The Most Beautiful Village I've Ever Been, It's In West Papua!

The "Broken Jetty" with mountain background is just dramatic to see. Source: ranggainthezone

It's Lobo, located in Triton Bay area, Kaimana, West Papua. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, not without reasons why I said so. 

This village lies in the inner side of Triton Bay, that brings the calmer waves and waters, although in some months of the year, the weather can be irresistibly rough. It takes around 90 minutes by boat from Kaimana, and that's the only best way to get there so far. 

Triton Bay is one of the conservation areas in Kaimana, and it's rich of what sea can offer. On the way there we can drop by seeing the whaleshark at the bagan, see the rays, the dolphins and if you're lucky, Brydes whales breaching as if they're saying "Hi". What lies beneath the surface at the bay gives the people resources for their lives. 

Approaching the shore, we can see the rocky mountain standing at the back of the village, with mist covering the top and the green colour falls down to the valley. The village has total population of ±700 people, predominantly Christians with few muslims that are actually medics from outside Papua. Most of them rely on fishing although some start farming to support their families. 

We can go around the village within an hour, as every place is in walking distance. There are four churches, an elementary school and a medical center. Other than it, we can go to the jetty or go up to the mountain.

The island of New Guinea is home for birds of paradise. We can actually do birds watching by hiring local guides, but too bad there's no pricing that's set for the activity thus visitors are reluctant to have it. Not to mention, lack of information of how and when we can do the birds watching is just another thing to settle. 

Folklore about Garuda in Lobo

There is a monument of Garuda (mythological bird that's similar to eagle) the symbol of Indonesia, located across the village. People believe that the symbol of Indonesia comes from the Garuda from this area. 

So there were two eggs that hatched a black and a white eagle. The white eagle was gone undetected apparently, but the black one endured and lived in Mount Warimau. 

One day, there's flooding that killed people in Urera River and the flood dragged the dead bodies to the shore area (today's Lobo). The eagle followed them and ate them all. Since then, it moved to reside in Emansiri, the mount behind the village. 

Endulged by "gastronomical desire" of eating humans, and no more dead bodies, the black eagle then started hunting the villagers. They were frightened by the hunting eagle until the Portuguese came and shut it down. From then on, people use the giant eagle as the symbol of the village. Personally, I don't really get what it means, that people took something that once hunted them, as a symbol. I mean, usually we make a symbol out of the philosophy of something as caretakers or guards, not one taking us as preys. Anyway, whatever. A story is a story. 

Dutch arrival

The Dutch first opened the settlement in 1824 and built a fort named Bus. We can see the remnants of the fort here. There's a monument commemorating Dutch soldiers died in the area. It was carved "Ter Herinnering Aan de Overleden Militairen van de Bezetting van Fort du Bus" which means "In memoriam, the soldiers who died at Fort Bus". 

The monument built by Dutch in 19th century. Source: ranggainthezone

The topography, the rich Triton Bay and the folkloric touch have given this small village uniqueness and I take it as the most beautiful village I've ever been. It's really not that bad to drop by and say hello. You will see like when you feel the breeze of Triton Bay.