved driving. We left from Rantepao and were told we had a 9 hour journey ahead, however it turned out to be around 11 hours in the car.

Near Lake Poso we stopped and took a short walk to see the Orchids, however we were informed that they were not blooming. I was quite dissapointed since the following day our itinerary said we were going on a 2 hour hike to look at orchid. Why would someone put this in the itinerary if they knew it wasn't orchid season. A bit mistake on the tour companies part. We did get to see some pineapples growing in the wild though.

Once we reached the lake and checked in, we ordered dinner. I was literally nauseous at the thought of eating rice, so I opted to just eat some veggies and drink water. We passed the evening wading in the water, and then settled down on my parents porch to watch the sun set. I turned on the light so we could read, and big mistake, soon enough the room was full of bugs. There was a black cloud on the floor and laying on the bed. My mom thought at first it was because she opened the window to let in some air, but my room had them too. We informed the owner and he said we shouldn't have turned on the lights and that they would move us to a different room. After dinner, we went to our new rooms and literally went straight to bed, afraid even to open our bags or use the bathroom for fear that we would attract the bugs. I woke up early the next morning, still doused in bug spray and showered and packed and set out on our next joyous long car ride.

 We were told the drive would be 5 hours, but it was closer to 7. We stopped after about 30 minutes to take a quick walk to a waterfall, which actually ended up being one the highlights of the trip. The roads were mountainous, curvy, and we followed a very slow police bus and were unable to pass for an hour or two. We stopped for lunch along the coastal road and all they had was fish, rice, and fried noodles. Knowing that we were heading to an island the following day I opted for the noodles which were delicious and filling. Once again my parents marveled at the price of lunch. A whopping 13 dollars for 2 fried noodles, a fish, soup, rice, plate of veggies, and 3 cokes.

We made it to Ampana around 3 in the afternoon. After settling the plans for our ferry in the morning we headed to local market, crowded with people buying food in preparation for breakfasting later in the day. We shopped around a little, but I felt incredible overwhelmed watching out for both myself and my parents, constantly turning around to make sure they were still with me, and not being harassed. My mom did mentioned she was groped several times by one man. At this point I was so sick of Indonesian food I was hoping to god to find some western restaurant, but after an hour of walking there was none. We ended up grabbing some ice cream, which we immediately began to savor. After about 2 bites a man pulled up on a motorbike to remind us not to eat in the streets. Frustrated we hid behind a banner and shoved our ice cream in our mouths, which then instantly made me and my father have upset tummies. We watched the sun set awhile near the dock and then headed back to our hotels for another dinner of chicken and rice. I attempted to skype with Matt, but the internet kept coming in and out and I grew quickly frustrated.

Ampana Sunset

We woke up and were driven to the ferry. I quickly ran and bought some rambutan to add to our snacks. We were told it would be a 5 hour ferry ride and I figured there would be at least hard seats for us to sit on, if not air con. All of the ferries I have ridden for more than 2 hours have these amenities. But we were on the floor. For a glorious 3.5 hours, 2 hours of unloading and another 1.5 hours. I was so glad we had snacks and that there was a mattress being taken to one of the other islands. We arrived at The Togian Islands and were taken by another small boat to our hotel on a private island. We put on our suits, went swimming and were then served a delicious meal of....you guessed it! Fish and Rice. I'm not going to lie the fish was some of the better I've had in Indonesia, but no fish will ever compare to the fish from the Mediterranean. After dealing with a few issues of scheduling our trip (frustrating!) we watched the stars come out, and the moon rise before heading to bed.

 The next morning was spent enjoying the beach, and lounging in our hammocks reading before heading out at 1 to catch our overnight ferry to North Sulawesi.

On this ferry we were in the Captains quarters, which was such a luxury. At first my parents weren't so sure, until I took them down to show them them the other class areas, which consisted of mats on a floor, or rustic chairs, in smoking air conditioned and non air conditioned areas. Then they felt like a king and queen.

captains quarters

On the deck we were able to watch the sun set and see the stars while I drank a Bintang. I was able to find the southern cross and chat at my parents about how the stars are different in the south than in the north. The milky way was semi visible. We opted for early bed and were in for a rough night. The ferry was not the smoothest and we were woken several times for call to prayers, and at 4:30 to be welcomed to North Sulawesi by our new guide Stefaan, who we loved.

Hello Northern Sulawesi!