Hidden Beauty

About an Island in the middle of the Ocean

Simeulue is one of the districts in Aceh Province, this island is located in the Indian Ocean, about 200 km from the nearest mainland, the island of Sumatra.

To get to this island, it can only be reached by two routes, sea and air

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By air there are two airports that serve flights to this island, Kuala Namu International Airport in North Sumatra Province and the airport, the distance by air ranges from 50 to 70 minutes of flight.

Besides by air, this island can also be reached via shipping lanes, there are five sea ports that can be accessed to Simeulue island, with a sailing duration between 10 to 20 hours, this trip I departed through Calang Port in Aceh Jaya Regency, this time is the longest shipping route to Simeulue Island, if the weather is normal, the distance from Calang to Simeulue can be taken for 16 hours, but if the weather is not friendly, the cruise time can reach more than 20 hours

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Using the newest ship belonging to the local government, the Aceh Great Ship 1 sailed from Calang port at 15.00 WIB, the weather was sunny so the cruise felt very smooth, after performing the Maghrib and 'Isha prayers, I decided to rest, because the ship was still very new and all the facilities it was also quite comfortable, I fell asleep and just woke up when the dawn call to prayer sounded at the stern of the ship, I hurriedly got up to perform the dawn prayer, after that I went to the cafeteria to look for some snacks and also a cup of coffee of course.

From a distance the mainland began to be seen, a sign that the voyage would soon end and the ship would dock at the destination dock.

Exactly at 07.00 we got off the ship, I immediately went to the pickup vehicle that had been on standby in the port area.

Accompanied by a local friend, we immediately headed to the inn that we had booked in advance to rest for a while, before continuing the road trip to one of the sub-districts in the central region of Simeulue island.

By noon we continued our journey by using a rental car, the road to Teluk Dalam District was paved and quite smooth, in the middle of the trip, we stopped for lunch at one of the food stalls located on a steep beach with quite a beautiful view.

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After lunch and praying dhuhur, we continued our journey along the road, we saw many gueshous that offered beautiful views and fierce waves provided for local/foreign travelers who were empty of visitors, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

In the past, before the pandemic, this area was always crowded, along the way tourists could be seen passing by using rented motorbikes, carrying surfboards the travelers went around looking for beaches whose waves matched their respective surfing tastes, at that time the economic life of the community also looked stable. with a fairly high income level, this condition has an impact on the lifestyle and work patterns of local residents, because it is easy to reap profits from tourists, some residents even ignore the clove plant which is actually the main commodity of this island.

Our presence this time to this island is also related to cloves.

At the invitation of several community groups who want to rejuvenate their clove plants with more modern planting and care patterns so that the clove harvest can be maximized compared to traditional treatments as they are currently doing.

Towards Asr time, we arrived at Teluk Dalam District, we will spend the night here and mingle with local residents, to share knowledge and information for good and environmentally friendly farming patterns

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The locals greeted us warmly, as a welcome greeting, we were treated to typical Simeulue Island food, their Lobster Noodle preparations tasted very delicious, maybe because the Lobster was still very healthy, because it had just been taken from the captive cages when we arrived. the seasoning is also very pronounced, permeates deep and blends with the delicious taste of Lobster.

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After chatting with local residents, we were escorted to one of the residents' houses that had been prepared as our resting place for the next two days.

This is a piece of my story today, nothing too special, but I am always happy and enjoy all the processes in this life

Through this post I also want to invite @poenbit @aranda @yulianoviza to take part in this contest, Thank you @fabio2614 for this challenge, you have triggered us to learn and continue to learn to write better

All text and image in all my post are my original work

Thanks a Lot, Best Regards

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