Seeking deepwater fun and other delights in Maluku

Last month The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti was invited to Ambon to take part in a journalism workshop on covering Maluku, organized by the Forum of Maluku Women Journalists. Below is her report from the sidelines.

The things to worry about when you're trying to live with fish! How to breathe underwater, how to float at a stable level, how not to pop your lungs, how not to bump into your buddy's tank (ouch!), how to avoid earaches, etc., etc., etc.

And the fish just dart here and there and back and forth, heading straight up and down, around and around, popping up just to get a quick peek at the bizarre visitor -- that big two-legged alien in black -- and darting back! Funny old fellows, sketched and dotted and striped, painted and winged or given a orange lion's mane or even the odd batik motif -- depending on the whim of whatever or whoever thought up such creatures and their wavy homes of multicolored sponges or bottle-like corals.

The "one cheek fish", as locals appropriately call the flatfish (pleuronectiform), slides away rapidly on its side in the sand. There's a cave or two to explore, and sunbeams pour down into the cool blue-green world.

It's this relaxing, wondrous sight of the underwater garden that entices even timid and clumsy nonathletic types to the ocean.

And in Maluku these wonders are available all year round. In early June it was raining almost every day, fishermen were warned against going out to sea and the guys at the only diving operation open, the Blue Rose, said it wasn't possible to dive around the south -- but north was fine.

That was a terrific surprise. So on a bright Monday, a short drive outside the capital took us to the Leihitu district, and a 15-minute bumpy speedboat ride led us to three lovely dive sites. Under the calm surface, suddenly the tour begins around coral walls alive with busy creatures in every direction -- and at the end, it's hard to say goodbye.

The view "is even better at Pulau Tiga," says my guide, "but that's 45 minutes away," with extra costs for the fuel. If you're with a group of four, he says, guests can go up to neighboring Seram Island where more adventures await.

With the sea making up most of the province of the "Spice Islands", water activities are obviously a core part of the tourist attractions here. Later this year Seram is holding a deep sea fishing festival and tourism promoters are promising plenty of excitement for lovers of water sports, including jet skiing.

But a closer look at the brochures confirms that all the hype is about what could be -- much of the fun is not quite there yet ...

Almost 10 years after community clashes in the province, critics say the government here lacks focus, trying to do everything and achieving nothing, instead of concentrating on Maluku's vast ocean potential.

The perception that Maluku is not yet safe is the main obstacle to tourism, officials say. Yet a number of direct elections have been held without much trouble in a place that did indeed see an unprecedented amount of bloodshed.

But now residents want their life back, and tourists could contribute to local recovery -- besides spreading the fairly good news that safety issues here are pretty much the same as in other areas in Indonesia, as is sanitation.