12 – 19 September 2009
First I have to pay tribute to the women porters of Tulamben. They literally risk their necks for us, and it’s quite embarrassing to see them carry one or two or even three tanks for our diving ease and pleasure! Here is some of the amazing carrying that they do!
When visiting our favorite Balinese restaurant in Seminyak, Ibu Eny told us that at a young age, Balinese girls in the villages would start carrying heavy baskets in their heads. When old enough, they would carry up to 50 kg! That would be around 30 coconuts with their husks. She considered 25 kg nothing – too light!
We stayed in one of Tulamben’s oldest resorts Tauch Terminal and as the name suggests, it’s German run with many German guests.
The lively owner Axel Schwan hit a gold mine with his lovely dive resort situated right beside a world famous ship wreck, the Liberty Wreck. Axel teaches a course in “How to Survive in a Competitive World” in Udayana University and he quotes a business MUST: “location, location, location!” Well, so long as there is a wreck down there, he will never run out of divers making a pilgrimage here.
The 120 meter long Liberty Wreck is a WWII American cargo steamship built in 1915. In January 1942, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine 15 km SW of Lombok. No one died and while still floating, the ship was beached in Tulamben. In 1963 when Mt Agung erupted, the earth tremors caused the ship to sink into deep waters, making it now a superb dive site with abundant fish and coral life. It has been a well known dive site since 1978.