Unauna Island

The first day trip took me, along with Renata, David, and Roland, to Unauna Island. Unauna is a nearly circular island and the northwesternmost of the Togian Islands. It still has an active volcano, and we wanted to visit it. Around 8 a.m., we set off from Kadidiri in a small boat, taking 1.5 hours to reach Unauna. There, everyone hopped on a local's motorcycle at the back, and we rode along the beach for an hour. At times, we went through the waves; sometimes we had to get off and walk because the motorcycle got stuck, and with every larger stone I saw, I hoped we wouldn't fall. None of us had helmets.

After an hour on the beach, we rode for another half hour through a dried-up riverbed into the interior. However, we had to cross a small creek two more times before reaching the motorcycle parking spot, and I had the impression that the water radiated warmth. That impression was confirmed immediately when we started walking: we had to cross the creek repeatedly, and the water was indeed warm! The reason for this revealed itself after an hour of hiking through the jungle, as the source of the creek was geysers. There, it was steaming, splashing, rumbling, and stinking. It was different from what I had expected - I thought I would see lava - but it was still very impressive!

On the way back, the guides showed us a cave with flying foxes, and then we rode back with the motorcycles. First through the dried-up riverbed, then along the beach, and when we returned to the boat, we had another half hour for snorkeling before heading back around 3 p.m. In the afternoon, the sea gets rougher, and it indeed took us over 2 hours to return. When we arrived at Kadidiri, everyone was soaked from head to toe from the waves. But it was a really great adventure!