Lore

Lore on Timor southern coast To see a really neat village on the south coast make a trip to Lore. I was going to try to make it from there to Viqueque along the coast but the road was washed away by the river. This is pretty far outback so I took 9 1/2 liters of benzine as there are no places to get fuel once you get past Los Palos. I had assumed that there would be fishing boats down there that I could hire out if I broke down but the south coast is relatively unprotected with big waves so there were no boats. It is a beautiful beach and the villagers invited me to camp there or stay in one of their homes. A heavy downpour came in from the south so I high tailed it to shelter in one of their places and waited for it to blow over. I was traveling light - with only water, gasoline, one spare shirt, and a plastic bag full of oranges, bananas, bread and my camera and didn't want to get soaked. That would require starting a fire and drying out before nightfall or it would be a long cold sleepless night. I always carry a cigarette lighter and keep it dry in my camera case. It was kind of strange because it was supposed to be the dry season according to the experts but I was getting heavy rain everyday. I just got soaked at Jaco the night before and spent 3 hours drying out by a campfire but I didn't have anything else going on anyway so it was ok. Plus I bought a fish from a guy and grilled that at the same time my clothes were drying so it worked out alright. When it became apparent that I would not be able to procede along the coast I decided to double back to Los Palos. One of the local boys wanted a lift out and I felt bad leaving him behind but it was hard enough just getting myself out of there without an additional passenger. There is no way we would have made it up some of those hills with two of us and it would have been asking too much of Henry's old mailman's bike. An awful lot of that road was under water as well and quite slick. I landed going all the way back to Com to see if Patrick was still there. It was nice running into an old friend and we talked by lantern light into the night. It's funny how you make friends on the road and really get to know and like them in a short time. That is one of the beautiful things about travelling. Lore - East Timor 2006    www.dutchpickle.com

 

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