The Moluccan archipelago, a thousand-odd islands in a vast expanse of blue, lies well beyond Bali and the usual Indonesian tourist circuit. Some of the islands are volcanic, and dressed in luxuriant vegetation. Others are coral atolls, lined with swaying palms. But there are all beautiful. And they are blessed with some of the finest beaches in the world: oases of soft sand and impossibly blue water.
Molucca’s Spice Islands have a rich, though not particularly savory, history. Tiny islands here – Ternate and Tidore, Amboyna, the Bandas – supplied Europe with precious cloves, nutmeg, and mace. The search for the source of these spices, the 15th century’s great mystery, fueled the Age of Exploration.
In successive waves, beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and British overran the islands, each claiming an exclusive on the lucrative trade. Only the Dutch, through sometimes brutal suppression of indigenous sovereignty, were able to make the monopoly stick.
Like most of Indonesian off the beaten path, the islands of Molucca provide an endless series of attractions for those with a true spirit of adventure. The possibilities range from tough inland trekking into jungle-clad mountains to basking on white sand beaches a short distance from a comfortable hotel.
Of the nine or more still-smoking volcanoes here, two are easy to reach. Fire Mountain in the middle of the tiny Banda archipelago, is a perfect cone reaching 656 meters above the surface of the Banda Sea. This volcano erupted as recently in 1988, devastating crops and forcing the thousands of people who lived on Fire Mountain’s lower slopes to evacuate. Gamalama volcano, crowning tiny Ternate, tops 1700 meters.
On the old Spice Islands, clove and nutmeg groves recall the days of European exploration. Today, all the clove production is used within Indonesia, as the chopped spice is rolled with tobacco in fragrant kretek cigarettes. Centuries-old Portuguese and Dutch forts, sometimes crumbling and overrun with vegetation, stand as reminders that the European trade monopolies were established here by force.
In the interiors of some of the larger islands, like Buru, Halmahera, Seram, and the Sulas, people live in outside world. And on several of the islands, including Amboyna, traces of ancient and poorly understood megalithic civilizations remain in stone altars and thrones, and old style costumes, dances, and rituals.
Most Moluccans live a stone’s throw from water, and these clear tropical seas are teeming with life. Molucca is near the center of species diversity for the entire Indo-Pacific region, and has more species of fish and invertebrates than just about anywhere in the world. Most of the reefs are pristine, and ideal for snorkeling, scuba diving or just fishing.
Life in Molucca has interesting rhythms of its own. Sago palm trunks are processed into flour to provide an island staple. Tie-dyed flour thread is woven into Indonesia’s famous ikat cloth, and strips of fiber are worked into baskets and sleeping mats. Hunters seek wild pigs and deer, and fisherman snare their quarry from outrigger canoes.
To earn a little cash, cloves and nutmeg, and coconuts (for copra) are extensively cultivated. Divers plunge for pearls, mother-of-pearl oysters and trepang– a sea cucumber that is dried and made by the Chinese into a delicious soup.