Taking a stroll through
Nain village, we weren't surprised to see that people were living
well and it seemed that the majority all had some business affiliated
with seaweed, which they call "Agar-Agar"! We were pleased
to see people content with their everyday lives. When we decided to
walk down their narrow main village street, apparently the only one
on the island, there was a sudden huge influx of excited children
coming from everywhere. Curious parents and families wanted to have
a look at what these white strangers were doing on their beautiful
island. We encountered everyone gathered in the village center where
a mosque was putting on a fund raiser.
Manado Bay - Bunaken National Marine Park
Here, the pounding sound
of Dangdut (a modified dancehall version of Indian music, very popular
in Sumatra and Java) filled the air and accompanied the entire lively
event. Trailblazer's on-camera host, Clive, couldn't resist his urge
to mix with the locals and dance in the crowd, which was very amusing
especially for the villagers. The atmosphere on Nain Island was incredible;
it was yet another gratifying experience to meet these people.We did
however, have some concerns over the effects of the new seaweed processing
techniques on the reefs. We made a small investigation and found out
that the ropes that secured the seaweed was hanging high over the
coral, well away from the reef and nothing was touching or deteriorating
the coral and environment below. As a matter of fact, the seaweed
growing system is actually preserving the reef from damage. Due to
the amount of lines and floats in the water, it would be an extremely
exhausting task to get anywhere near the island by boat. There is
only one string and rope free channel leading directly to Nain Village
beach. Here the inhabitants have free access to and from their island.
The seaweed farmers also access their locations via small outrigger
boats well off the reef. Another adventurous day was coming to an
end. It had been a pleasure making these positive experiences with
the Bajo's and Nain inhabitants, who were courteous and friendly,
typical of remote islanders we have met in this part of the world.
It was time to discover and venture more, so we continued our voyage
around the tip of North Sulawesi to the natural harbor of Bitung in
the Lembeh Strait. We thoroughly enjoyed cruising, captivated by wonderful
sunsets on the distant horizon exhibiting grand multitudes of exotically
eccentric colours and shades
Sunset over Manado Tua
Divex Indonesia - Great People, Great Diving, Great Adventure!
Divex-Art 2009 Indonesia Indah
