Baguala Bay, Ambon

Instead of anchoring in the bustling, dirty, busy bay of Ambon, we decided to drop the hook in the shallow, calm, quiet waters of Baguala Bay, just around the corner.  It was easy to hop on a bus and get to the city’s amenities and shopping, but the traffic and noise was left behind once we were back at Field Trip.  Friends had told us to make sure to meet Kaj and Barb, the UK/Australian couple running the Dive Into Ambon dive shop in the Maluku Resort, so that was first on our agenda.

Kaj and Barb were lovely and very helpful, as were Phoebe and Azza on their staff.  They each gave tidbits of insider information about fuel, bus names, shopping, etc., and we made sure to support them by doing a few dives through their operation.  Diving in Ambon is world-renowned.  It is specifically known for its “muck” dives.  As the name suggests, muck dives involve looking for critters in the muck, or silt, that settles on the sea bottom here.  It is especially helpful to go with experienced guides who can spot even the most camouflaged of creatures.

Mimic Octopus

Our guide, Jeffery, was a muck pro.  At times he indicated something with his pointer, and it was SO minute or camouflaged that I could barely make out what it was!  I’m not sure how Mark was able to capture the photos that he did, but Jeffery turned out to be the ideal photographer’s assistant, as well as a sharp-eyed dive guide.  Like a make-up artist making final touch-ups, he would swoop in and use a sort of bulb syringe to carefully blast away the silt off the fish and make them pretty for all their close-ups!   This muck experience was a first for us, and again, our diving was forever changed by what wonders we were shown.  Who knew so many unique fish and octopus would choose these mucky neighborhoods?  Some of our favorites were the frogfish and the mimic octopus, but each dive showed us many animals we’d never seen before!

Devil Fish

Wire coral shrimp (top of coral)

Freckled Frog Fish

Diving was only a small part of our Ambon experience, though.  Most of our time was spent hanging out with new friends we met here.  Thus far in Indonesia, not being able to speak the language has really limited our interactions and our connections.  Coming from the intense relationships we built with villagers in PNG, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, it feels very disconnected.  We find ourselves once again back to our visitor/ tourist status, held at arms length and viewed from afar as aliens in a foreign land.  In all honesty, this has its upsides, for sure.  It’s kind of nice to have less expectations and less pressure to interact with such intensity.  However, we were missing that people time.

God knew just what we needed, and while Mark and Michael were waiting in the Immigration office, an American family of six came in for their annual paperwork updates.  They were young
missionaries from Oregon who had been living in Indonesia for the past 7 years.  Now, Ambon sees a lot of tourists coming and going, but there are very few foreigners who actually live there.  It was no coincidence that we crossed paths.  For the next few days we texted, met up for beach time and boat time, shared meals, and absolutely frolicked in the beauty of this divinely orchestrated friendship.  The kids didn’t take long to become best buddies once the initial shyness wore off.  Elizabeth and their daughter constructed a hermit crab habitat on the beach, and later built a cat house outside their home using spare wood.  Michael and the boys played legos, ventured out in their inflatable raft, and just had a blast!

Matt and Chelsea

Meanwhile, Mark and I really enjoyed getting to know Matt and Chelsea.  They had so much information to share with us and such interesting life stories.  Both of them were missionary kids (Matt in PNG and Chelsea in the Philippines), so we were very curious to hear their take on growing up in remote, foreign places.  The jury is still out on how this childhood will pan out for our kids.  Most of the time, I am absolutely convinced that living aboard offers an amazing opportunity to extend their childhood, broaden their horizons, and provide them with an environment rich in love, responsibility, adventure, and wonder.  But sometimes, when I realize how vastly different our life is from other families living in the US, worry can creep in.  Are we doing the right thing?  Will they be okay?  Every parent asks these same questions, no matter where they live, but seeing these two well-adjusted adults who’d grown up in a similar lifestyle was definitely reassuring.

It happened to be Easter while we were in Ambon, adding even another blessing to our time together.  On Sunday morning, we jumped on a bus and headed to their home for a small, casual Easter service and potluck.  Matt is a musician who works with the local churches to help them write songs in the local language, so he lead us all in worship songs as we read the resurrection story.  Tears streamed down my cheeks as I looked around the room and realized how beautifully God had orchestrated this visit.  My heart was full of awe and gratitude as we found ourselves sitting in fellowship with other believers, something I’ve sorely missed since being away from our home church in Colorado.

Getting ready for Easter egg hunt

Kids playing on the porch after the hunt

After filling up spiritually, we engorged ourselves on the tasty array of potluck dishes.  Lining the table was chicken burritos, savory breakfast casserole, coffee cake, cookies, and fresh fruit.  We had seriously stepped back into the US for a moment, and we loved the comfort foods of home!  Once we were all stuffed, it was time for a good old-fashioned egg hunt.  The fathers had way too much fun hiding the eggs, and then the kids, ranging in age from 2 to 12 years old, frantically searched with squeals of delight.  One of the families had recently returned from the US, so the contents of the eggs were more familiar comforts of home - chocolate eggs, punching balloons, silicon lizards, and miniature ink stamps!  T
hank you, Easter Bunny!

Allison giving class to kids on fish ID

Back at the boat, we got a chance to hang out with some other Americans, divers who were staying at the Maluku Resort and diving with Dive into Ambon.  Two of them, Carlos and Allison, were from Key West, Florida, and provided yet another lesson for us - fish identification.  Turns out, they have worked with Reef.org for a number of years, logging fish counts and leading webinars to teach others about how to identify certain species of fish.  That night, they wowed us with a computer presentation differentiating various types of pufferfish.  We even learned how some tribal people used the toxins from pufferfish to turn wrongdoers into zombies!  And did you know that some dolphins have been observed getting high on small doses of a puffer fish they play with?  Puff, puff, give suddenly takes on a new meaning!

Our stay in Ambon truly was delightful.  The city itself didn’t offer much in the way of culture, sightseeing, or history (except that it was the VOC, Dutch East Indies Trading, headquarters during the spice trade days), but it did have an air-conditioned mall where we wandered on many hot afternoons!  No, it was the people that made Ambon a place that will linger on in our hearts and minds.  It was those connections that will always keep us tethered to that mucky island in the Banda Sea.

Future Navy Seals!! :)