Only in Gorontalo!

My friend Abbie, the ELF in Jakarta, came to visit me in Gorontalo recently. I picked her up at the airport and then we set off on a sightseeing tour of the town. Over the span of three days Abbie got to see a lot of what makes Gorontalo such an original place to visit.

Our first stop was at the Exotic Café where we had lunch by the ocean and watched cows and goats stroll lazily up and down the beach.

Then we went up to the old Portuguese fortress in Limboto that is made from the shells of bird eggs, among other things.

We also passed by Gorontalo’s newest tourist attraction – The T-Shit Store! I seriously don’t know if they just forgot the ‘r’ or if the store is intentionally named that. In any event, I also pointed out this store to my students and told them that it should be a lesson to them on the importance of spelling!

Then we went on a road trip and passed through the little village of Pulubalu, which is known for its roadside stands of steaming towers of corn. Back home on Long Island there’s also a lot of fresh corn for sale at roadside vegetable stands, but it’s all raw. I think it’s pure genius to sell already cooked corn – it’s the perfect snack. America could actually learn a thing or two from the Gorontalese here.

We stopped at Bolihutuo Beach for a quick swim and a delicious lunch of ikan bakar and dabu dabu iris. I’m pleased to report that Abbie is now a big fan of fresh grilled fish with Gorontalo’s own tomato/onion/chili salsa. At the rumah makan we happened to meet some members of a Gorontalo motorcycle club called the Gorontalo Tigers. We duly posed for photos with one of the guys and his bike - and then some other guy jumped in the picture too.

Finally we reached our destination – the 100 year old Bajo stilt village called Torosiaje. Life in Torosiaje revolves around the water.

We met this man who showed us how he repairs nylon fishing nets by hand. The nets seem so fragile! I imagine he spends a lot of his time knotting them back together.

We also met this little girl who was excited to show off her swimming skills. I was particularly intrigued by her traditional goggles fashioned out of wood and glass.

Then we went snorkeling off a tiny island near Torosiaje. We both found some cool stuff to take pictures of underwater. Abbie (who borrowed my modern plastic goggles) really liked the blue starfish and I was thrilled to find some cute blue belly blennies, which are endemic to Tomini Bay.

Gorontalo is definitely one of a kind! I'm glad I could share the experience with Abbie.

An improvised Lonely Planet guide to Gorontalo

During the first week of my Writing IV classes, I had my students write about interesting things to see and do in Gorontalo. Modeled after something I was required to do at the community college I taught at in New York, I called this a “Writing Diagnostic” – a timed in-class essay that would tell me something about their writing level. I promised them that I would then use their writing to create a customized grammar activity for the next class, emphasizing important errors. What I didn’t tell them, but maybe they guessed, was that the activity had a third objective - namely to provide me with a free detailed guide to Gorontalo, something that is sorely missing from Lonely Planet Indonesia. Last weekend I got to go to Monano Beach, one of the many beaches in the area, and this past weekend I got a chance to visit a couple more places.

Pentadio Resort – This spot was mentioned again and again in the essays as a great place to go swimming. My students raved about warm water, a number of different pools, slides, toys for children, spa treatments, etc. I imagined a luxury resort hotel tucked away in the palm trees of the village of Talaga. Alexa, Sarah and I checked it out on Saturday morning and although it was a far cry from the luxury resort I had imagined, it was still a decent pool. The entrance was marked with an elaborate gate and towering statues, but, as is typical of many places around here, the paint had faded and peeled off, leaving the impression that the “resort” had long since experienced its heyday. To add to its mystic, I had heard from multiple sources that the pool is said to be haunted by those who have drowned in its waters. I was explicitly advised not to go there in the late afternoon or evening as this is when the ghosts are active.

Here’s a picture of the pool fringed by palm trees and looking anything but haunted:

Here’s a picture of Sarah and me in our appropriately conservative swimming costumes warming up for our swim:

Otanaha Fortress – Left behind by the Portuguese, this fortress sits atop a hill outside Limboto. Accompanied by Helena, a lecturer from UNG who lives nearby, I took a bentor up to the top and checked out the spectacular view of Limboto Lake, the mountains, and the surrounding villages. The site is actually made up of the ruins of three separate fortresses: Otanaha, Otahiya and Ulupahu. An interesting fact I learned from one of my students is that bird eggs were used as one of the building materials. Here’s a view from Otanaha looking down at one of the other two smaller fortresses:

And here’s me relaxing at the top with Helena:

After taking this photo we climbed down 420 steep steps to the bottom and my calves are still sore. (I personally would have elected to take the bentor back down the hill, but I guess using the stairs is part of the whole experience).

Limboto Lake – Multiple students recommended taking a boat to an island in the middle of the lake where you can catch your own fish and have it cooked at the island’s restaurant. When I asked Helena about this, she said she knew of no such restaurant. Hmm. In any case, it’s still the dry season so the water level of the lake is pretty low. Maybe the boat to the island only appears in the wet season, like the dry-docked pedalo boats we passed…

Here’s a picture of Helena and me by the lake:

There are many more places my students recommended. Top on my wish list are Olele Beach and Saronde Island, which are both supposed to be great for snorkeling and diving. There’s also Bolihutuo Beach, Libuo Beach, Bitila Island, Molotabu Beach, Exotic Beach, etc. And let’s not forget about the Lombongo hot springs and waterfall! It’s my goal to check out new places every weekend. And I’m very excited for the start of the Gorontalo dive season, which runs from November to April.