Nias - Sumatra, but different

After nearly 3 days in buses and boats, some relax time was needed. 😎
Hammock, beach, shower, snack, hammock, beach, shower ... 😅🥰
Salty Dog Hostel here is a great place to stay, some funny travelers around, very nice facilities and an awesome host!
I ended up in south Nias, Teluk Dalam is Nias' 2nd biggest city and famous Surfspot Lugundri is close by. So it's a little bit touristy, focused on surfers, but some travellers are around here, too.
Another nice coincidence: World Surf League has some Worldcup qualifying here, starting soon, there will be another footprint for that... 😎😅
So after recovering, I got a scooter to explore the island.
Nias in general has an incredible coastline, shallow reefs (many of them pushed up for 1 meter or so during the 2004 earthquake & tsunami), little beaches, mangrove wood coasts or steep rocky coasts. You can see it's volcanic origin everywhere the jungle hasn't captured the ground or the ocean breakers keep rocks free.
So it's covered with hills, streets going in steep curves up and down, very often in a bad shape or totally swept away, due to frequent heavy rainfalls.
In contrast to Sumatra, which is mostly a Muslim island, Nias population are mostly Christian, due to a German missionary, who was the first to survive encountering the local tribes in 19th century. All in all people seem to be very liberal and open minded, very friendly and welcoming. Giving me a friendly helping hand or even inviting or gifting me, happened a lot.
Going a few kilometers away from cities, soon gives a great impression of local life. Still often simple and not much developed, but very caring about each other, very talkative. Everywhere people are chitchatting, laughing, with neighbors, shop owners, suppliers, or accidentally passing by people. Unfortunately hardly anyone speaks English, outside the cities, so talking is difficult, but nevertheless, we try hard 😅
Impressive people and a great spirit, everywhere I have been, Nias is one of the most beautiful, rural islands I've seen so far, and the combination of one touristy spot, while the rest of the island feels kind of "untouched", is fascinating.Les mer