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Tanjung Api

Lake Poso to Ampana

After spending a week in Tanah Toraja, we decided to travel to the north. We took a long, jolting bus ride to Pendolo, on the shore of Lake Poso in central Sulawesi. As we climbed out of the southern coastal lowlands and into the highlands of central Sulawesi, the road was enclosed by a thick forest populated with bizarre, “twisting” palm trees. Once we passed into the Poso area, we passed many police checkpoints on the road to Pendolo, signs of the difficult political situation in the area. Pendolo was incredibly quiet for Indonesia. There was hardly any traffic on the road. The lake itself exuded an eerie silence. It is so long that the far shore could not been seen in the distance. On the shore it feels like one is standing on the edge of an immense, calm sea. Because it was a Sunday, there was no ferry to Tentena, at the other end of the lake. We sat down on the side of the road with our packs and waited for a ride. There was no through traffic. People, dressed in their best Sunday clothes, passed on their way to church. After almost an hour, an unusual amount of time to wait for a ride in Indonesia, a couple on the way to Palu picked us up in their car.

Tentena is another sleepy town on Lake Poso. Although we could see burnt-out churches and mosques, it was hard to believe that this quiet town had suffered so much conflict and violence in the last few years. People were starting to return and buildings were slowly being restored. We sincerely hoped that the peace would last. Outside of Tentena is a beautifully terraced waterfall in the forest. We climbed the slope to find a secluded pool and spent the afternoon relaxing in the cool, rushing water.

Ice cream Indonesian style Eric drives the boat

To continue to Ampana and the Togean Islands, we had to pass through the seaport town of Poso, the epicenter of violence in the area. There was no choice: Poso was the transport hub. Most of the local people indicated that it was safe to travel, as long as we didn't stay too long. Already on the road into town we could see the depressing signs of conflict: blackened and destroyed houses, mosques and churches. Some of the remains, now invaded by vines and creepers, had obviously been abandoned for a long time. We passed a string of police and army checkpoints, but were rarely stopped. Soldiers in combat fatigues sat inside small roadside huts, watching the traffic go by. In Poso we stopped just long enough to find transport to Ampana.

The road to Ampana wound and twisted its way along the coast. We were packed into a “Kijang” (a kind 4x4 SUV common in Indonesia ) with a family with four children. As we sped along the winding road, everyone was soon carsick. They vomited into plastic bags or directly out of the windows. Nevertheless, when we stopped for lunch the entire family sat down to a full meal of grilled fish and rice! Back on the road, the children were soon throwing up.

We arrived in the early afternoon in Ampana. There was enough time to charter a boat to visit Tanjung Api (“Cape Fire”), a series of limestone cliffs nearby. Natural gas leaking out of the earth filters through the porous rock, igniting as it comes to the surface. We arrived just before dusk. As it became dark, we could clearly see holes along the cliffs dancing with blue flame. Our boatman laughed with delight as he showed us how to roast a banana in one of the burning pits. Riding in his narrow outrigger canoe, we returned to Ampana under a vast dome of stars. Waves of luminescence, stirred up by the passage of the boat through the black water, trailed behind us in the warm night.