Gorontalo to Manado

2 December 2010

After a week of relaxing in the Togean Islands, I decided it was time to drag myself off the islands and continue my journey...I still had a long way to go. So, one afternoon I took the speedboat to Wakai Island and waited for the 'Lembar Pemakai Jasa' Ferry. I booked a sleeping cabin on the ferry as it was an overnight trip (approx 12 hours) from Wakai to Gorontalo in North Sulawesi.


Once on the ferry and settled in my cabin, I spent an hour or so out on the deck, watching the sunset over the beautiful Togean islands...it really was quite spectacular! And then settled in my cabin...and I am very glad I lashed out and paid for the more expensive sleeping cabin, as I was actually able to get some sleep throughout the night!

We arrived in Gorontalo early hours of the morning, it was still dark...!!! And a last minute decision on arrival, I decided to try and get a flight from Gorontalo to Manado rather than travel by car or bus for 10 hours or more. Especially as there are not any particular cultural sights to see in Gorontalo or on the road north to Manado. After a flying trip from the port, through the town centre of Gorontalo and then out of town to the airport...I somehow managed to get a ticket and get on a flight! Although there was a small mix-up with the ticketing staff not issuing a boarding pass and having to hold the whole plane up...but I managed to get on that flight and arrived in Manado early in the morning.

I checked in to the Ritzy Hotel, although a very upmarket hotel with prices ranging way over one million rupiah per night, I managed to get a 50% discount and decided on treating myself to some luxury for a couple of nights. The people of Manado are predominately Catholic, evident through the huge amount of churches scattered around the busy city and the tremendous huge cross that sits high on a hill in the outskirts of the city. One thing I can say about the Ritzy Hotel - it offered amazing views across the sprawling city!

The culinary delights of Manado are quite a desired taste...ranging from the famous 'r.w.' pronounced 'air wei' or DOG to the also popular... 'tikis besar' - 'rat'! I stuck to the fresh seafood! :)