For some reason, my biorhythm seems to be out of sync with the masses (at least since last year). I spend my days alone but also often feel lonely around people. I’m not content with this, and I’m still trying to figure out the whys. At the same time, this separateness, my instinct to choose and follow paths, and the freedom to change my mind take me to places I would never reach in the crowd.

Every adventure starts with the same thing: getting a bike. This time, I needed a good one (I got it from Vallery Rent) because I had a loooong ride ahead to my final destination: Gorontalo.

I prefer South Sulawesi, but the North has something that beats many other places: the jungle drives. Sulawesi has plenty of lowland rainforests, but the one between Kapitu and Nuangan stuck with me. Rainforests are incredible and incredibly unpredictable. The shades playing on the lush layers of the greens, the cold air and the otherworldly atmosphere as the mist and clouds touch the ground, and the glassy shine of the asphalt roads after rain are magical. When it rains, it is heavy, and you better find a shed.. which you probably won’t. So here comes the No.1 rule of the tropics: always have a proper raincoat (poncho) and the spirit to accept whatever you get on the way.

KOTAMOBAGU

I left Manado in bright sunshine, and only because I didn’t follow the coastal road I arrived in Kotamobagu completely wet and freezing (at least the part of me that wasn’t covered by my poncho).

I have to be honest: I don’t like this town. All accommodations suck (no matter the price), it’s impossible to get morning coffee (god bless Point Coffee, or I’d die), and the food is painfully average (no good timing to visit if you’re even sick of nasi goreng). The only reason to stop here is that driving from Manado to Gorontalo in one day is a hassle. Plus, the road is more impressive than just rushing through it. So, survive a night, recharge, then leave.

From Kotamobagu, I recommend going south to the coastline. There are some nice spots to swim or watch the sunset.

GORONTALO

Swimming with whale sharks has been my dream for about 10 years (since I first saw them on Nat Geo), but it just didn’t happen; I had a few almosts, but ultimately, I was never at the right time in the right place. So this dream sat quietly on my list, put on hold for sometime and somewhere.

When I started my East Indo trip, I had an idea of where and how I could finally make this come true. Although there’s a well-known spot (Cenderawasih Bay, Papua), in my case, it was complicated, full of resistance, and pushing it hard felt wrong. So it was postponed again. Then, just like magic, it turned out that I was exactly where and when I needed to be. I only had to take care of the implementation. Without overthinking or getting too excited, I rescheduled my plans, and slowly everything fell into place. I could have flown directly to Gorontalo (from Makassar) instead of driving from Manado.. but when do I take the easy route?! (And I would have missed a lot in those 400 km.)

Is there a more perfect birthday present than swimming with whale sharks?

After arriving in Gorontalo, I got in touch with the guys at the Geopark who were already waiting for me. I was told to be at the spot at 7 am sharp the next morning. I’m not a morning person, and I was super anxious (the excitement and thoughts of disappointment swirled in me), but it was my now-or-never moment, so I couldn’t fuck it up with laziness. At 6 am, I received a text saying they already saw 5 hiu on the radar (hiu paus is whale shark in Bahasa). This was great and promising news, and I was still trying not to get overexcited, but my expectations were sky high – honestly, could anyone control themselves?! Over a coffee, I got some education and the basic rules, then we got into the mini boat, and in 5 minutes, not only did one of my biggest dreams come true, but the way it happened was out of this world.

I swam with seven whale sharks that morning. Seven. They came from all directions (apparently, they love bubbles, so it’s easy to attract them), sometimes surprising us from behind, not caring much that we were in the way. It was unimaginable to see these gentle giant fish so close. I cried tears of joy and still smile and get goosebumps when thinking about it.

It was perfect. And even though I considered doing it again the following day, I didn’t want to ruin my first-time experience. Why not swim with them every day while I’m here, right? It’s silly not to take advantage of this opportunity, but it felt right this way. I will definitely come back, but here and now, it had to happen like this.

Finally, I’d like to summarize why Gorontalo is the best place to swim with whale sharks:

• First of all, you don’t need a boat and ride for hours to the spot. – The deep blue is about 100 meters from the shore, and you can swim in.

• Luck doesn’t play a role in whether you see them. – From January to July, the whale sharks are around, and you can see them every single day.

• And finally, you won’t pay a minimum of 2 million IDR for all this. – This experience cost me 250k IDR (snorkel, fins, and GoPro video).

So, why would you go anywhere else?

I spent 3 nights in Gorontalo, and apart from the whale sharks, nothing is interesting about this city, so I have no further recommendations. This weekend trip was a perfect reminder that the best and most surreal things happen when I let go of control, keep an open mind, and tune into the Universe; then life flows in ways I couldn’t even see, bringing the happiness I’m actually looking for.

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