Cloves. They came from Ternate and Tidore. They brought war and invaders to the islands. The Sultanates of each are still here, and now so was I. After an extended boat ride.

PELNI, the national ferry company, has a huge network of long haul ferries that connect the vast archipelago. Local, short-haul ferries may run multiple times a day, but the big boats often run on circular schedules putting in at a given city once a week. The timing was right. I had a couple of days to rest and recover after my Epica liveaboard experience of a week of snorkeling in a marine park, then Friday. I hopped on the 21 hour ferry from Sorong to Ternate. Fare for an economy berth was 305,000 IDR and the departure was 7pm. Compared with a 10 hour or 16 hour flight for 3 million IDR plus (no direct flights) it is very reasonable. Plus, you can stretch out, walk around on deck, watch the sea and islands go by, chat with people, and observe families in transit. There were a lot of families with kids on the boat, which makes sense. Plus, all of the flights departed around 7 am. I was not interested in getting up at 4 to head to the airport.

DORO LONDA (IMO: 9226487) is a Passenger Ship and is sailing under the flag of Indonesia. Her length overall (LOA) is 146.5 meters and her width is 23 meters. from Marinetraffic.com

The PELNI app is great. Wind conditions were good. Pretty smooth voyage ahead.

Boarding is a free for all. There are assigned bunks, but finding mine was a journey.

Travelling light: my gear, (including snorkel equipment) on my assigned bunk 6117 on Deck 6. There was a bit of wandering and trading and I ended up one to the left which was at the end of the row, so one less neighbor. Best position.

As everyone got settled in, there was quite a bit of negotiation. PELNI seems to assign bunks fairly randomly and people just spread out. My bunk was full of a woman’s and her family’s luggage when I got there. She, husband, three kids, grandma, and maybe an auntie or two were spread out around the room. Their friends and more kids were here and there. Most of the kids were piled into three bunks in a corner, at least initially. In the end, they were pretty much free range, just running around except for one girl who was attached to a phone watching YouTube until 2 am. My neighbor was a young guy who had a prize pigeon in a carton that he doted on and fed across the seas.

Porters tried to engage me in hiring them to stow my bags or bring me the three included meals.

Two German girls who had been assigned bunks apart from each other just went with it. They sacked out with lightweight sleepsacks, noise cancelling headphones, and eye masks. Not their first rodeo.

Eye masks and earplugs are key on an overnight PELNI trip.The fluorescent lights are on all night. That one little girl was not the only one watching videos or chatting at full volume. One guy at the other end had a guitar which he was not yet expert at, but kept plugging away. Better to just go up on deck and have a wander.

Looking up at deck eight. Crew and work rooms.

Leaving Port of Ternate.

Pretty soon, there is very little to see at night. I caught a glimpse of the lights my hotel and then darkness. These islands are sparsely settled or not inhabited permanently. Unfortunately, the darkness did not allow any star gazing. Too cloudy. But, still better to sit on a bench on the sundeck and try to make out the lurking shapes passing by. Bunks were surprisingly comfortable. Turned in around midnight and fell asleep somewhere around two or so when the kid stopped blaring YouTube or I just lost consciousness of it. Until morning.

The worst breakfast I have ever had in Indonesia.

Some kind of announcement at 5:30 am. Drowsed for a bit then line up for brekkie and go up on deck. Why anyone would want this delivered to their bunk is beyond me.

Unidentified pelt. Not something you see on an airplane.

One of several volcanic peaks we passed along the way.

Fortunately there are coffee shops and snack bars. Better food. Great coffee. And, a view.

A chatty truck driver I met on deck. He was from Makassar.

One thing I noticed in Sorong (and then later in Ternate, Tidore, and Ambon) is people are mobile. Grab Car drivers were from all over the place. Hotel staff, too. People move around the stretch from Sulawesi through Malukus, and then Papua a lot. Job opportunities draw people, then PELNI brings them back home again from time to time.

Arrival. Ternate is a bustling port for the North Malukus.

Disembarking at Ternate.

I could have gotten carried away! I had brought my gear up on deck, but was watching the proceedings. There were still loads of people just hanging around, so no rush. But, I had forgotten that this voyage started further east in Papua at Manokwari. After Sorong-Ternate, it was on to Bitung in Sulawesi and then Surabaya on Java. People can be on these ferries for 60 hours or more. I did not miss my disembarkation. Nothing moves that quickly. And, I set foot on my first Spice Island.