We leave in the afternoon. The island is located about 17 miles in front of the coast of Sibolga City, a city on the west coast of Sumatra in the administrative area of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The trip using a fast boat from the city known as Fish City to the island takes three hours, but to get to a bay which is one of our destinations on the island the trip will take another 2 hours, so the time it takes to get there in about 5 hours.
The island is known as Mursala Island. Our afternoon departure required us to spend the night on the island. Our informants told us that on the island there were places that would allow us to spend the night there, so that the next day we would have time to enjoy the excursions and the sights around the island.
Arriving there at night, we could see nothing in the darkness of the night apart from the shining lights of several buildings far from each other and also the stars in the sky. The sound of the boat engine that we were riding on did not prevent us from hearing the sound of breaking waves and the sound of the wind blowing, which sometimes felt a bit strong and made our boat like swinging. Arriving closer to one of the buildings where the lights could be seen shining from a distance, we realized it was one of a wooden boarding house built over the water by the shore. But at night, everything there is not yet clear.
Not long after we arrived at the boarding house, after a while several other boats also docked at the dock there. Dozens of men of varying ages from young to old entered the boarding house where we were at that time. Apparently, they are not visitors like us, but they are fishermen who will stay at the boarding house as well. There were no rooms there, and there was only a space large enough for us to sleep together there. It is one of the boarding houses for the fishermen who take a night's rest on the island so they don't have to return to the mainland coast. In addition to the fishermen taking a night's rest, the boarding houses also provide various supplies needed by the fishermen so that they can go back to fishing the next day. The bay, which is apparently very well protected from the storms and big waves of the Indian Ocean, has turned out to be a terminal for fishermen who are active in these waters. They do not need to return to their city before fishing targets are reached. Before we went to sleep, we had time to hear various legends about the island as well as their experiences with lots of laughter. They are very friendly and kind even though they work in risky fields.
The next day, everything began to look bright with the sunlight shining from the eastern horizon. But to our surprise, we didn't find all the fishermen who were staying with us. Only a few were seen on their boat. As it turned out, they had already gone out to sea to catch fish before the sun broke. I was amazed at the amazing work ethic they have.
But from a distance, from among the scattered islands, I saw something that looked like an elongated platform coming out from the east. It was getting closer to the bay where we were, and it turned out to be two large fishing boats moving hand in hand. One then took the straight line ahead of us and the other turned toward our boarding house. The owner of the boarding house is seen immediately plunging into the sea and taking the rope that will be used to tie the boat to the dock. It was an outrigger fishing boat filled with fishermen. The outrigger boat shows the specificity of fishing boats which are active in Indian Ocean waters. The outrigger is necessary to be able to withstand the sometimes very strong ocean waves. The fishing boat stopped at the boarding house just to collect the supplies they needed before returning to the ocean to catch fish.
We had no idea that in this remote bay on the island there was such a busy activity. But we couldn't waste any more of our time that morning by being there. Our boat was ready to take us exploring the island, and enjoying the natural beauty of a place far from mainland Sumatra.
