A breathtaking journey through the land of coconut trees

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)