Local (public) transportation

I was on the way, starting from 7 am, I took a microlet to terminal Tomohon, then a microlet to Tondano, then a bus to Bitung, then a motor to Gintang then a car to Tongkoko… Everytime I changed the transportation (well, except for the motorbike) I had to wait for other people, cause here no driver leaves with empty seats. All seats must be taken. So, in the bus to Bitung I’ve waited two hours for people to show up, for the car about an hour - finally two other tourists came. Otherwise I would have spent there probably even longer. And the tourists were from England and the US – a nice couple, just graduated and on a few months trip before starting a job (actually I met them again a few days later in Manado - Sulawesi is small ;)

The travel today was long but interesting. On the bus I talked with some local people, they also offered me food – which was really nice. I ate everything they gave me and they seemed happy about that. An older lady gave me kind of a pancake with vegetables, a couple of nice girls shared with me their banana chips (which were salty and tasted like potato). At about 2 p.m. I finally got to Tongkoko park (well, actually the village is called Batuputih) to a nice hostel called Tarsiers that was recommended by the Finnish guys I met in Tomohon. There is not much to do in the village, so after going for a walk to a beach full of litter, I’m just sitting around on a porch and writing. Tomorrow I will start the day at 4 a.m. - a walk in the jungle, with a guide, trying to spot tarsiers.