Today we are in Waingapu – another one of the Indonesian cities on an island (whose name is escaping me at present but will be filled in if I can located it.SUMBA! ) The ship was offering limited (like ONE) excursions. The port talk last night emphasized the unusual architecture, the prevalence of horses, and the continuing traditions of the indigenous population (which obviously is responsible for note in architecture above). I did find an entry finally in Wiki relating to the city. But it really doesn’t say a whole lot. One of the things that was mentioned was horses. Now, this is not an area of the world where horses would be native. All I can do is assume the blame is to be placed on the Spanish and Portuguese as they are responsible for the introduction of horses to other ares.
Traditional roofs have those four sided peaks which apparently can be either flattened or sharp on the top.
In any case, taking a tour was not on my list today. However, since there was a shuttle bus on offer, I decided to give it a try.
turns out these brightly colored beasts hold about a dozen people at best (or maybe 20 small children The outsides are brightly painted, the insides are benches that are worn, fragmenting and springs are non existent.
Almost all the roofs are tin. Some of it is painted, much looks like stains, and the rest is just hot and reflective in the sun. There were a few of the traditional roof lines, but the rest looked to be the most efficient use of sheets of corrugated tin.
Where there were walls, many were built of broken cement chunks fitted together. I saw one buffalo, one goat, a cat or two and, unlike the Philippines – no dogs. There were students in uniform at the one secondary school, but mostly there were children, and motorcycles everywhere.
Returning to the port – the highest thing around seemed to be the port control tower.
It was hot, it was humid and my head is starting to recover from the exhaust leak in the bus. Oh so not fun!
