‘It was that hole that did it!’ I said as we raced past it on the motorbike, loaded with my luggage on the way to the port. When I woke up this morning I didn’t think I would be taking a ferry to Kupang this afternoon, but so it has come to be. With a flat tyre near the harbour, my unloaded bike is being walked to the harbour while I return with my host to his house to collect my luggage. All to get to the boat in time.
On the boat to Kupang
We were planning to go for a swim, and left home in the afternoon with the whole family for this. I cycled, and the father, mother and 2 sons were on the motorbike. On the way we passed by the small harbour to check the departure time of my ferry in a few days to Atapupu on Timor near the Timor Leste border. The ferry doesn’t go to Timor, but stops at Alor Island. There was a boat to Kupang on the southern tip of the Timor island leaving in 90 minutes from a different harbour. In order to leave Indonesia in time, I had to take that boat, so the race was on. I didn’t realise how far the other harbour was, and we started off there to check all this information. Seven kilometres later, and we were almost at the harbour, bumping down the bad road, I got a flat tyre, riding over a hole in the road I didn’t see in time. Then action was taken. Friends of my friends on the side of the road helped take the disabled bike to the harbour while I zoomed back with my host on the motorbike to collect my luggage. We made it to the boat just as it was leaving, and I now find myself in Kupang.
Gervas and me before I caught the boat
I thought Clement was catching the boat from Ende to Kupang which is scheduled to arrive two hours after my boat. As my boat pulled up next to another boat on the harbour, waiting for a berth spot, I saw the boat from Ende arrive. As he didn’t know I was on this boat, I did some boat climbing – from my boat to the neighbouring boat, to the quay and then via another boat to Clement’s boat that was also waiting for a berth. He wasn’t on it.
Clement often says he was born in the wrong year. He dreams of the days without mobile phones and being always online. His phone is almost never on, and so it was now too. I guess I will catch up with him somewhere on Timor island. Let’s see where..
Many thanks to Gervas and his family. He gave me a warm welcome on Lambata island. It is a shame that I wasn’t able to see more of it. Maybe next time.. ☺
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