Manado and Tangkoko

Two fish divers leaving

The morning of my departure from Bunaken I got my stuff packed but couldn’t find the bungalow key so I unpacked and repacked but still did not find it. Obviously I was a bit stressed about this especially after they checked the boat and didn’t find it there. The young guy who had served meals after Lino went home said he would check my room and look for it. I finally took everything out of my bag and found it tucked inside one of my backpack pockets. Before leaving I went back to use the bathroom in my room and noticed that one of the 50k notes ($3.50) I had left for the cleaning staff was gone. The young guy had taken it when he checked my room, even after I had already tipped him and the kitchen staff. It just goes to show that even in paradise there is an occasional bad apple. I didn’t confront him, but I did let his manager know since that is something she should be aware of. It always throws me when something like this happens, like when I catch a student cheating. I guess because the vast majority of people are honest, you just don't see the other ones coming.

Two Fish group shot

On the ferry

The motorcycle picked me up and whisked me off to the ferry. When we got there, we found out it was cancelled. Uh oh. My driver took me to another dock where luckily another ferry was getting ready to leave. Apparently there are a few that go and the first guy had previously lost his boat to large waves and some people had died so he doesn’t go when he thinks there is a chance of big waves. While waiting, I met a couple from the Netherlands that had just sold there property in Bunaken to another fellow from Germany who I also met. They spent half a year here for many years, but are getting older and diving less so they sold their place to the “youngster” who is in his 50’s. The boat looks hand made of wood, but is sturdy. They replace the roof every year. You’ll see why I asked next.

Heart with Scuba diver sculpture at new pier being built

New Pier being built

Soekarno Bridge coming into Manado marina

The ferry is a wooden handmade boat

Disembarking in Manado was an experience. It looked like other boats were blocking the usual spots so we sidled up to the side where the land was roughly in line with the roof. We then clambered onto the roof. When the boat drifted close enough to the dock, the boat workers grabbed onto the rubber bumpers and I tossed my stuff across to people on the dock (the Dutch guy joked that we should toss our valuables across first and he would catch them). Then I sat on the roof with my feet dangling until the boat got close enough again to step onto the rubber bumper where people on the dock would grab me and help me onto the dock. Then we walked almost ½ mile to an area where I could easily get a Grab bike to my hotel. The Grab bike was aother adventure. Lines are just a suggestion in traffic and the motorbikes slip between the cars whenever possible and sometimes try when it’s not possible. We had to stop once and wait for the cars to move before we could go again. I was pleased to see that the super tall white building I had guessed was my building was indeed the Best Western Lagoon.

Exit for the boat from roof to black rubber to dock

Best Western Lagoon is the tall white building on the right

driving between cars on scooter

I heart Manado sign

Best Western Lagoon shower

I checked into my hotel and since it was before noon, I had to wait about 15 minutes for my room to be ready. It was great to have a hotel room with proper infrastructure, even a 3-star. The room was probably quite nice when it was brand new, but is a little dated though still quite good for a 3-star. The view of the ocean was terrific. The AC worked great. The safe…was not powered up. I called and they sent a guy up. He looked at it, then went to get batteries. He came back a few minutes later with the batteries and installed them, but there was still an error. I let him know that I had to leave soon, as it was now 12:50 and Anthong was supposed to pick me up at 1:00. I had just decided to take my passport and cash with me on the hike when the guy came back with a whole new safe and swapped them out. Impressive!

Best Western Lagoon bathroom

Best Western Lagoon room

Best Western Lagoon View of water from room

My Guide Jun

It was a 2 hour drive to Tangkoko due to Manado traffic, but we used the nearly empty toll road once we got out of town. After exiting the toll road there were a lot of bends in the roadway so I had to focus to keep from getting carsick. We got to Tangkoko park and I met my guide, also named Jun. He set a strong pace down the path into the park. It was muddy in many places and he instructed me with “folllow me” so I tried to step in his steps since his shoes were clean and I took that as a good sign. After maybe 1.5 miles we stopped at a beach where he looked around, then told me to wait for him and he strode off down the beach. After 10 minutes I started to wonder if he went off to have some beers with his buddies, but he returned a couple minutes later apparently unsuccessful in locating Macaque monkeys. We continued down the main path still at a rapid pace.

