Sur les terres oubliées des Petites Iles de la Sonde
Sur les terres oubliées des Petites Iles de la Sonde
Indonesia: Expedition in Forgotten Lands by the Iris Foundation
EPISODE 8
IN WHICH YOU BELIEVE TO DISCOVER "LAPUTA", A LEGENDARY FLYING ISLAND
Wake up at 6:30 am in front of Sukun Island, the weather is very good. An aerial flight with the drone makes us discover the incredible coral base of this island. It really looks like an image straight out of the film " The Castle in the Sky " by Hayao Miyazaki.
Arriving on the shore, we walk directly towards the lake of Senparang which is located in the hollow of an old crater.
Drone photography by Christophe Gruault-Fondation Iris
This lake was born from a volcanic eruption dating from 1815. Then in 1992, a tsunami filled it with salt water and it rose 20 m.
Since then it has become ultra salty but it lives there a few fish. The trees on the edge are the mangrove trees.
Scattered on the island, signs indicate the place of refuge at the top of the island in the event of a tsunami. Not far away stands a special satellite surveillance antenna.
Cashew trees are planted scattered in mixed corn and soybean fields, currently dry and lined with cassava rows. They are overgrown with weeds, especially a very hanging grass. The soil is therefore unused and dried up by a blazing sun throughout the dry season. The fields are weeded by fire (no weedkiller). How long can the soil remain fertile in this way? We come across very beautiful trees including a superb Ceiba pentandra (kapok tree) with huge green seeds filled with kapok.
Corn and kapok tree house
We arrive at the village by passing the new dapper school, in concrete painted with green, yellow and purple. Françoise, who stayed behind the group, absorbed by photos of kapok trees, is greeted fabulously by the women who also stayed behind the men welcoming the rest of the group. They want to be photographed and the session is a great accomplice and festive moment.
The village is in preparation for a big party, a wedding. We pass by the house of the groom and especially we stop in the house of the bride: we are offered cupcakes with sweet tea. There are a lot of people and a mess, it's very friendly, very happy, only the bride is a little bit startled. She is 18 years old and her future husband 21. She waits in her room for the organization to set up, sitting on a large four-poster bed loaded with decorations. She has a sort of white paste mask on her face, a bit like the Burmese thanaka . 1000 guests are expected this evening for the wedding!
