Year 2- 30 July 2025 –Banda Island- The Spice Islands

I had another early wake up all with the call to prayer but I turned on the fan and managed to drown it out for a while. We went ashore when we were ready to Abba’s House for breakfast which gave another good selection of cakes and pastries etc.

This morning, we were going on a walking tour of the tow with a guide who met us at Abba’s House. We walked first to a Christian Church built by the Dutch in 1873 and it had a lot of tombstones on the floor about the English to put them off. There was a lot of original wood and it is still used twice a week as a church. We then walked along to a house which was the house of Captain Sir Christopher Cole of the British Marines who captured the Beluga Fort from the Dutch in August 1810 and went on to capture Ambon and Java. He lived in the house we were outside and this house was used for the agreement with the Dutch to swap the Banda Rhun Island for Manhattan New York which was called at the time Little Amsterdam. We then went on to the house of Sultan Sjahrir who was an exiled by the Dutch from about 1936 until 1942 and he helped increase the education system in Banda. Opposite was a lovely old Dutch house which had a lovely courtyard and which is now a guest house.

There was then the Banda Museum which held lots of pictures of Banda and I learned that the Dutch hired 3,000 Japanese who they used to carry out the slaughter of 12,000 Bandan people. We moved on to a Chinese Temple which was built on the 16th century for the Chinese people in Banda. We walked further and came down to the port area where there were shops selling fruit and vegetables. We then walked on to the Beluga Fort built by the Dutch and saw more houses and stands drying fish in the sun. I had seen these dried fish in the market.

We continued to the old Dutch Governors House which was on the edge of the water which was well preserved. There were a number of young people outside practising drilling as the independent celebrations were coming up in August. They looked very military and quite menacing in a way. The British when they came fired a cannon at this house and it went through the front door and imbedded itself in the far wall and the indentation is still there.

We then walked up the fort on the hill and this had great views round the island and it just showed how the Dutch wanted to control these islands and how important they were to them. We walked down from the fort to Abba’s House where we had Nutmeg Juice and some snacks. It had been a great tour of the island and I now feel I had a good sense of the Banda Islands. What a remarkable special place this is. If you get an opportunity to come here you should. It is unique.

We returned to Stormbird and did some admin as usual. They were holding a special dinner and ceremony tonight for us commencing about 5.00pm. We rested and went ashore and the ceremony included the lady leader of Banda, the Chief of the Army, Police and Coastguard.

There were some initial speeches including being welcomed by the lady chief and then some local dancing about the Nutmeg harvest. We then had a good supper and then they had a band of local musicians who played international music with some Indonesian. A good time was had by all and it was a wonderful evening and a fabulous welcome and celebration for us all.

The picture of the day is me with the lady chief of Banda and the Chief of Police who was interested to know I had been a policeman in London.

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