The day began at 6am for me. My 10km run along the Dili foreshore was terrific. Cool with little humidity and a distance orange hew of a rising sun. Much to my surprise there were lots of runners. Men and women. Old and young. I expect this is because of the very scenic coast of Dili and the Portuguese culture of morning and afternoon outdoor exercise, even if its just for a stroll. We left at 9am and visited our first Timorese coffee shop. This one was dedicated to beans grown locally and roasted on the premises. The coffee was very very good. A blend of beans with ample strength but a subtle sweetness. Only full cream milk was on offer.
Before leaving Dili we visited the "Gallery of Live Memory", which featured a full history of the formation of independent Timor-Leste with many personal and press photos and newspaper clippings. This museum is dedicated to the two founding fathers of independent Timor-Leste being Dr Jose Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmão. Ramos-Horta was born in 1949 and by some miracle is still alive and is the current President. This is his fourth Presidential Term since independence and seen as the “father” of liberated Timor-Leste given his untiring diplomacy to tell the story of Timor-Leste under Indonesian rule and to seek international support for independence. Xanana Gusmão, born in 1946, Is also considered a liberator of Timor-Leste and was the Prime Minister at the time Ramos-Horta Was President and is now the current Prime Minister. Both men have a long association and Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Ramos-Horta Served in and led the Armed Forces and managed to liberate Timor-Leste without ever firing a single shot !!! Many say this is why he received the Nobel Peace prize and 15 Honorary Doctorates from Universities around the globe including UNSW and Harvard. The current Catholic Archbishop Dom Carlos Ximenes Belo shared the 1996 Nobel Peacg Prize with Ramos-Horta. Ramos-Horta is a painter and Gusmão is a poet. Two peas in pod in politics and life. There were several personal items of both men in this museum including their artwork and degrees and even their Nobel Peace Prize Certificates. The most prized exhibit in this museum is the original agreement between the UN and Indonesia to grant independence to Timor-Leste in 1999. We were guided by two young students, which you will see in the film.
Driving between Dili and Manatuto confirmed the uniqueness of the Timor-Leste landscape. It is like no other I have seen. Mountains with few trees meeting a blue-green ocean. This part of our drive reminded me of savannah Africa but the difference is the sparkling blue-green ocean right next to it. Manatuto (Pop 46,619) is known for its salt lakes producing ample table salt and for tamarinds used in sauces. We visited the local markets perched high on a hill but not many stalls were open with very few local shoppers.
The road from Dili to Manatuto was excellent because it was built by the Chinese in exchange for crude oil and gas. The road from Manatuto to Bacau however was terrible – gravel and full of pot holes. We went from doing 80km/h to 40km/h and less to cross the pot holes. An hour before Bacau we enjoyed a terrific light lunch of BBQ local fish caught that morning with sticky rice and home-grown hot as hell green chillies. These chillies were not just hot but full of flavour which lingered in my tongue long after we had eaten. We drove through Bacau without stopping since we would visit and stay overnight here the next day.
The drive from Bacau to Lospalos was even worse – the road was simply terrible. No Chinese deals here !!! Lospalos (Pop 29,236) also has bad roads but very colourful well kept houses. Lospalos is also famous for having the best examples of the Fataluku Traditional Houses or Uma Lulik in the local Tetum language. These are traditional wooden huts/rooms on stilts with carvings and a steep triangular pitched roof. No one lives in these. These holy huts symbolize a link between the past and present, the dead and the living. They are re-built renovated every 10 to 20 years, to serve as a bond between families. The rebuilding process strengthens the ties between the past and the present. A Uma Lulik belongs to a specific family, but it also stands for all other descendant groups that have formed a bond with it through marriages. Ultimately, Uma Lulik embody the spirit of the family, its network, history, traditions, and, inevitably, its essence. We also visited the following attractions: War Memorial, Central Sports Field and the Virgin Mary Church complete with its own Uma Lulik as a bell tower.
Lospalos is 405m above sea level so was very cool with little humidity but had many mosquitoes, which we kept at bay using alcoholic hand cleaner left over at the hotel from the COVID days. I enjoyed my first western-style beef steak at the hotel restaurant featuring meat from local water buffalo. Delicious. Our room was very basic with a no flush toilet and bucket of water instead. No Wi-Fi so after dinner I finally introduced Maureen to the movie IN TIME made in 2015 with Juston Timberlake showcasing my theory that only time is the viable non-tradeable universal currency and not bit coin. Sleeping was easy here given the temperate climate. Thank you Lospalos.
PS: Our driver/guide is so funny. He refers to himself in the first person. So when he gives us advice or instructions he says: Felipe will now pull-over so Mr John can take a photo of this traditional house. When I ask him can you film me he says: Felipe can film you !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment