We were very fortunate to stay with a friend in Dili and she had one of the embassy vehicles so we headed out of town for a daytrip. The grand plan was to drive south west to a place called Atsabe in Ermera district, where there were some waterfalls.
The day was absolutely stunning as we left Dili - clear blue skies and a few fluffy clouds. We stopped at this viewpoint about half an hour outside Dili with sweeping views down to the ocean. Interestingly there was a large cloud just over Atauro island and nowhere else in the sea.
Along the drive we saw lots and lots of nativity scenes - a reminder of just how religious East Timor is (98% Catholic).
The size of the churches we saw along the way was really quite striking. Even in towns where there was so much visible poverty, the churches were still quite grand and very well constructed. Obviously a lot of money had gone into the churches, the social centre of these towns.
The roads became increasingly bad about an hour after we left Dili. It was pretty much paved all the way out to Gleno, a sizeable town. Not long after, we started to see potholes which were variable degrees of mudpools. Many sections of the road had been destroyed by rocks or trees that had fallen across the way.
Nevertheless, life went on for Timorese people who traversed these roads in what we thought were crazy conditions. We were amazed to see so many minivans along the way, many with completed painted over windscreens - how do they see anything out of them?
Some other interesting things we saw along the way
Ever wondered where your local Vinnies donation went to? It probably ended up here at these second hand clothing markets found all over the developing world.
We never got to Atsabe as we realised an hour out of Gleno (just past Hilario) that we were making very slow progress on the crappy roads. It was definitely the right decision to turn back as the storm clouds had moved in and soon the whole road was one giant mud bath. We stopped off in Gleno for some lunch - chicken sticks, nasi goreng and lalapan ikan (grilled fish with a sweet sauce).
We also stopped at one of the many fruit stands and picked up some goodies - these passionfruits turned out to be incredibly juicy.
We headed out to Liquica to hang out at Black Rock. Along the way we stopped at Ai Pelo prison, about an hour out of Dili. It is a truly beautiful ruin of an old Portugese style building, overlooking the sea.
We finished up the day at Black Rock, where the owners have made a great effort of bringing a little luxury to the Timorese countryside. The beach isn't much to write home about - rubbly and rocky - but it was nice enough to stroll along and end the day with a cocktail. The storms moved in and we had a brief downpour again. After the rain stopped we saw dolphins in the horizon, jumping out of the water in synchrony - simply incredible
The day was absolutely stunning as we left Dili - clear blue skies and a few fluffy clouds. We stopped at this viewpoint about half an hour outside Dili with sweeping views down to the ocean. Interestingly there was a large cloud just over Atauro island and nowhere else in the sea.
Along the drive we saw lots and lots of nativity scenes - a reminder of just how religious East Timor is (98% Catholic).
The size of the churches we saw along the way was really quite striking. Even in towns where there was so much visible poverty, the churches were still quite grand and very well constructed. Obviously a lot of money had gone into the churches, the social centre of these towns.
The church in Gleno
The church in Hilario
The roads became increasingly bad about an hour after we left Dili. It was pretty much paved all the way out to Gleno, a sizeable town. Not long after, we started to see potholes which were variable degrees of mudpools. Many sections of the road had been destroyed by rocks or trees that had fallen across the way.
Nevertheless, life went on for Timorese people who traversed these roads in what we thought were crazy conditions. We were amazed to see so many minivans along the way, many with completed painted over windscreens - how do they see anything out of them?
Some other interesting things we saw along the way
Ever wondered where your local Vinnies donation went to? It probably ended up here at these second hand clothing markets found all over the developing world.
Best Christmas tree ever - from recycled water bottles
Dried betel nut for sale at a market
We never got to Atsabe as we realised an hour out of Gleno (just past Hilario) that we were making very slow progress on the crappy roads. It was definitely the right decision to turn back as the storm clouds had moved in and soon the whole road was one giant mud bath. We stopped off in Gleno for some lunch - chicken sticks, nasi goreng and lalapan ikan (grilled fish with a sweet sauce).
We also stopped at one of the many fruit stands and picked up some goodies - these passionfruits turned out to be incredibly juicy.
We headed out to Liquica to hang out at Black Rock. Along the way we stopped at Ai Pelo prison, about an hour out of Dili. It is a truly beautiful ruin of an old Portugese style building, overlooking the sea.
We finished up the day at Black Rock, where the owners have made a great effort of bringing a little luxury to the Timorese countryside. The beach isn't much to write home about - rubbly and rocky - but it was nice enough to stroll along and end the day with a cocktail. The storms moved in and we had a brief downpour again. After the rain stopped we saw dolphins in the horizon, jumping out of the water in synchrony - simply incredible
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