Day 361: Labuan Aji

Mar 30 - I get the impression that Sumbawa, and Moyo Island, are a ways of the regular tourist circuit for Indonesia. People had told me that before but you never really know until you are there. There is nothing fancy here, and the jungle pushes in at the edge of the village. We are the only people staying at this resort, and I see the resort next door also has just one couple.

We have the usual collection of geckos in our room. There is one, however, that is really loud. I’ve never heard this type before, and it wakes us up several times in the night with its sequence of chirps. Between this and the early AM startup of chanting at the local mosque, we get a bit of reduced sleep time.

Like everywhere else in Indonesia, what appears to be a simple ethnic makeup is much more complicated under the surface. Sumbawa shares cultural roots with Sulawesi, and has many distinct tribal groups, all speaking different languages. The hotel owner informs me that Moyo Island alone, with perhaps 2,000 inhabitants, is composed of four different tribes. It makes me wonder if the dominance of Islam has, over time, dampened the cultural differences that would otherwise lead separatist movements on many of these islands.

We walk inland, into the hills, on a small path that heads toward the center of the island. There are small farms on the way, and teak plantations. Eventually this gives way to the jungle, and we enter the forest reserve where Air Terjun Mata Jitu is located (Air Terjun means waterfall).

I notice that the rock around here, where exposed, is almost exclusively coraline limestone. Where are all the volcanics? I never do see them.

There is one group of visitors when we arrive at the river bank, but they soon leave. For the next hour we explore this area, we see no one else.

A rainstorm passes through. We can hear it coming so find some trees to stand under that are leaning to the side thus providing just enough shelter.

The storm brings out wet weather animals, including hundreds of tiny frogs.

Go back to the village. On the way, I spook an animal rooting around the side of the path. I don’t see it but am almost certain it is a wild pig.