We woke up at 4:45 this morning to catch our early flight to Sumba. Unfortunately, our flight got rescheduled and did not leave until 2 pm. Not many people fly to Sumba, so we suppose they waited until they had more passengers. Be that as it may, it meant that we actually lost a day on this new island; consequently, this is a post of very few photos, but lots of information.
Why Sumba? Because it is still untouched by mass tourism, plain and simple. There are few places left on this Earth where things have changed little in the past century, and Sumba is definitely one of them. Of course, this requires adjusting to no luxuries, even things we take for granted. There is no electricity provided where we are. People make do with small solar panels that only suffice during daylight hours, after that it is strictly generator power, and after 10 pm, its total darkness. We are getting wi-fi, but it is so minimal, I doubt that I will be able to post this, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Our humble abode
The people of Sumba are mostly descendants of Melanesians. Until less than 100 years ago, head-hunting was a big thing here. Tribes fought with one another and the severed heads were put on high poles called Andung (Skull trees), placed in the middle of the village. Many of these Andung can still be seen. Nowadays, they no longer kill each other, but animosity between clans still exists. Our home is in a place called Oro, the town by this name however no longer exists, as it has been burned down by attacking enemies many times over.
The main religion here, although many claim to be Christians, is a form of Animism called Marapu. There are many traditional villages throughout, and people speak over 6 different languages, none of which is written; everything is passed down verbally.
I just wanted to peak your interest to get you started. Beyond this, I have little to add at the moment. We have made plans to rent a motorbike for tomorrow and we anticipate taking the coastal road to check out different beaches. The following day, we are thinking of hiring a driver and guide to take us to some of these villages, We hope some sort of celebration may be taking place there.
For now I can only share a couple of pictures of our location. There is a beach, and a couple of huts.
The front yard
The beach at low tide
The reception area. There is only another couple, from Holland.
Life flows by effortlessly and peacefully. The lady that owns the property is quite the character. She speaks good English and is a very good cook. The environment is quite different from Bali or Java. Not much verdant greenery here, as the soil is quite rocky, and there are no volcanoes.
Well, here you have the beginning of this new adventure. I’d like to think the future blogs will be somewhat more exciting.
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