Anyway, people know how to help themselves. They use their small fisher boats to have access to the capital's markets where they sell mainly fresh fish (there is only subsistence agriculture in Atauro and fishing is apparently the only possibility for income at the moment).Approaching Atauro island which was a prison during Portuguese time in Timor-Leste.
A huge crowd is already waiting for the ferryboat's arrival!
As soon as the boat landed, the hustle and bustle starts again!
Everyone non-occupied is waiting patiently in the shade of the huge tree.
Sun-dried cassava (maniok):
Deserted beach with some lonely mangroves - the sad rests of a former huge mangrove area...
After the beach we walked to the other village, "Vila", which is the island's capital. As we were pretty hungry from this 1-hour-walk we bought a pineapple in a small shop on the way. The woman who runs the shop was so nice to help us cutting the pineapple. She invited us to her garden where she immediately prepared a table and chairs. Within a few seconds the whole family gathered around us and watched us eating pineapple!
Arriving in Vila in the late afternoon. This is the island's hospital.
The community's pineapple garden:
Vila's beachfront:
10-years Anniversary of the Referendum for Independence on Aug, 30
On Sunday August 30, the 10th anniversary of the referendum for independence was celebrated in Timor-Leste. 10 years ago, almost 80% of the Timorese people voted for independence and hence ended Indonesia's 24-years brutal and illegal occupation.
Preparations for the big celebrations in the capital started already weeks before but it was definitely a good choice to be a part of the celebrations here in Atauro!
The first part of the celebration was a formal ceremony which started after the church. People from all parts of the island gathered at Vila's main square to watch the ceremony. There were some speeches, music and children dancing, but suddenly everything stopped and everything was quiet when the Timorese flag was flown.
Later, the informal part of the celebrations seems to be started. Two teams of young men were competing in a tug-of-war.
Me and some other local women preferred watching the games from our first-row-and-less-crowded places in the shade of a hut.
The games continued with the guys climbing slippery trunks. Aim is to reach the plastic bags in the top of the trunks and apparently there are two groups competing. They tried out various ways to reach the bags and even though the team on the right was more creative in the end it was the other team that won.
Suddenly the celebrations were over and the lucky one's got a lift back to their villages in one of the three (?) island's cars.
The others had to walk, some of them along the beach, where the children had fun with us and our cameras!
...and seawheat... biodegradable toys ;-)
Another deserted beach close to Vila:
And some others got a lift in a fisherboat:
As we stayed on Atauro for the weekend we had to take one of the small local boats back to Dili. The boat left Atauro on Monday between 4 and 5 am. It was still dark but on our 3-hours-ride we had a wonderful sunrise.
Arriving in Dili early in the morning hours and somewhere between the official port and the lighthouse...
Our boat with Atauro in the background...
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