10.02.20 - 17.02.20 Tentena, Togian Islands

about Tentena to paradise - guest article by Lisi

After a 14-hour bus ride, which initially took us through the highlands with fir trees and then past countless exotic mango, papaya, rambutan, jackfruit, avocado trees and coconut palms, we reached Tentena, 350 km away on Lake Poso.

In Tentena we take it easy: we visit the beautiful town, which is located directly on Lake Poso - the largest lake in Indonesia - and stock up for the next few days and indulge in culinary delights.

With the driver Dulex - a small, dizzy Indonesian, with a mullet and a penchant for beer, bad techno music and breasts - our journey continues to Ampana; a port city that serves as the starting point for the Togian Islands. This city has really nothing else to offer, we feel visibly uncomfortable (1 out of 4 so much so that it even came back - in a volume that everyone in Ampana could hear) and are glad that we can continue traveling the next day.

Bye bye "Mainland Sulawesi" - Hello Togian Islands

The Togian Islands are located directly on the equator and consist of a total of 56 islands, on which almost 40,000 inhabitants live. Some of the islands have been made accessible to tourism and there are a total of about 25 resorts. We have chosen the island of Malenge and the Sandy Bay Resort. There is a boat from Ampana that runs daily and makes several stops to load and unload passengers as well as food and goods. Our boat, for example, transports several mopeds, a refrigerator, a few chickens and crates of food. During the 5-hour trip we pass many islands and the further we get away from the mainland, the more beautiful the beaches, the clearer the water and the greater our anticipation.

When we arrived on Malenge, we were picked up by a small boat from the Sandy Bay Resort; the island is overgrown and the resort can only be reached by sea. We can't wait to dive into the crystal-clear water - one person is particularly eager and begins to dip into the sea with luggage as soon as they leave the boat :)

Since there is no reception on the islands and only very limited electricity from generators, reservations are usually managed by people on the mainland. We were very lucky because we had made a reservation and received confirmation, but this information did not make it to the island. As it is currently the rainy season and thus low season, there were still bungalows available for us. The Sandy Bay Resort has 8 beach bungalows, 4 in each bay and 2 more on a hill with a view over the entire bay. Due to the lack of infrastructure, the accommodation offers full board. This means that for us, the time was only ticking according to the meals!

Our bungalow was right on the beach. We spent fantastic days in our personal paradise. The sea in front of our door was surrounded by rocks, which gave the bay lateral protection and formed a pool. On the right and left sides, coral reefs with colorful fish invited us to snorkel. The days began with a gentle awakening to the sound of the sea, and most of the time we were already full of joy in the moonlight in the water at 6:00 a.m. - it sounds cheesy, but it was actually like that! For breakfast, there were pancakes with watermelon, and on one day we even received fresh coconuts straight from the trees. For lunch and dinner, we mostly had fish with various vegetable variations. Considering the fact that all food is delivered from the mainland, the food was really varied. (One person found it a bit too much and got rid of all physical contents for one night...)

We spent our days between the beach, in the water, on the hammock or underwater - no matter where, always with a big smile on our faces! In the evenings, we enjoyed the starry sky and searched for bioluminescent plankton. 

In the resort, there was a divemaster, Teddy. Full of joy, after 2 years we could finally dive again, I had 2 fantastic dives with him. The first one took us to Reef No. 5, a 30-meter high coral wall, full of colorful corals, large and small fish in all colors, starfish, and we even saw a shark. Julia also tried diving and was totally thrilled. On the last day, we were able to do another dive with Teddy in Pulau Papan. After the dive, Teddy wanted to go to the village because he had some things to do. There is a wedding taking place in the village and Teddy wants us to go there. In wetsuits, Julia and I walk through the village - the looks of the village residents were priceless.

The Togian Islands are not without reason a paradise for divers. What shocked me, however, was the amount of (plastic) waste and the coral bleaching. Large parts of the corals were completely dead. Teddy explained that this was due to the low water level and the intensity of the sun during the dry months, effects of climate change. In addition, dynamite fishing used to be practiced here, which naturally caused massive damage and destruction to the underwater world.

There were only 8 guests in the resort, so besides us, there were 4 more. One of them was a model German citizen, who always had to philosophize about everything and felt ashamed of everything, but still had to participate in everything.

We enjoyed the time to the fullest, but as it is, even in paradise the clock never stops ticking and the departure day came faster than we would have liked. Since there are only 3 ferries (Monday, Thursday, and Saturday) to Gorontalo on the mainland, we had to leave on Monday. Teddy took us to the capital Wakai with the speedboat. The ferry was supposed to depart from there in the afternoon - supposedly! When we arrived in Wakai, we were told that the ferry could not start because the engine was broken. There will definitely be no ferry to Gorontalo before Thursday. Then a man gave us the tip that another ferry is leaving in 2 hours in Pasokan. Teddy is very eager and feels responsible for us to catch a ferry today. We fill the cans with 60 liters of gasoline, pack Fadli, a local we met on the way from Ampana to Malenge and always met again, and off we go. On the map, we then realize that Pasokan is twice as far away as Malenge, for which we already needed 2 hours of travel time. It feels like a race against time. Then the engine also fails - it turns out that the gasoline has been diluted with water. Stop, clean, and off we go again. Dolphins swim and jump past us - a picture-perfect farewell to dreamy days in paradise! Eventually, after 4 hours by speedboat, we arrive in Pasokan just a few minutes before the ferry arrives.

On the ferry, we then learn that it was in Malenge at 10 a.m. and started from there = the whole circumnavigation of the Togian Islands was not necessary at all. However, information flow doesn't work so well on the Togian Islands. Adventure Time and dolphins made the hardships worthwhile!