Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Only India, China and the United States have more human inhabitants than does Indonesia.
Very few of Indonesia’s circa 284 million people live in Raja Ampat; the archipelago is home to circa 70 thousand.
A visitor on a boat in Raja Ampat is likely to see other boats, but infrequently.
It is a real “event” whenever any local inhabitants glide by.
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At 4.15 pm on 11 October 2024 most members of our party entered the waters of a cave that is variously perceived as “natural wonder” or “pilgrimage site”.
Tomolo Cave (aka “Tomolol”) is on Misool, the southernmost of Raja Ampat’s four “main” islands.
Provided skilled guides are present, non-expert visitors can safely and easily swim right through Tomolo.
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This post’s featured image (copyright Doug Spencer) looks as if its location must be somewhere far distant from the place pictured in #16 of this teaser series.
In fact, it was taken on the same day, along the edge of the same island – Misool.
Eight hours had passed since #16’s image was taken, and we had enjoyed several extraordinary experiences in the interim.
Still, at 3.47 pm on 11 October 2024 we were not many kilometres distant from the morning’s “scantily clad” location.
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Some of Raja Ampat’s shores have to be seen to be believed…and even then, one could well wonder, “am I dreaming, or did someone spike this morning’s coffee?”
Most of Misool Island is karst, and its coastal edges present a constantly-shifting array of “fantastical” shapes and surfaces.
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Obviously, the waters immediately beneath and around a village’s small jetty do not contain the richest of Raja Ampat’s extraordinary reefs.
Inevitably, the boats which come to and go from Marandan Weser will have a negative impact, as will the villagers’ jetty-based recreational activities.
Even so, standing on the jetty’s deck, pointing my camera at the water below….
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To say the least, the villagers of Marandan Weser (aka “Marandanweser”) treated our visit as a very welcome, important occasion.
They are Papuans, who are very actively keeping alive their particular culture…and conserving – and repairing – the superb natural environment which is integral to it.
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The name of “our” pinisi – Ombak Putih – translates into English as “white wave”.
13 October 2024 was our final full day in Raja Ampat.
Before that morning’s snorkelling at Yenbuba (aka “Yanbuba”) – which is surely among the world’s finest snorkelling sites – our hosts hoisted Ombak Putih’s sails, so we could see and photograph the vessel in its full glory.
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Photographers prize “the golden hour” – a non-precise term for something that occurs twice-daily on days when the sun is not entirely obscured by clouds.
Shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset the sun nears the horizon, and “our” planet is bathed in flattering, “honeyed” light.
Raja Ampat’s karst-dotted seascape is exquisite during “golden hour”; I took the featured image from “our” pinisi at 5.44 pm on 10 October 2024.
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Karst, as defined in its Wikipedia entry:
a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground.
Much of Raja Ampat – including more than one thousand of its small islands, isles and islets – is karst.
The soluble nature of the relevant rock is often unmistakably evident.
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You are looking at a perfectly ordinary twilight – perfectly ordinary by Raja Ampat standards, at least.
Both photos were taken within a few seconds of each other, several hours after our visit to Aduwey; eventually, a series of multi-image posts will show what happened in its classroom.
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