Cetipede type insect that are all over the ground

A bit further down the road he veered off the road into the forest. Here, his repeated “follow me” admonitions were followed as best I could since I remembered something about large spiders and figured he would avoid running into them or at least they would hit him first. I didn’t see any spiders, but all over the ground were these things that looked like roly polys only long like a worm or centipede. I swear I heard one drop from above but can’t be absolutely certain.

Tree with another tree growing along it

Jun was like Davy Crockett leading me through the woods, ducking branches and sweeping between plants. Clearly he is in his element out here and this place is his own little playground, or giant playgound. He would hear something, stop, listen, then tear off in another direction. He also has incredible ability to spot things. We came across 4 cuscus way high up in trees far off and he found a good place to see them. He also used his binoculars to get me a good photo of them. The “dad” is looking right at us (he was calling to them to get them to look). The two babies were cute. Cuscus are sort of a mix between bear and sloth. They move very slowly through the trees but look like bears (I think they are actually a type of bear).

Three cuscus bears

Baby tarsier with light

Next we came across a known tree where tarsiers live. What’s cuter than a tarsier? A baby tarsier! It was crazy cute, so tiny with big eyes (the adults are only 6 inches high so this guy might have been 3-4 inches). They are nocturnal so not often seen during the day. I look lots of pictures and a video. I suspect it appears on cue when Jun comes because as soon as we said “bye” to it, it shifted and tucked back down into the tree out of sight. We then found a dead tree with and opening at the bottom, which had bats living at the top of the inside. Jun had me stick my head in and shine a light up it so I could see them shifting around. They were dropping shit on me literally. Later when I went to wipe my cheek I remembered the movie “Contagion” and made use of my anti-bacterial wipes.

Baby tarsier'

Shining my light up a tree to see a bunch of bats

Macaque monkey on the ground

We continued on and on with Jun calling various sounds out into the woods in search of the Macaque monkeys and the hornbill, which is like a toucan. We saw cuscus a few mores times and he spotted the hornbill multiple times, but when he pointed it out I could never see it, much to his frustration “It’s right there, don’t you see it?” However, when it flew away I saw something large flying so I reassured him that I had seen it and he could stop searching. We also finally found the monkeys but they had gone to the trees for the night so we watched them up there where the younger ones were playing and jumping from branch to branch. Later, we found one last monkey on the ground so I got a picture of him (a bit fuzzy with reduced light as it was close to sunset)

Macaque monkeys in the tree

Dad tarsier hunting

Having seen all the main attractions, we went back to the tarsier tree to await nightfall. A couple and their guide were already there. They were from Australia and the hubby had a great DSLR camera setup with a large zoom. The pics below are from them. What’s better than a baby tarsier? Two baby tarsiers! We also saw the dad who popped out to do some hunting before we spotted him and shone a light on him, which sent him scurryig up the tree he was on. He came back down and we got a picture of him before leaving so he could hunt in peace. Jun took off into woods like a bat out of hell and I had a hard time keeping up in the dark. We backtracked and went another direction while the group behind went down the path we had been on. This path (and I use the term VERY loosely, it was more dodging around trees and getting smacked by branches so my legs got swaths of mud on them) seemed to go nowhere and that is when I thought “Now he is leading me off to kill me.” However, we did hit the road eventually and he strode off quickly, avoiding the mud with his strong light. Hint: If you think your phone light is strong enough to avoid mud at night, it’s not.

Dad and Baby tarsier

Two baby tarsiers

I bid farewell to Jun, my superguide, slightly muddy but overall amazed at all the wildlife he found for me. Anthong got me home in 90 minutes since there was less traffic. He dropped me off at 8:30pm and would be back in 8 ½ hours to pick me up for the airport.

Tangkoko Nature Reserve