Cars--Boats--Air Planes

It was the afternoon before our team was to leave the remote island of Halmahera. Our team was scheduled to leave on a flight in the morning. We were in town purchasing some of the last items before we were to leave. We were just getting ready to drive to our base some 20 miles away but we were flagged down by the ticket agent who had sold us the tickets a week earlier. She told us that our flight had been canceled. That meant we had to work quickly and find a way to get to our international flight that was to leave in three days. Three days seems like plenty of time--but not on these islands. We had few options--we had no time to spare.

There were no flights off the island we were on for days but we were able to get the last seats on a flight leaving on another island the next day at around 1 p.m. I knew what that meant but my team didn't. We were also asked to help three Australian young people to get to that flight. They were in the same dilemma we faced. We were in for a long day. We got a private car to take us to catch a boat. We left at 5 a.m. and sped down the road to our base where we picked up the Australian's and now had a two car caravan. It is an experience you will never forget as you drive down the jungle roads at a high rate of speed in the dark--dogs , pigs, chickens and goats all in the way. Finally, the sun came up but we just kept flying down the road. It was beautiful but hard to enjoy the sights when they are just flashing by the window.

We made it to Sofifi around 9:30 a.m. and negotiated for a speed boat. We had to cross open water to reach the island of Ternate where our flight would depart in a couple hours. It is better to cross in the morning as the waves are not as big. I look at the number of outboard motors on each boat. The vast majority have only two motors and the most I have seen is five. The more motors the bigger the boat. These are water taxis. We were able to find a three engine boat and got a good price. We loaded all our luggage on the boat and we were on our way. I joke that the extra motors are for parts. It is rare that all the motors work. I was surprised when all three of our motors never missed a beat. It was a beautiful clear day and the seas were calm. We made good time and only hit a couple waves that tossed the boat. One of our Australian friends got a little stressed but we were able to help her feel safe.

We landed and got two taxis and stopped at the airlines office to get our tickets. The ticket agent told us that we got the last seats on that flight. A nice lunch awaited us at the airport and a few minutes of rest until we finally checked in and boarded our flight. This is not Singapore International Airport we had to ride a bus to the plane and walk on the pavement to board our flight. It didn't matter, we were on our way and in time to make our international flight.

In these remote areas you must have a back-up plan at all times. The options are few if something like this happens. We were blessed to get the last seats on the flight and thankfully the ticket agent saw us and informed us the flight was canceled. We were totally exhausted by the time we made it to our hotel and the hot shower I enjoyed would have been worth a hundred dollars.