Liberty!

Ternate

This little kid was GREAT at this game

Gail, I found another use for your eggs!  What will the village think?  LOL!

Lava rock and Pencil Cacti

I was able to get out on "liberty" for the first time here in Ternate.  It is a safer area, so everyone is getting one day and we must be in groups of 3 - 5.  They also have under cover military out patrolling.  They watch over us, but more so, they make sure none of us misbehave!  Our goal is to leave a good impression and promote a positive relationship with Indonesia.  We have had no trouble at all.  My favorite part of being out for the day was experiencing how wonderful the people are.  For most of them, it is the first time they have seen people from another country.  Those with cameras stop us and ask if they can take our picture!  They all smile and wave.  When our tour bus was taking us to the sites, we kept passing bunches of school children.  Every time, they laugh and giggle, wave and blow kisses.  We all felt like celebrities!

There are many volcanos in this area and Ternate is built at the base of one.  It was great to see the lava rock from the last eruption which was a very long time ago.  It did erupt in 2004, but only some ash. We also went to a beach and swam in some beautiful clear, warm water.  As I swam, there were many spots that were much warmer than other spots.  The warmer spots had living coral and I wonder if there are geothermal vents creating the warm areas.  I did not have goggles, so could only see the coral and fish from above the water, but it was still beautiful.

Getting food was interesting and I discovered that having an interpreter tell you what is on the menu is of little help.  None of us got what we ordered anyway!  Next time, I'll just do eenie meenie miney moe!

This island is THE Spice Island!  It is where the rest of the world discovered nutmeg, mace and cloves.  I learned that mace is a red, lacy coating found covering the nutmeg nut.  People lay them out on mats in the yard to dry.  There is one huge clove tree on this island from which the world takes its seeds to create  our supply of  nutmeg.

Walking around in town made me think of my dear friend, Gail.  There are chickens and goats running loose everywhere!  She could live here with her chickens and ducks and nobody would complain!  I saw the cutest little pair of baby goats at the beach!  One had a big yellow leaf in it's mouth trying to walk around with it, but it was bigger than he was!

We also saw a demonstration of an ancient ritual.  Now it is more like a ceremony (the interpreter called it a game.)  In times past, when the men had to carry a large bamboo down the mountain to the sea for making a boat, they performed this ceremony to give the bamboo power.  This helped the men have the strength to carry it.  They have six men hold the bamboo while one man has a big stick of incense.  He takes the incense and holds it under each section of bamboo.  They, then, do this chant while they push and pull the bamboo back and forth.

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Sulamahada Beach