Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine September 2016 | Page 151

Travel | Gorontalo

149

© Mark Eveleigh

5 Senses – Touch
KARAWO
Run your fingers over fine karawo
– a unique style of embroidery that
has been taken to new extremes
in Gorontalo city. A fine piece of
karawo work might take weeks or
even months to complete. For some
fine work at reasonable prices head to
Kembang Indah in the Pasar Kanopi.
Sentuhkan jari Anda pada
karawo yang cantik—bordir bergaya
unik yang telah dimodifikasi dengan
gaya baru di Kota Gorontalo.
Bordiran karawo mungkin
membutuhkan beberapa minggu
atau bahkan berbulan-bulan
untuk rampung. Bila Anda ingin
bordiran dengan harga terjangkau,
Anda bisa mengunjugi Kembang
Indah di Pasar Kanopi.

Off the coast of Gorontalo, paradisiacal
adventures await at magical getaways like Pulau
Saronde, a small island reachable from the Port
of Kwandang in the North Gorontalo Regency.
Pristine and surrounded by endless white-sand
beaches, Saronde represents the best of strippedback peaceful island life with only very basic
accommodation. You can camp here as well
if you prefer to sleep in a tent under the stars.
Water sports such as banana boating are also
available to book for those who want to
experience high-speed thrills on the crystal-clear
open water. Or you can simply explore
some of the nearby uninhabited islands, go
snorkelling or laze around on the beach all day
with a good book.
Cinta Island is another increasingly popular
place to explore located in the Boalemo district,
just two hours’ drive from the capital in Tomini
Bay. Translated as ‘Love Island’, the tiny island
gets its name from its heart shape and from
the many things to love about it. The island
has a charming eco-resort operating on it with
beautiful wooden bungalows stilted above the
water – Sulawesi’s own Maldivian escape.
Tomini Bay itself has numerous world-class
dive spots with incredibly rich marine
biodiversity. Olele Beach, for example, is replete
with giant reefs, schools of gobi fish, cardinal
fish, butterfly fish, pods of dolphins, rare pygmy
seahorses and huge Salvador Dalí sponges,
a unique morphology of Petrosia lignosa

endemic to Gorontalo and so called for
their strangely surreal patterns that recall
the works of the famous painter.
And then of course there are graceful and
magnificent whale sharks. While their presence
has been known about and respected by local
fishermen for generations, the rest of the world
is just getting to know about the gentle giants
often found congregating in groups of up
to 10 at a time off the shores of Botubarani
village in Gorontalo’s Bolango regency.
A nearby shrimp factory had been throwing
its unwanted shrimp shells and heads into
the ocean. Whale sharks loved to eat them,
and so sightings would occur daily! The area
has now been established as a conservation
area with a one-hectare protection zone for
these beautiful creatures. Regulations banning
the use of motorboats in the zone have also
been introduced, and visitors are permitted
to view the sharks from the perimeters
of the secured area. As studies are still
being conducted on the phenomenon of
these schooling whale sharks, dives can
only be arranged in small groups
accompanied by official guides.
Encountering a passing group of these
majestic, ancient sea animals is surely the
experience that will make you want to
come back to Gorontalo to explore more
of its untouched natural beauty.