Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua, Indonesia
It took Elenka and I just five flights and two boats to get to our cabina in Raja Ampat. Toronto to London, to Singapore, to Surabaya (in Java), to Makassar (in Sulawesi), to Sorong (in West Papua). From there it’s just a couple of comfortable boat rides to the Tabari Dive Lodge on the isle of Merpati in the outer limits of Raja Ampat.
Easy-peasy you might think, but I had a major out-of-body experience during the 4th flight. The only sleeping we’d been able to do throughout this 58 hour journey was from the comfort of chairs in flight departure lounges, or in the case of my out-of-body experience, from the seat of an airplane.
I opened my eyes and saw Elenka’s head resting on my shoulder, then looked at the passengers surrounding me — they were silent. And no sound came from the jet engines either. Had we landed? I looked at my watch; we were just one hour into this two hour flight, and the entire journey was over open sea. Could this be The Good Place? Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain, my ears popped, and noise exploded from every which-way. It was nothing more than barotrauma, or airplane ear, what you sometimes get from pressure build up while flying.
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The French owned Tabari Dive Lodge, just a one hour boat ride away from the hustle and bustle has a very Robinson Crusoe feel to it. The cabinas are luxurious; the food is exotic; the staff top notch; and the outer reefs with their sea creatures, spectacular.
On any given dive you can see mantas, sharks and barracudas, along with sea turtles and beautifully coloured, monster-sized clams. Once, I was able to come within centimetres of touching the tail of a metre long cuda. The best way to fully see Tabari is by clicking this link: https://www.booking.com/hotel/id/tabari-dive-lodge
Elenka and I have always felt that the further afield you travel the more apt you are to encounter interesting people. Tabari was no exception. Right from the get-go we hooked up with a young couple, Sven (from Berlin) and Alwina (from Cape Town). They work remotely for the same company and alternate their home base every three months by living in one another’s hometown. How could you beat that? We sucked up to them so much that they eventually invited us to visit them in Cape Town.
Shortly after Sven and Alwina left, Elenka and I were at a communal dinner table one night when what looked and sounded like a family of five, Germans maybe, were speaking English together. I was intrigued.
The following night the seven of us found ourselves at the same table. Turns out the father was originally from Holland, the mother from Russia. The other three, son (with girlfriend) and daughter, all in their early to mid 20s, were born and raised in Switzerland. Here’s the fascinating part. Mom and Dad do speak English, but don’t speak one another’s native tongue. From the time the children were able to form words they spoke Dutch only, with Dad, and Russian only, with Mom. When they were old enough to go to school they learned Swiss-German, and spoke only that at school. The only way they could have a four-way conversation was by having the kids learn English, their fourth language. So, English would be the next linguistic step.
And that is the way it still works: At one point I watched and listened to the daughter speak Russian with Mom; then move on to ask Elenka a specific question in English; followed by a quick one-on-one with Dad in Dutch; then on to the girlfriend, who she spoke to in Swiss-German. I thought I was going to blow a brain fuze.
Oh, I almost forgot, we’ve also been invited to visit the parents at their home in Zurich. Elenka’s looking into ways and means of doing a stopover in Switzerland for flights destined to South Africa, where maybe we can all go cage diving with Great-White Sharks off the coast of Cape Town?
On another note: I’ve just received four photos the Swiss family took of a sea creature called the blue-ringed octopus. The photos are at the very bottom of the oh so many attached pics.
According to Google: Blue-ringed octopuses are one of the world's most venomous marine animals. Despite their small size —12 to 20 cm — and relatively docile nature, they are very dangerous to humans if provoked when handled, because their venom contains the powerful neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin.
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Tomorrow, we go to the Togian Islands in Central Sulawesi, where Google may or may not exist.
Cate
2023-02-02
What can I say…..wonderful pictures……worth all that travelling by far and next trip already in the works…..enjoy every minute…..take care😊
Arancha
2023-02-02
Amazing place! Looking forward to go there! So jealous to see you are coming back to Togian... Guess you are coming back to Bahia Tomini? Such great memories!
Daniel
2023-02-02
Fantastic pictures. You really deserved a wonderful destination after such a gruelling journey to get there. And I'm certain no sucking up was required, you're very easy to grow attached to 🥰 Enjoy Togain and Tana Toraja and we'll see you soon (touch wood 🤞🤞🤞)
Kimberley
2023-02-02
Really nice to see that you are in Indonesia again! It looks amazing 🤩 say hi to Ellen from me. Seeing your pictures makes me want to go back!! Greetings from the Netherlands :)
Peter
2023-02-02
Looks lovely Jack. Take it easy on those ears, you may need them :)
Steph z
2023-02-02
Love the photos and your wonderful stories too. It will be -30 degrees here tomorrow.
Renate
2023-02-02
Zu all diesen phantastischen Unterwasseraufnahmen fehlen mir beinahe die Worte. Im Grunde ist dann so eine lange Anreise es doch wert. Danke für eure Reiseberichte.
Renate
2023-02-02
I thought, I can write it in German. 😂 The shots under water are spectacular. It is worth, to have such a long way to come there. Thanks for your reports.
Margo
2023-02-02
Good on you two to follow the yellow brick language road. Such a gift to be able to speak so many languages. Glad you have made it to your tranquil nest and enjoy the opportunity to meet such interesting people. Love the pics! Keep em coming.
Michele
2023-02-03
What wonderful adventures you are having. Thanks for involving us!
Larry & Jeanne
2023-02-06
Thanks for still sending your wonderful stories and photos. We love to see them show up in the inbox.
Irene
2023-02-08
Beautiful pictures happy to see you are on the move again! I enjoy reading your and Elena's adventurous travels. Elena's photos definitely are Gallery worthy to be enjoyed by many! Looking forward to your next travels
Majka
2023-02-09
Oh wow. Sounds and looks amazing.