Try Sumba !!!

When father Yosep SDB, asked me to work in Sumba, I was so excited. Suddenly my right side brain was so full of adorable imaginations, like swimming, surfing, riding a horse, star gazing at night, adventure with new friends, exploring new culture, and devote myself to the people of Sumba. After working for 1 year in Papua, I really can’t wait to start working in Sumba island. 

Let’s try Sumba island!!! To reach Sumba, you can take a flight or a cruise. Only about 1 hour flight from Bali, and then you’d find yourself in a different place. You’ll feel the hot weather, bright sunshine, meet the rocky hills, alang grasses, megalithic burials, and sandalwood horses. I was so happy to runaway from the hectic city, Jakarta and got a chance to work in Karitas Hospital in South West Sumba for 1 year.

Well, let me explain a glance about Sumba. It is one of the infamous island in Indonesian archipelago.  It’s located in East Nusa Tenggara province. It has an area of 11,153 km2. In 1866, the Dutch arrived in Sumba and Jesuits open a mission in Loura, South West Sumba. Please… do not confused with Sumbawa island.

 
Sumba island is surrounded by the sea and ocean. The waves are pretty big. The beaches are so pure, stunning and beautiful, but rarely visited by westerner. Maybe because of Sumba tourism promotion is not good enough and also lack of facilities for tourists, but for me, it such a good advantage because mostly when I swim in the beach, it feels like a private beach (LOL).  

 
When you visit Sumba island, you’d see so many megalithic burials all over the island. Stone megalithic and other standing stone structures are wide spread on the island. The island has low limestone hills and savannah and I guess it really suitable for megalithic burial.

Sumba is well known for the Sandalwood horse. People in Sumba use horses for transport, for Pasola Festival, and a gift to the bride. Pasola Festival is a game played by selected Sumbanese men riding their selected horses and fling each other with long wooden stick. This festival held during February and March. The timing is determined by the arrival of sea worms called Nyale. In the picture, you can see a Sandalwood horse with sunset view at Weekelo beach.

Well, I lived in South West Sumba. Here we have Tambolaka airport, Waikelo harbor,  traditional market, hospital, many schools, hotels and restaurants. Every where I go, my favorite place would be the traditional market. In traditional market, I would get fresh local fruits, vegetables and sea products with cheap price. For example you can buy one big octopus for only 5 USD. That was so great. As you can see in the picture. There were 3 octopuses sold in Homba Karipit traditional market in Kodi area. Those beautiful fishes were sold too. 

There are many stunning beaches in Sumba and mostly located in Kodi area. You really should try to visit Mandorak beach, Pero beach, Tanjung Karoso beach, Pasar Ikan beach, Ratenggaro beach, Watu Maladong beach. The most unique and exotic is Weekuri lake. Weekuri is a saltwater lake surrounded by rock and there is a small gap that connected the lake and the sea, so that’s why the water taste salty. In Weekuri, you can meet sea stars, small fishes and sea urchins. Please noticed, all of the beaches in Sumba have white sand. The sands are very fine. If you want to reach Kodi area, you could rent a car with a driver. It's very recommended to have a local guide from Kodi. In the picture above, you can see Ratenggaro beach with Sumbanese traditional houses as the background.

I used to spend my lazy days in those beaches. Swimming with my friends was my fixed agenda in the holidays. There were too much unforgettable moments with my friends in Sumba that would always stick in my head, including the moments when my love came to visit me in Sumba :) 

Hopefully, Sumba could attract many tourists in the future, and for this, there are many things that should be fixed by the local government to promote the beauty of Sumba to foreigner.