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4/2002: this area is pretty volatile and under military control. Take care!
Introduction
For us, Poso was just a place to break the trip on our way between Rantepao and Manado. We weren’t sure how we would proceed from there – either by bus (via Palu or otherwise), or by ferry, either from Poso, Ampana, or Pagimana.
Getting there We arrived in Poso about 11:00 PM. The bus dropped us off at the Kasintuwu terminal. Based on the guidebooks, the Losmen Lalango Jaya looked good so that’s where we headed. When we got there, the gate was locked, and banging, rattling, and shouting didn’t produce the desired results.
We walked through the harbour to Jl. Pattimura, where we found the Wisata all locked up and in darkness as well.
We then headed away from the beach to the Peningapan Ideal. There was an old guy there, who told us that there was no vacancy.
By this time we were drenched in sweat (at sea level, in a sheltered bay, I think Poso is pretty hot and humid day and night year round). We walked across the bridge to Jl. Sumatra, where, at midnight we happily found that the Losmen Alugoro was alive and kicking, and more importantly had a vacancy. My advice if you are going to be arriving in Poso late at night is to make an advance reservation.
Accommodation Losmen Alugoro – basic double goes for Rp 20,000 (12/98).
Losmen Lalango Jaya looked nicer (we did check out the rooms the next day, out of curiosity). I’m sure would be more expensive, but still reasonable). Being right on the water I think it would have been a few degrees cooler than other places, and in Poso, every degree helps.
Restaurants
We ended up back at the Lalango Jaya for breakfast and supper – looking out over the water and/or watching TV. It was a friendly place and the food was pretty good and reasonably priced.
We had lunch in the Padang Raya near the bridge, and it was OK too.
Getting out to Ampana/Togian/Gorontalo The next morning we checked at the harbour, and, amazed at our luck, discovered that the Pandan Sari was in operation, and was beginning it’s weekly trip to Gorontalo via Ampana and the Togians that night. We bought our tickets (Rp 33,000), and inquired about a cabin. The ticket office was willing to sell us a cabin for an additional 50,000 each for the two day / two night crossing. We thought we’d better check things out first. We met the captain on board, and he sold us a cabin with bunks for 40,000 each. We discovered on that trip how uncomfortable and unrestful a night in a sauna can be. It was incredibly hot and humid in the cabin – I’m sure the folks sleeping on the covered aft deck of the boat were more comfortable (not sure of the crowd below-decks). In the future if I was traveling with a large enough group of people to facilitate guarding the luggage, I would consider passing up on the cabin.
We left Poso harbour around 11:00 PM (an hour late), and arrived in Ampana early the next morning, where we debarked and had breakfast. We left Ampana about 11:00 AM (once again an hour behind schedule) and reached the Togians about 5:00 PM, docking in Wakai harbour about sunset, where we had supper. Unfortunately the rest of the Togian stops were all at night.
The Pandan Sari’s weekly schedule (11/98):
- Leaves Poso Monday night
- Arrives / leaves Ampana Tuesday AM
- Arrives Wakai Tuesday evening
- Makes four more stops in the Togians overnight: Katupat, Malenge, and Dolong
- Arrives in Gorontalo Wednesday afternoon
- Begins the return trip from Gorontalo to Poso Fridays at midnight (would arrive in Poso Sunday afternoon or evening) |
