March 10th through 13th: Riung

Leaving Bajawa:
So, I never got a straight story when trying to find out when the bus left for Riung. some people told me 11AM, others noon, and then still other people said 1PM. It turned out that they were all correct. The bus arrived from Riung at 11AM, then sat in the bus station until noon. For the next 90 minutes or more, we circled the city, picking up people and orders for deliveries (people would wave down the driver, hand him a slip of paper, and we'd take off again). We passed the bus stand at least three times, but finally we left the city. The roads for the first hour and a half were good, and the scenery was spectacular, but the last two hours would have been better off without pavement, for the huge potholes that they created. Around 4:30 we arrived in Riung, only to "make the rounds" once again.

Riung:
I don't carry a "lonely Planet" guide book, but from looking at other people's guide book, I wrote down the name of a hotel - Liberty Guest House. As long as the bus was dropping everyone else off, I asked to be taken there. I was the last person on the bus when we finally arrived, and who should have also arrived at the same time but my friends from three days ago from Bajawa - Karina, Georges, Marek, Mirka, Robert and Marta. I spent the next two and a half days with them.

Georges, the Greek chef, was down at the peer at sunrise. He ended up buying six kilos (13 pounds) of fish, which he prepared for dinner. He was so excited, like a puppy. Luckily I was there as well, for he had no money on him. The fish cost 40,000 rupiah (about $4), enough for all seven of us. But the fisherman had no change for my 50,000 rupiah note, so he gave Georges 2 more barracuda. Georges was like a child in a candy store. "2 barracuda, must weigh 1 kilo. No, 1.3 kilos (about 3 pounds), for 10,000 rupiah. That's less than 1 Euro per kilo (about 40 cents a pound)! In Greece, 18 Euro per kilo (about $10 a pound). Can you believe! I'm going to open a restaurant here!"

By the way, Karina, his partner, and Georges' favorite fruit is mangosteen - enough reason alone to like them.

Riung is more a region then a town. There is no main road. The houses near the beach are built on stilts. There is a large mangrove forest at the water's edge, and 17 islands in the "protected area."

Sort of a "laundry shot"

2 chickens in a door way

The water's edge at low tide at sunrise

Riung from the peer

Houses near the peer

During my sunrise walk:
A woman walks by with a tray of fish on her head.

An old man with a Sukarno hat talks to me, asks about where I am from, my age, my wife, my children, and states, of course, "President Obama Bagus! (great!)." I have gotten that comment 100% of the time in Asia.

I watch the sunrise at the edge of the water. Fishermen are loading their catch into large, plastic, blue garbage cans for transport.

Karina said yesterday, "We are so lucky." Yes, I am appreciative.

What to say?

The seven of us spent the next two days in this boat - 300,000 rp. a day (about $30).

First we went to "bat island," where thousands of huge fruit bats hang from trees. At sunset each day you see an amazing sight - the sky is full of bats heading for the main land.

We then went to two islands to snorkel on the first day

And two more islands on the second day. The snorkeling was fantastic.

All 7 of us with Captain Tukin

Some of the food Georges prepared for us. One dish was a fish backed in a "block of salt" to hold in the moisture.