Year 2- 29 July 2025 –Banda Island- The Spice Islands

I must have ben woken between 4.30am and 5.00pm by the call to prayer which went on for about half an hour. Then there was the singing which in turn woke up the cockerels who woke up the dogs which woke up the cats and then the local boats started with their load engines going Phut Phut!!. In short it was an early disturbed morning demanding you get up but that was part of its charm.

We went ashore to Abba’s House (Ciulintang Bintang Estate – this was an old Dutchman’s House – Bintang means Star) where we had breakfast and coffee. The coffee was instant powder but there were local cakes and rolls and dishes made with almond and coconut and palm syrup which were delicious. We were heading off on a Spice Tour – to inform us about the spices and why the Banda Islands became the Spice Islands. There are 11 Banda Islands, 4 of which have Nutmeg Plantations. As I have written in previous blogs it has a long and rich history with the Portuguese, Dutch and British controlling the islands and the Spice Trade.

We walked through the village to get to the port where we were taking a boat over to Banda Besar Island and we are anchored off Banda Naira – the main administrative centre. The streets were somewhat untidy with some rubbish here and there but the stalls and shops were open. There nutmegs and almonds lying on mats drying in the sun and some were selling fish, chillis and vegetables and fruit. It was busy with mopeds driving around us like busy ants. We were seeing the raw Banda here warts and all.

The long wooden boat took us through the shallow patch at the Southern end of the lagoon and through it toward Banda Pesar a long banana shaped island where the main plantations are. The water was shallow and very clear and we could see coral beneath us. There was quite a large coral reef we had to skirt round and when the tide went out later we could see it from the island itself. We could now see Gunung Api (the volcano) from the other side and we could see the 1988 lava flow on the side flowing down to the sea. It therefore flowed both sides. It was a shame that there was the odd bit of rubbish in the water although it was crystal clear. There were the long traditional boats whizzing all over this bay with houses on stilts over the water at the other end of the island.

We went ashore and the guide explained that the part we were standing on was actually the after effect of the volcano and it had added a section to Banda Pesar. We walked on into the village and passed peoples houses, mostly built of breeze block and covered with plaster and painted. Some were neat and tidy and some could have done with a tidy up and a removal of detritus which looked like it had been there for some time. We saw evidence of the Dutch’s occupation with old walls which had gone into disrepair. We saw the odd house that they built and an old drying room which they used for the Nutmeg before it was shipped. They would to line it with shelves, spread out the nutmegs and light a fire in the middle.

The foliage was vibrant and everything grows well and fast here. Whilst sunny there is lots of moisture and humidity. We walked up a staircase which the Dutch had built hundreds of years ago through the village and came to the Holy Well. This is looked after by the villages, is well kept and people use it to drink from and some believe it has medicinal properties.

We then had to get on the back of a series of mopeds and were taken pillion style up through the village to a plantation. This was a natural plantation and did not look like a vineyard for example with orderly lines. There were many Nutmeg Trees which were lower and very large almond trees. The almond trees were 300-350 years and some deeper in were about 500 years. The almond trees provide the shelter from the sun and from the cool breezes when they flow up from Australia. Almonds are produced all year round whereas Nutmeg only has 3 harvests. The almonds the local people collect from the floor and they are falling all year and for Nutmegs they have to climb to get them. They are a yellow type of fruit which is the casing for the nut and they make jams, syrup, cakes etc from this outer yellow casing. Surrounding the nut inside there is a red type covering which they use in cooking and then the nut inside is dried and inside that is the Nutmeg itself which is so valuable. In this plantation there were also clove trees and cinnamon trees which you could tell from the smell of their leaves. Cinnamon comes from the inside of the bark which is dried in the sun and it turns brows and curls.  The Nutmeg grows so well here and they have tried to take it to Sri Lanka and Madagascar but the quality is apparently not so good.   

We then hopped on to the mopeds again and passed the Blood Stone which is where the Dutch made an agreement with the Chief for the Nutmeg provided that the Dutch respected their wives and culture and way of living. We then continued to an Old Fort which the Dutch had built called Hollandia which has great views and they would have been able to see any ships coming for miles. The picture of the day is Adam and I outside the fort looking across to the Gunung Api and Banda Naira. We then hopped on the mopeds and were taken on through the island on a sort of tarmacked track which had a lot of potholes to top of the island where we stopped at a look out point where they provided us with fired banana and a sort of carrow root. You could have Nutmeg coffee which a little bitter or Cinnamon tea.

We then retraced our steps by moped and they took us all the way down and to the boat where we again crossed to Banda Naira where we went back to Abba’s House for lunch which was good. We then came back to Stormbird for an hour and then we went snorkelling. Our local boat took us to a small island outside the entrance and the coral was beautiful and the structures were the largest coral structures I have seen. There were all sorts of colours. With coral come fish and this reef was very active with mostly small fish of all sizes and colours. The boat then took us to the bottom of the lava flow where you could see the wall of lava and the fact is that the coral has grown back since the last eruption. We saw a small turtle and then a large moray eel sticking its head out of a hole in the coral. I kept out of its way.

We came back to Stormbird, had a welcome beer and then went ashore for supper at the restaurant/hotel opposite. It had been a great day and we look forward to a walking tour of the village/town tomorrow. This place feels special and it needs to be preserved as it feels like a hidden gem.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.  I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com