Sulawesi

We are going to use our extra time in Indonesia to explore a new island for our last few weeks before the big return to normality. Our plane from Maumere was tiny and the only flight leaving that day. It looked cute sat all alone on the tarmac!

We started in Makassar, a big city with 1.5 million people. There were some nice eateries - I loved an authentic Italian - La Piccola and posh brekkie in Verda. 

The top sight in Makassar is Fort Rotterdam. The Dutch took this over from the Goa and made it feel like a slice of home. The guide taught us all about the traditional boats and the history of Sulawesi. Olive took an opportunity to try out clay painting with the resident artist. 

We took a look round 99 Domes Mosque. It’s a stunning building which is still under construction. You see it from every angle as you travel round the central part of city. It looks equally impressive at night when it is lit up in changing colours. 

We took a slightly depressing trip out to see Pulau Samalona. It’s a tiny island about half an hour away. It was pretty but had loads of rubbish washed up. We grabbed this as an opportunity to teach Olive about the climate and impact of rubbish. 

We then took a pit stop at Pulau Lau Lau on the way back, a bigger island where locals live. There was loads of rubbish everywhere. Really shocking. Although it still wasn’t as much as we saw bobbing around under the stilted villages in Flores.