I'm currently sitting on the coach once more as we travel onwards with our journey towards the island of Mantanani. After a quick breakfast and last-minute packing session, we hopped on the coach at 8:00 and we've been here ever since.
About 9:30, we stopped at the same market as we did on our way to Bongkud, only this time we realised that around the corner from all the market stalls, there's also a little tourist spot and viewing platform where you can look out at Mount Kinabalu. It was a bit cloudy this morning, but you could still see it pretty clearly.
The rest of the coach journey has been a combination of naps and gazing out of the window, watching the world go by. One thing I really will miss about Borneo is just how green it is. No matter where you are, there are always trees everywhere, and you're never too far from the jungle, which can usually be seen looming ahead on a hill somewhere.
It's so easy to forget that the world is not the same everywhere you go. It's so easy to grow up under the illusion that the part of the world that is different to the one where you spend your days is so far away that it may as well be in a different universe entirely. It's so easy to forget that, whilst all people are humans, and we're all connected by that alone, not all people are the same. There are so many different languages and cultures and ways of life, but it's so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that yours is the only one, when it's really, really not.
9:30pm
We got off the coach at a slightly questionable-looking harbour which appeared to have been abandoned for about 80 years (a very stark contrast from the posh marina where we caught the boat to Gaya). There we ate our packed lunch of chicken and rice and then we were in for a long wait until the boat arrived, as it was only about 12:30 and the boat wasn't arriving until 2. As it turned out, the boat was even later than planned, so we amused ourselves by playing the Categories game and Two Truths and a Lie. Dave nearly managed to convince us that he'd once been homeless, but not quite...
When the boat did turn up, it looked slightly dubious as to whether us and all of our bags would even fit on, but with a bit of a squeeze we did, and we were on our way. The journey was about 40 minutes and was a little slow to begin with, but we were soon out onto the open sea, and speeding along, cruising across the waves. And suddenly, out of nowhere, the sea miraculously changed colour - you could actually look back and see the line where it changed - to the most brilliant blue I have ever been lucky enough to see. As we neared the island, everyone gasped as we realised that the sea is so crystal clear you can easily see all the way to the bottom and spy all the little fish swimming around.
We tumbled off of the boat, which was able to drive all the way up to the shore, with people squealing and laughing in delight and disbelief at the island that lay before us. The beach stretches on as far as you can see, and the sand is so white it almost sparkles, and the sea is so clear at the shore - the lightest shade of blue imaginable!
We met our camp manager, Ida, and were briefed on life in camp here. It's joint squat toilets/showers here too, but at least there's far fewer of us here! At the minute we're the only group on Mantanani, but there will be another group arriving tomorrow. We put our bags in our accommodation quickly and then met back in the dining area. All of us girls are in one bunkhouse together in beds which are hammock- like material, but over a wooden frame, so they mould to your body and are ridiculously comfortable, if a little tricky to get out of once you're in! The beds are three storeys high so some people have got to climb quite a way in and out, but I tactfully chose the bottom...
Then Ida took us on a tour of the camp and one of the villages on the island. There are two villages here on Mantanani, one either side of the camp. The villagers are, as usual, extremely friendly and eager to welcome us, but the conditions are quite poor. They share one toilet between around 5 families, and it's usual here for parents to have around 8 children, often more, so the families are pretty big. And there's only that many toilets because Camps built them some more! They only have electricity at night, from 6pm - 6am, as they obviously primarily use it just for light. And there's all these cows wandering around everywhere randomly, just stood on the beach perfectly content! It's such a shame that the part of the beach by the village is basically a dumping ground which is appalling considering how beautiful it is - but I guess these people don't know any different, it's what they've always been used to.
We walked back to camp just to fill up our water bottles quickly and then we headed to the other village at the other end of the island in time to see the sunset on the beach. I paddled, but some people swam right out; the water was so warm and lovely, and the sunset was the best I have ever seen, the colours bleeding across the sky as the sun slowly sank and we all splashed around laughing.
Shower time when we got back to camp. This is definitely the place more than any other so far where we're going to be permanently sweating - Ida said that it reached over 40°C here yesterday!! Then about 8, after dinner, we built a little bonfire on the beach out of driftwood and all crowded round it - not that we needed the heat, but it was a really nice atmosphere, especially as across the bay there were fireworks being set off as tonight is Eid, the last night of Ramadan, so the whole of Mantanani, which is mainly Muslim, has a very festive feel tonight. Some of the boys tried to catch crabs and little fish and cook them on the fire. They managed to catch them, but eating them didn't go too well!
And now, even though it already feels like we've been on Mantanani for ages, it's time to settle down for our first night here.
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