Football and Nutmeg in Maluku

Until the mid-18th century, the Banda Islands were the sole known source of nutmeg, making the spices (nutmeg, the seed, and mace, the seed shell) highly valuable commodities. These islands, known as the original spice islands, are situated about 140 km south of the island of Seram in Indonesia's Maluku province. They remain relatively untouched, are hard to reach, sparsely populated, and stunningly beautiful. The Bandas consist of seven inhabited islands, with the main ones being Pulau Neira, Pulau Api, Pulau Banda Besar, Pulau Ai, Pulau Rhun, and Pulau Hatta. All the islands are small enough to explore on foot, and most lack any vehicles.

There is a small airport on Banda Neira but the runway is so short that it is almost impossible to make a success of commercial flights to the islands. A few have tried and this may change. When I visited, the only way to get there was by boat, so I took the twice-weekly Express Bahari from Ambon to Neira, which took about six hours across the Banda Sea. When I left the islands three weeks later, having taken a local boat from Banda Ai to meet the Bahari at Neira, was told that the company had gone bankrupt and ceased operations. Fortunately the monthly Pelni, a boat that plies the waters around Indonesia acting as a ferry and cargo boat, was scheduled to pass by five days later, so I returned to the beach and waited for that. The Pelni is an infamous operation and is a whole story unto itself.

I spent most of my time on Banda Ai, one hour by boat to the west of Neira. I rented a basic room at Green Coconut Guest House for Rp300,000 (US$20) which included 3 meals a day and a spectacular view of the beach and across to Banda Api and its volcano. The snorkelling was incredible and about 15 metres off the beach the sea floor dropped

hundreds of feet and the wall was

alive with colourful fish and coral. The islands are easy to walk around, and meeting the smiling

locals is a real highlight. I visited the school and watched a mixed football match where both teams had boys and girls, with all the girls wearing hijabs. After the game I had a casual kick-around with them. One day I had a tense encounter with an aggressive Triggerfish whilst snorkelling offshore. It was weirdly terrifying. I also took a boat to explore the westernmost of the islands, Banda Run. This island has a fascinating history dating back to the 17th century, primarily due to its significance in the spice trade and being the only known place where nutmeg grew.

During that period, for some strange reason, nutmeg was the most valuable commodity in the world, worth more than gold. Consequently, between 1616 and 1664, the Dutch and British fought over this 13km sq spot on the map, exchanging control multiple times. When the Dutch seized control in 1620, they killed or enslaved all the men, exiled all the women and children, and destroyed every nutmeg tree on the island to prevent the British from retaking the island. Madness! Eventually a deal was reached, in 1664, where the Dutch took full control of Banda and in exchange the British got a swampy,

inhospitable island in the New World called New Amsterdam. Today that island is called Manhattan!. The European powers of that time made some ridiculous decisions!

The gallery below consists of photos from my trip through Maluku, Papua and Sumatra. A beautiful and hospitable part of the world

Ternate, Maluku

which takes some effort and time to navigate but is well worth the effort.

Raja Ampat, off the Papua mainland, is an upcoming dive mecca. There is some religious tension in areas of Maluku, specifically in Ambon, but that didn't effect my trip at all.

Indonesia's Liga 1 (BRI Liga 1) is contested by 18 teams with promotion and relegation to Liga 2. The season runs from August to May. The schedule is often set well in advance, FotMob Pro is a reliable source. When I was in Maluku the team based in Ternate had recently gone bankrupt and there was, at that time, no team in Maluku. In 2023 a new team was created, Malut United FC, and they joined Liga 1 for the 2023/2024 season.