The small island of Karimunjawa is "off the beaten trail" in many ways... Something that was both wonderfully freeing and frustrating over the past six days. We were often the only Westerners in sight, but the island had only one restaurant ! (Although it was romanced themed :))
We saw the most beautiful tropical coral and fish, weathered the perfect storm, and had a blast scootering around the entire island while waving, honking, and shouting "ALLOH!!" to everyone we passed (who found four white tourists on scooters just about the funniest thing imaginable!).
The island, with a small, poor, and little educated population, does have a lot to overcome before it can truly live up to its possibility. We encountered trash and many ecologically (and at times ethically) questionable practices that made us once again thank our lucky stars for our education and ability to see the "big picture." We hope Karimunjawa is able to be conserved so many Indonesians and foreigners can see it!!
On a lovely wooden boat off to see some coral! (This is one day of two sunny days!)
Enjoying our beloved "Sunset Beach"-- we came here four times!
Sunset Beach being awesome
Sharing a typical Indonesian BBQ with our fellow boat companions. Highly suspicious of us at first, we soon won them over with our swimming abilities (Indonesians do not know how to swim!), and our willingness to try just about anything. They were most excited to see just how much we loved a "local and exotic fruit"... Watermelon!!!!
Stacen cold. We were wet and cold. So cold. Although many locals assured us Karimunjawa is usually always warm and sunny, we got four days of downpours.
Bonding with our boat- mates. The adorable little girl worked up the courage after two days to ask us our names and for a picture (in English!). The women sport what all respectable Muslim women wear at the beach... Burkinis. Our bikinis were quite the scandal.
Trash, a sadly common site
Karimunjawa kiddos excited to see us Westerners!
Exploring the mangroves on a rainy day
Finally at peace with our one and only FULL day of sun!
Sunny day! So so so happy!
No comments:
Post a Comment