Friday, July 20, 2012

Pulau Weh: Pantai Sumur Tiga



Sumur Tiga, the quintessential castaway beach, is located on the northeast side of the island and is a beachcombers paradise during the second half of the year.  After six days at Iboih, which is mainly jetty to reef adventure, it was nice to get some powder-soft, coral-dust sand between our toes.



We stayed @ Casa Nemo. This cliff-hugging bungalow structure is churchmouse quiet (except on weekends) and its house reef has massive schools of rainbow parrot fish, an abundance of blue-spotted stingrays, and even an odd sea turtle now and then.

Casa Nemo's Italian owner originally came to Aceh for tsunami relief (working with the UN) and opened the resort soon after.  Although he is currently living in the Middle East, the bungalows are now managed by Ferdi, a cool and hospitable fellow from Surabaya, East Java.  
 

We felt like Sybarites in this regal bungalow compared to our spartan dwelling on the other side of the island.



Cacti.

 


Benevolence and ingenuity is exuded by this scarlet millipede.









The water is warm and wet.  The beach is dry and sandy.


Fishing boat.




Ahmad is an itinerant laborer from Makassar, Sulawesi currently completing a road construction project in Banda Aceh.  He enjoys taking the ferry over to Pulau Weh on the weekends and spends his beach hours conversing with friends and making sand forts.


Gavin was feeling jaunty and responsive during his beach holiday, spending his free time reading and snorkeling (i.e. pestering marine life).  Since returning to Vietnam, a sluggish inertia has set in.
 

Nellie is a self-proclaimed "beach nut".  She abstains from sunscreen due to its deleterious effects on coral reefs and its inability to be consumed.  She also suffers from periodic bouts of sunstroke.  She is currently working very little and will return to the kindergarten classroom in a couple of weeks.


2 comments:

Adrian McManus said...

Love your writing, sir. :-)

Nellie said...

Thank you Adrian! Just found this comment and the complement is kind.