THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED BY: Trip to Atauro

This is my first attempt to make a photo story of my trip to Atauro Island. This Island according to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atauro_Island) is....

Atauro Island (also Ilha de Atauro, Ata'uro) is a small island situated 25km north of Dili, East Timor, on the extinct Wetar segment of the volcanic Inner Banda Arc, between the Indonesian islands of Alor and Wetar. Politically it comprises one of the subdistricts of the Dili District of East Timor. It is about 25 km long and 9 km wide, about 105 km² in area, and is inhabited by about 8000 people. The nearest island is the Indonesian island of Liran, 12 km to the northeast.

This was the ferry taxi which started off at Dili near the Maritime Office. It is usually hired which makes it expensive but there is no choice since the big boat goes to Atauro only on Saturdays.

Our life is entrusted to 'maun' Pilot...maun is a term used as a sign of respect for men. He had a hard time initially to start the engine. He even decided to go back to the shore and change the ferry taxi but then engine worked well as he was reversing so, we continued with it. It was a bumpy ride and I couldn't even let go of my arms from holding on the railings to make sure I am not thrown out of the boat.

This is the humble port of Atauro. There is only one big ship which travels here every Saturday. It took us an hour to reach this port.

It was low tide when we arrived at the port of Atauro which made these sea grasses visible. I was worried that I might drop my camera so, I did not take any photo of other marine species along the shore and under the clear blue waters.

The taxi-ferry just dropped us. With us are vegetables for the resort where we stayed. In less than 30 minutes, the taxi went back to Dili.

Barry's place welcome you with complementary breakfast since it was only around 9AM when we reached his place. It was a buffet breakfast with a good selection of menu to choose from. After our delicious breakfast and after checking in, we started off to the Aldeias (villages) we need to visit. This was our boat that took us there.

We stayed at this place unofficially called "Barry's Place", Barry- the owner's name and place, as in literally his place. During our conversation with him, he doesn't have any official name for his place but because people call it "Barry's place, it became known like that. No advertisement and not on any travel guidebooks, as he doesn't want it. Promotion is by word of mouth.

It took us a while to travel due to the difficulty in finding a place for docking since it was low tide. These children from Baruana Pre-primary school and ECCD were eagerly waiting for us. They were so excited to meet us. I noticed though that most them were barefooted. They guided us on our way to the school.

I was just amazed by these stones that I took a photo of it. One of my favorite photo subjects.

Up close, there was this tiny crab perched on the stone.

The children who walked with us to the Aldeia proper where we are going to meet other students , key leaders and their parents.

Pre-School children in our supported ECCD Center. I felt guilty when the volunteer-teachers were sharing their stories. They were so grateful of the assistance received from my organization. We have worked here for 3 years and my organization is very popular. The staff assigned here knows almost everyone not only in this Aldeia but the entire Atauro Island. The community shared their stories, the gains of the project and the continuing challenges they are facing. I felt guilty when one of them mentioned that their allowance is only USD20 a year while on that day, I was wearing a slipper which costed me the same amount they are getting as 'salary' for teaching these children.

This is one of our projects. Significant changes include:...our children has improved their reading and writing skills. Because of the book club which was organized through the project, our children are able to teach other kids on how to read and write.....we are housed in a comfortable classroom....learning became fun and interesting...etc.

A Catholic Church in Baruana. Before we started the meeting, an opening prayer was led by a 'traditional priest' while the closing prayer was given by the Protestant Pastor.

I was amazed by the shape of this....their school bell to signal start or end of the classes.

another type of school bell...

The 3rd of its kind...school bell

The entire crew of our small boat which helped in pushing the boat to the shoreline so we wouldn't get wet once we got off the boat.

We passed by her house on our way out from the school. I requested if I could have a picture of her, which she eagerly said yes!

Children swimming using their improvised 'life-saver'

I really admire this toilet and bath. The toilet is open pit for organic composting while bathroon is using a ladle to bath rather than a shower which consumes much more water than necessary.

This is one of the cottages as Barry's Place. A tent is pitched inside the cottage.

This was our cottage. It has 6 beds inside including the double-bed on the 2nd floor.

This pregnant woman passed by after the sun rise. The basket is a common carrier hanged on the head with the sling right on the forehead.

The lovely sun rise. I was able to capture this while this father and son were walking along the shoreline, ready to start early with whatever they are doing everyday.

It was market day on our 2nd day in Atauro. The market was just beside Barry's Place and very close to the port.

One of their products for sale.

We used this on our way back to Dili. It only cost $5 each person . We stayed on the deck for more ventilation even though our ticket was for 1st class seat. It took us 2 1/2 hours to travel.