Ambon - X-Ray Magazine

travelAmbonsetting up a trade monopoly with theMoluccas that spawned sultanates andmini empires throughout the archipelago.For five hundred years, the Arabs held amonopoly on the spice trade and keptthe location a closely guarded secret.It was the Arab traders that introducednutmeg to the European palate, a movethat ultimately sealed their commercialdoom. It was only after Vasco de Gamasuccessfully rounded the horn of Africathat the way was paved for Europeanexplorers to try and locate the source ofthe fragrant treasure. The race was on!The Portuguese were the first to arrive.In the 16 th century, the 18 survivors ofMagellan’s original expedition of 230aboard the Victoria (Magellan himselfwas killed in the Philippines) returnedto Spain with over a ton of cloves. Notonly was this precious cargo enoughto eradicate the Spanish monarchy’slooming debt, it made the sailors wealthyfor life.The Spanish eventually wrestled controlfrom the Portuguese, only to lose theirholdings to the Dutch, who founded theDutch East India Company. Cloves wereplanted on Ambon, which subsequentlybecame the centre of the region’s spicetrade. The company was all-powerful,and controlled the region with brutaleffiency. Harsh laws were enacted,including the death penalty for the illegalpossession of nutmeg.The Dutch monopoly came to anend courtesy of a shrewd Frenchmanby the name of Pierre Poivre. In acunning move, Poivre (Latin for pepper)managed to sneak out a handful ofnutmeg fruits preserved in brine. Hence,Peter Piper and his pickled peppers!Within eight years, nutmeg trees weregrowing in Mauritius and the importanceof the Spice Islands waned. Today,more nutmeg is grown in Grenadain the Caribbean and more clovesin neighbouring Sulawesi. It’s hard tobelieve these tiny spices, common inany modern supermarket, had so muchimpact on world history.Tanjung SialOne day, we made a very special trip.As the first blush of dawn kissed thehorizon, we set out for the 90-minute tripto Seram. Fisherman perched on rockyoutcrops, while children waved joyfullyas we passed by. The northern portion ofthe island is predominantly Muslim, withthe shiny domes of mosques accentingthe villages fringing the shoreline.The first site of the morning was TanjungSial, situated at the extreme southwesterntip of Seram Island. Translated as BadLuck Point in the local dialect, it’s aptlynamed, as many boats have been losthere due to the fierce currents thatconverge off shore. As the boat couldn’tanchor too close to the point due tothe currents, we would have to swimalong the wall just offshore to reach ourdestination. This was one seriously verticalwall! The sheer sides, plunging down tothe depths, were practically devoid ofgrowth. The current started to pick upas we approached the point. Along theway, a school of around 20 bumpheadparrotfish passed by overhead. By thistime, the wall had transformed intoa slope and coral growth appeared.Sheltered areas provided a respitefrom the strong currents. A few morebumpheads made an appearance; thebig fish were shy though and fled if yougot too close. A hawksbill turtle was morecompliant, however, and posed for mycamera.Towards the end of the dive, Tobyswam over to check on my air. As I wasgetting low and we had to do our safetystop in open water, he indicated for meto follow him up. I inflated my BCD, butnothing seemed to be happening. It wasthen I realized that a very strong downcurrent was pulling me down. A lot ofinflation was required before I was ableto ascend. After the safety stop, I realizedwe had surfaced in the midst of a miniwhirlpool!Fortunately, we got out of itpretty quickly and, by the time the boatpicked us up, we were some distancefrom shore.Our surface interval was made at abeautiful white beach on Seram Island.Seram is much bigger than Ambon buthas a fraction of its population. The wildinterior is cloaked with extensive tropicalrainforest with many species of parrots.After making a second dive at TanjungSial, we headed back towards Ambonand the island of Pulau Tiga where wehad our surface interval and lunch.Pulau TigaWhile not the location from the SurvivorTV show, this Pulau Tiga was truly a worldclasssite! Upon descending to 24m, ashort swim led to the edge of a largedrop-off. After taking a seat on a barrensection of the slope, we sat back andwatched the show unfold. This site couldeasily be renamed the fishbowl, as anendless procession of species paradedby. A large school of surgeonfish wasjoined by fusiliers, bannerfish, long-nosedemperors, blue-fin trevally, Napoleonwrasse and a few bumphead parrotfish.Giant trevallies have also been sightedhere.I could have easily spent the entirehour right on that spot, but my computer41 X-RAY MAG : 16 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED