I’d negotiated a start time with our driver..9,30 ( said as half 10) tried for earlier.
Saleh explains I have to queue for fuel.
I asked can I sit in the front. I want to learn Indonesian. Today you have two jobs, I say, today you are a driver and a teacher. I am a teacher, he says. Steve gets it; Saleh really is a teacher.
He has to clean the kids shoes out of the front. He says typically travellers sit in the back with headphones on.
We start shyly, with Saleh covering his mouth when he talks.
He has some english so it was the best drive ever. Lots of Indonesian for me and me giving him some English equivalents. But he is a natural teacher. Pointing out things.
Cocoa/ Kakao drying on the side of the road. We just call it cokelat he says.
My indo was sufficient for this and more; Saleh is married with two children aged two and seven. He met his wife at university. She is a nurse. He is a primary sports teacher (He looks way too young for all this.) His wife is from Ampana, he is from Manado .
They are 2 different groups. North and Central Sulawesi. It is okay if the families are from different cultural groups so long as there is respect. His younger brother is an excavator operator in Bitung.
He likes both teaching and driving but teaching is badly paid and driving is unpredictable.
He gave up smoking after getting COVID.
Yay, this is good for my Bahasa. The first days here I wasn’t sure my language was going to improve..but my ears are getting it now. It’s the best thing when travelling, it keeps my head fully busy.
Saleh pointed out Cocoa saw the most shiny red pods, cloves, sago palms and his bother in laws village.
But the word of the day is longsor/landslide,
Saleh says he is afraid of landslides when he is driving.
It rains heavily and we go through mountains and cloud forest with bird’s nest ferns above us over the road. The roads are bad washed and evidence of landslides everywhere.
We average about 30km an hour.
We arrive at Victory hotel, Tentena.. what a helpful receptionist. She spoke to our driver…I have a guest who wants to go to Ampana (where we have come from)..please wait while I check with them…please have a coffee.
Noni is exceptional. Good English and French and just busy being helpful. Says she used to run away when she had to speak to people in english . But she learnt by speaking to the French. Because they aren’t fluent they speak English slowly.
She had been patient with me when I had made my booking by phone, sweating and stumbling in Indonesian.
She has a map at the ready and gives us directions to find Super Glue, eel traps and the best fried rice.
The Bananas we found by ourselves. They are those wonderfully sweet ones the size of your thumb.
When we come back Noni says; I have guests who want to go to Bada Valley tomorrow, if you are interested you could share a car .. I will check with them.
Lembah Bada wasn’t on our list, but why not..we depart at 7