Wanderlust, coffee lover, a true believer in Magic: Togean islands….. A little piece of heaven i call “Home”

Black Marlin Private Pier

Since the break up, I’ve been spending my time getting back in touch with my social life where I met new friends from all over the world, they were here for one reason only, Togeans.. So I feel the urge to find out what’s the secret hidden in these very remote islands. I decided to go with My Best Friend and also My Travel Mate InQy for a weekend getaway. We went straight to the Gorontalo Harbour right after work, it took 10 to 15 minutes from the city by Bentor (Motorcycle Becak) and you can pay for 10 thousand rupiahs. From the airport, it will take at least 1 until 1 and half hour, depends on the traffic but don’t worry, hardly any traffic here in Gorontalo. From the airport you can take the car or so called kijang taxi for 75 thousand rupiahs each or per person. Actually Togean Islands or Togeans is part of Central Sulawesi but it's closest from Gorontalo than from Palu, the capital city of Central Sulawesi. And its also cheaper because instead of flying from Jakarta to Palu and take the bus all the way to Ampana and catch the ferry to Wakai, it will be much better and saving a lot of your time to just fly from Jakarta to Gorontalo and take the Ferry Directly to Wakai. The price of the ferry 63 thousand rupiahs for the economy class, 72 thousand rupiahs for the Tatami (Sleeping line with mattress), 89 thousand rupiahs for business class with air condition (AC) every Tuesday and Friday 5 pm. The trip to Togeans will be 12 hours long but once you get there, it’ll all be worth it…

Kadidiri Island in the Morning from Pondok Lestari

We arrived at Wakai at 8 am and the Black Marlin speed boat is waiting to take us to Kadidiri Island, the closest and the most popular island in the Togeans, only 30 minutes from Wakai. its free of charge if you choose to stay at the resort. Before you decided to come to Togeans, make sure you make the reservation first, because the thing about Togeans that you should know, there is no internet, there is only a very limited cellphone connection on the island so this is very essential. There are 3 resorts on the island. The cheapest one is Pondok Lestari with price range from 100 thousand rupiahs up to 200 thousand rupiahs. The one in the middle is Black Marlin Dive Resort, a very cozy place and well equipped for Divers with the price range between 200 thousand rupiahs up to 500 thousand rupiahs. The other one is Kadidiri Paradise, well known for its long private jetty, perfect spot for sunset view but a bit pricey in my opinion. The price starts from 250 thousand rupiahs up to 600 thousand rupiahs. So which one suits you best? Anyway the price is 3 times meal included with free tea and coffee all day…. Well I’ll write about the accommodation on the island on my next post. I want to keep my writing short so you won't get bored ''_^

Black Marlin Dive Resort Kadidiri

The first day on the island we decided to stay low, relaxing on the hammock, reading books, playing pool, swimming in front of the bungalow and get along with other guests while watching the sun went down. We took the tour around the island the next morning right after breakfast. For the boat, it costs 500 thousand rupiahs back then,but i was there last January and due to the rising of gasoline prices, they have increased the price ever since. It’s 850 thousand rupiahs now for a full day trip. But don’t worry, you can join with other guests, one boat can carry 8 to 10 person max. So the price will be much cheaper.

Look at the water...!!!

Our first stop isthe famous Hotel California, one of the best diving and snorkeling sites in the Togeans, but don’t expect a fancy hotel or resort, its only a hut in the middle of the sea. But the view is amazing, not to mention the underwater. We spent 2 hours here before we continue to the next destination, Poyalisa. A tiny island located in Bomba village, about 2 hours away from Kadidiri to the south of Togeans. The size might be small but the view is enormous, it's like you have just entered one of your fairest dreams, a lagoon, white sandy beach and turquoise blue water. I wanted to stay for the longest time possible but we need to head back to the island before dark so we continue our trip after we had lunch there.

Welcome to Poyalisa, the hidden Gem

It was always sunny in Togeans, as we docked the boat at the mangrove forest, we saw a school of bluestripe fish, they are all swimming in the same direction. The mangrove forest is a preservation area made by the goverment with the help from the locals to keep the togeans marine ecosystem. They built the wooden bridge all the way to the forest for the trekking and also in hopes that the appearance will attract the number of tourists to visit. Next to mangrove forest the famous Jelly Fish Lake, one of the very few in the world. You can swim with thousand of stingless jelly fish under the bright lights of aging sun. They called it Mariona Lake because Marion (french woman) was the first person to set foot on that Salt Lake.

Hotel California

Our journey has almost come to an end, but we still have one last stop, Karina Beaaachhh..... i love this place a lot, one can only imagine the feeling once you get there and laid eyes on that soft white sugary sand, the breeze, the clear blue water before your eyes. We even pick and drink fresh coconuts off the tree, whenever we need to catch a breath after swimming, those are the simple remedies to treat yourself. Tourists often spent the night here on their camping trip.

The Exotic Karina Beach

We headed back to Kadidiri as the sun was setting and arrived right at dusk. We then had our last dinner and singing around the bonfire until the lights out (Electricity only available from 6 pm to 12 am). It takes a lot of effort and determination to leave this heavenly paradise, it's off the beaten track, no tv, no intenet, no cellphone but we are perfectly happy. My heart belongs to the sea, and Home is where your heart is.