A breathtaking journey through the land of coconut trees

MANADO, North Sulawesi (JP): If you happen to be in Manado, North Sulawesi, and plan to go on to Gorontalo, don't miss the Manado-Gorontalo road trip. The journey takes more time than traveling by airplane, however, fantastic vistas await you along the way.

Allowing for time to view the panorama and to take photographs, it is much better to leave for Manado early in the morning. The Manado-Gorontalo overland trip itself takes eight hours or more. The length of the trip also depends on how long and how often you pause during the journey. Despite some bad road segments, this long journey will not exhaust you. The amazing scenes along this 460 km path will make you forget about them.

The best way to enjoy the wonderful scenery along this Trans- Sulawesi highway is by renting a good air-conditioned car plus a skillful driver. The price of renting a Kijang car for the Manado-Gorontalo trip is normally Rp 350,000 one-way. However, if you need the car in a hurry, the rental can cost up to Rp 500,000 (the driver's lunch and uang rokok are not included in this price). You can also rent a Kijang car together with other passengers leaving for Manado for approximately Rp 35,000 per person. In Manado, two firms operate share taxis. If you take one, unfortunately, you must wait until all the seats are fully occupied. Therefore, the trip is dependent on other passengers. Furthermore, you cannot stop the car whenever you want to without dealing with other passengers. By renting a private car you can conveniently ask the driver to stop at any spot you like.

My German friend, Thomas, and I were lucky to have Tolle, a helpful and friendly driver. He is a native Gorontalo and often drives the Manado-Gorontalo highway and back again. This 29-year old man drove the car well. He told us briefly about the villages or towns that we were heading to and guided us to the best places for photography.

Coconut trees

The Trans-Sulawesi highway connects the north and south of the island of Sulawesi. Buses and trucks commute the length of it. We started our first stage from the southwest of Manado, actually not on the Trans-Sulawesi road. This road was under construction as we passed by. However, taking this route meant we could clearly see Manado Bay on our right hand side.

After two hours of driving, the first village that we encountered was Senduk. It was small with wooden rumah panggung (stage house) and churches. Coconut, clove and banana trees lined both sides of the road in this village. The road twists and turns but our driver, who had driven from Manado to Makassar with foreign tourists, did not have many problems. It is not surprising that North Sulawesi province yields copra: For long stretches of the Manado-Gorontalo road the dominant tree is the coconut tree, tall and slim, reaching heights of up to 30 meters. The sights changed as we drove on up the road.

Besides plain, wooden, zinc-roofed houses, there were also traditional Minahasa houses, and more coconut trees. Only two or three cars passed us during our trip.

We joined the Trans-Sulawesi road in Tumpaan, a small fishing village, where bendi (horse cart) are the main transport and most houses are zinc-roofed.

In Amurang, a larger town we passed further along, coconut was again the dominant tree. As in other towns that we had passed, the concrete buildings in this town were churches. After driving approximately 160 kilometers, we reached the road that branched to Gorontalo and Kotamobagu -- the capital of Bolaang Mongondouw district. We quickly reached a deserted road. On both sides of the road were huge grass fields where cows were grazing. Arriving in Lolak, Bolaang Mongondouw district, coconut trees filled the area as far as the eye could see. As we did not want to miss this amazing view, we stopped at several points to take some photographs. "Hold your camera, at the next spot there are more wondrous vistas," shouted Tolle, who knew each corner of this Trans-Sulawesi road well. He referred to a spot called Maelang.

This small town is situated about at the halfway point on the Trans-Sulawesi road. A stop in Maelang is a must. You must not miss the most spectacular view along the coastline of North Sulawesi. The beach in Maelang is the best point for sight- seeing. You will see fine white sand, a glossy marine blue sea, coconut trees and a small island. It is really a fantastic sight. Unfortunately, you can only witness this virgin beach from the road in Maelang. The one-hour drive from Maelang was not smooth since some parts of the dangerously curving road were under construction. We saw only coconut trees, and there was seemingly no civilization in the area.

As we had already accomplished half of our journey on this hot, cloudless afternoon, we started to think about food. "We will stop for lunch in Bintauna," answered Tolle after I had asked him whether there was a good rumah makan (restaurant) in the vicinity. The Rumah Makan Gusnar in Bintauna is well-known restaurant among Manado-Gorontalo drivers, where they frequently stop for lunch. It is a simple restaurant, serving various local and Indonesian dishes. The food, in the restaurant that proclaims itself halal, is delicious and reasonably priced. "It is the last food stop. There are no more restaurants along this road until Gorontalo," Tolle exclaimed."We must buy water and snacks because we still have 160 km farther to go."

The next road we passed along was smooth but curved. To the right side of the road we still could enjoy a view of the north coastline of North Sulawesi, that was sometimes hidden behind dense coconut trees and wild vegetation. Most of the plain houses in this area were zinc-roofed and had plaited bamboo or cement walls. Another town we passed was Kuandang. Compared to other slow-moving towns we had passed, Kuandang was alive. The road was filled with life.

We began to perceive the rhythm of a real town as we arrived in Lomboto. The sun had already set as we arrived at Gorontalo, a Moslem-dominated town and the capital of the municipality of Gorontalo. The most relieved person after arriving at Gorontalo was Tolle. He was happy to have driven us safely and pleasantly to Gorontalo. (Wahyuni Kamah)