From the main island of the Kangean Archipelago, we crossed over to the nearby isle of Mamburit—one of those last remaining places where they continue to build traditional wooden sailing craft the old way. 

Getting there—or, just trying to get there—was a cultural experience in & of itself.  We hired a boat to take us from the old port of Kangean to Mamburit.  We first paid a few cents to a guy with a small dugout canoe to carry us out to an ever so slightly bigger craft which would water taxi us to Mamburit.  However, once we got on our water taxi, the Kangeanese boatman realized that the tide had gone out more than he’d bargained for, & we were stuck on a sandbar.

With no sign of shame or urgency, the boatman & his partner spent the next 45 minutes trying to get us off the sandbar.  Our morning was getting away from us, but hey, what can you do other than get into the rhythm of the place--what the locals call "rubber time"?  And the photo ops were not exactly horrendous while these guys struggled to get us moving.  Shoot away!

Finally we were on our way put-putting over to Mamburit.  There we found the ultimate laid-back tropical island ambiance. 

Women standing in front of their homes holding their babies,

little kids playing in yesteryear’s sailing craft,

a seafarer waiting for his friends to return from their latest voyage,

young girls seeking shade under a tarp-covered boat repair hut,

the fisherman trying to figure out if there’s anything worth doing in the heat of the day after bringing a basket of fish back to his wife & kids

and--at the same mid-day hour--a troupe of little Kangeanese kids looking for treats in the shallow tidal pools.

BTW, does Indonesia look like a place where you’d like to shoot?  Check out our 14-21 (25 with extension) Java-Bali Photo Tour here.  This one’s being offered at a one-time only discounted rate.  Don’t miss the shots!