Banda - The Spice Islands - Dec 2019

The Spice Islands – Banda

We departed Ambon, which is part of the Moluccas group of islands, on our way to Banda.  Jointly the two constitute the original Spice Islands, where the exclusive production of cloves, nutmeg and mace helped fuel the expansion of Colonial powers half a world away.

Banda Islands are 150 km SE of Ambon, centered on the perfectly conical peak of Gunung Api (640 meters – rising 4000 meters from the sea floor)

We timed our passage for an easy overnighter arriving in good daylight hours thru these reef infested waters.

For centuries, nutmeg and mace – worth more than their weight in gold – made these islands the most valuable pieces of real estate on earth.

Kaija wasted no time in arranging a tour of the spice plantation where she witnessed the gathering of the nutmeg, the removal of the cinnamon bark, and the soaking and cleaning of the almonds. 

 

Happily she arrived back at the boat with a wonderful stash of fresh spices.

We had heard of The Nutmeg Tree (TNT) Hotel and Dive Resort and owner Mr. Reza.

 It is located on the sea front of Neira town, once the capital of Maluku and North Maluku, which used to be controlled by the VOC, the first Dutch multinational company 400 years ago.  Reza and his staff are very cruiser friendly and offer moorage and use of his facilities and historical spice tours.

 Meals are reasonably priced and very tasty and rooms are available if you want to take a break from sleeping on your boat.   Guests will be able to enjoy activities in an around Banda Naira like hiking, snorkelling, diving and cycling.

A walk around town will show you many heritage buildings still remaining. 

Such as the Fort completed in 1662 to replace the lower, less-defensible Benteng Nassau, built in 1609 on the foundations of an earlier Portuguese structure.

The white wash Dutch church, its floor lined with elaborately carved VOC tombstones.

Located at the heart of all of the above, is the Bintang Estates Hotel owned by Mr. Pak Rizal Bahalwan (Abba), one of the oldest families of the Spice Islands. 

(for more info check out CiluBintang.com)

This place is 5 star and was a haven of rest and relaxation for us.  Mr. Abba, goes out of his way to help cruisers and accommodate your every whim.  Dining at the Estate is an epicurean delight.  We enjoyed fun fantastic meals meeting new travelers from far and wide and new cruising friends Kyle and Hailey (Sc Chasing Eden.) 

Abba is willing and able to solve travel problems as we discovered when we were made aware that the upcoming flights, by a friendly local Indonesian traveler,

Miss Shiva who informed us that our upcoming flights to Singapore were in fact booked from the OTHER Banda, which was located more than a 1000 km away. Thank you Miss Shiva.

One of the highlights for us was our dive trip with Mr. Reza to the outer islands of Hatta.  It was a perfect day and the water was crystal clear.

On the way back we were privileged to pass by a pod of Melon Head whales. 

We enjoyed many snorkeling trips around the island and dinghy exploring the caves and lava slides into the water. 

On one such outing we found a beautiful Nautilus shell with critter still intact, unfortunately for him, he had been attacked and eaten.  He was quite dead and smelly, but after removing him and cleaning the shell it became one of Kaija’s prized finds.

Our final snorkeling day we spent doing a Volcano dive.  It was outstanding.  It was time to search out the elusive Mandarin fish which we were told reside under Reza's Dock.  We found it, however poor lighting prevented a quality photo.  Sometimes you just have to be there.

One of the unique items of the Spice islands is the local war boats called the Kora-Kora, or CoraCora, which is the traditional canoe of these Maluku islands. 

They can be up to 10 meters long and very narrow and hold up to 40 paddlers.  The steerer and the paddlers of these traditional boats yell Men Mura to synchronize their strokes. This literately means "front-back", but is also translated to "I go-we follow" or "one for all - all for one".

We will take many memories away from these spectacular islands and would happily revisit them. 

Banda was a staging stop for us.  A place to leave the boat when we flew to Singapore for visa renewals and a jumping off point to our passage south for the lower Indonesian islands.

It is a warm, welcoming and delightful stop and we highly recommend a visit.