Molana, a hidden gem in the Banda sea
Molana is a hidden gem located south in the Moluccans, Indonesia. Other than a website there is not much is to be found about this island online, But after a few WhatsApps, and paying the deposit we surrendered ourselfs to the hope that it would all work out.
We were welcomed by a lady called Betty. She was a very interesting character, full of laughter, wearing a Chelsea shirt she was awaiting us at the airport. She didn’t have any front teeth left in her mouth, and Alessa and I wondered how she managed to bite in any kind of food, but yeah that’s not important to this story. They brought us to a small harbour village at the East side of Ambon.
We were welcomed by our “captain” wearing his flip flops, and a cigarette dangling out of his mouth. The small white boat was waiting for us, when our baggage was loaded we climbed in and got ready for our trip to Molana island. The engine roared loudly, the captain pushed the boat out with a bamboo stick, and he got behind the wheel. The small boat made its way out of the harbour and we got into the open sea.
The trip took us in-between islands, full of coastal villages build around churches that rose out from the village centre. The last part of the journey took us over the open ocean for about 15 minutes. I can tell you that this boat was not made for these circumstances. The waves rose high above us, the boat would go up, crash down just before the next wave would come. While this was happening the captain calmly lit up another cigarette and drove the boat with one hand. Controlling the engine speed by more or less folding the fuel tube together. To be fair, he got us there safely so I can’t really complain about this all.
The island of Molana
Molana is an uninhabited island, and people only come to the island when tourists want to stay on there. There are about 4 cabins and a larger wooden house on Molana, where you can get food 3 times a day and some water. Other than that, there is not much to be found here. It feels like you are Robinson Crusoe when you are sitting on the beach, with no one around and all you can see is some other islands. The beach is on the North part of the island where you can sit all alone on you stretch of paradise. It is truly a wonderful feeling to be with someone alone on an island, without a way to quickly go and get or do something. When time is all you have, I found myself filling it with thinking and talking about those thoughts with my girlfriend.
It is amazing to be on your own island, however the accommodation was very basic. It was a wooden hut, with a bed, a fan and a mosquito net. Really basic without warm water, and electricity in the evening only. The consequence of nobody living in these huts for the most time, is that nature tries to take back what’s hers. Insects and especially ants are everywhere.
A capsized boat in the Banda sea
We arrived on Sunday morning and found that the locals from nearby islands do sometimes spend an afternoon on Molana. It was a bit of a shock to us that we weren’t alone on OUR island. When we were sitting on the beach on our plastic chairs, we saw 3 boats quickly approaching the island and were unsure why. At first we thought maybe pirates?! But it turned out that it were just a few youngsters wanting to spend the day away from the city.
Our little paradise was filled with laughter and shouting for the afternoon, and we were happy when they set out to return to the mainland at the end of the day. They all left together and we were still sitting in our plastic chairs. I got up for a small walk over our empty beach and saw something on the horizon. A group of people was on the water but weren’t moving. It seemed to me that they were waving something. My eyes aren’t the greatest when it comes to long distances, so I took the camera and zoomed in. I saw a capsized boat and the passengers were sitting on top of it.
I ran to the owner of the resort, warned them and somebody ran out to help. He sprinted into the ocean, climbed on top of an old boat and set out to save the people from the middle of the ocean. He came back with the same people that were on the island earlier. Luckily, everybody made it back on top of the boat and nobody drowned in the open sea. The guy went back for the boat, and later towed the boat back to shore together with the captain of the capsized boat.
The next challenge was to turn the capsized boat around. We looked as about 10 people tried to turn it around. At one point, I decided to help as they weren’t succeeding, but as I got there the boat crushed somebody’s foot between the rocks. He just fell over on the beach. People ignored him at first which I found very interesting. At one point, people starting taking him seriously as he hopped over to a tree to sit on.
I got a closer look at his foot and saw the bone coming out through the blood. Man, that was a scary moment as I realized that this was serious and he was going to need some help. Some locals wanted to poor gasoline over the wound but this is were I stopped everyone and decided to give the man first aid. I had learned the basic skills as I did my divemaster course, but to be honest all of that sinks far away when you actually have to use it.
I cleaned his wounds using alcohol wipes and I could see the agony on his face. For a guy who was clearly badly injured, he kept his calm surprisingly well. I put a bandage around his foot together with my girlfriend. I urged him to go and see a doctor, but people here have to pay for everything themselves. This was emphasized when he asked if he could have my spare bandage to go.
It makes one realize how good we have it in Europe, where healthcare is cheap and you will always be helped when you need it. I felt bad for the guy, who turned out to be the captain of the capsized boat. He did not only lose his boat and engine, but on top of that he lost the ability to work. Sometimes I think of what happened to him, and realize just how hard and punishing live can be here. Imagine, you break a bone or injure yourself by accident, and the consequence is that you might lose everything. That is a frightening thought, and I wonder how people deal with it here. How do they calculate risks? Do they even calculate risks? I don’t know, I think I’ll take it as a lesson to appreciate the small things more.
When i think back, i realize that if it wouldn’t have been for us staying on the island this story could have ended differently. There would have been no one to spot the capsized boat in the ocean. No one would have rushed out to rescue them. Who knows what would have happened to them as the night was falling. It was one of the most eventful afternoons of our trip, and it happened on an uninhabited island.
