Maringkik Island, The Fisherman Home

Desa Maringkik Island, Keruak, East Lombok

Lombok eastern sky looked very gloomy as I rode to the east, but it didn’t change my mind to put my trip off. It should have been one and half hour if the heavy rain had not fallen to get my destination. It made me stop more than twice on the way because I didn’t have my rain coat with me. The first stop was in Sengkereng village. I sat in a wooden gazebo which is less than one meter from the main road. I was sitting with a lady who was trying to cheer her little kid up. Behind me, mix of traditional houses with some brick houses stood still. Some long poles to support a dove house stood disarray among the houses. Almost 40 minutes, heavy rain was replaced by the drops and I was ready to hit the road again. 

In the wet season, south eastern land looked much more alive. Land along the road was so green and ready for planting season. At its back, Rinjani showed its massive reflection on the watered field and I still feel the drops on my dark skin. It was so fresh. When I get Seganti, the sky looked even much gloomier. The rain poured like a huge water fall. Then I have to stop again. My third stop was in Keruak. I stopped to have my lunch. I went in to a Javanese restaurant but the food was adapted with Lombok taste. The food was spicy. I sipped my mango juice every time I’d had my chili sauces.

The drops was a way, sunshine was getting brighter. I continued to the east until I could smell the salty air and could see the mangrove field, the stage houses and at the end of the road, I could see long train fish sellers were sitting on their small stones with a bucket of fish in front of them. On the shore,  a bunch of people were getting off of their boat. This place is not only a fish market. It is also a small harbor. It is called Tanjung Luar. 

I parked my motorbike in the one of villagers’ lawn and walked to the shore trying to find a boat that could take me to Maringkik Island. There was no public transportation. I had to wait for fisherman boat. A dark skinned man waved his hand. “I’ll call you when the boat’s ready” he said. Then I preferred to wander around and flash my camera, catching a picture of hundreds boats. 30 minutes passed, finally he called me as he had promised. I briskly walked to the boat. The boat was small and without roof. It only had one wing to make it balance. I sat properly in the middle. The sound raised in the air. My hair was blew, the boat that I sat on was getting further from Tanjung Luar. In my silent I did really enjoy the view. I was amazed when I passed Gili Bumbung, it was very green and tiny and enchanted by some electric poles which make a line in the shallow sea. Those poles were connected from Gili Beleq to Maringkik Island. At times, My silence was broken by the fisherman’s question. “is it your first time to Maringkik Island?” I answered him with simply “yes”.  He was friendly companion. He told me about his adventurous fish haunting to some seas around Lombok.  He also mentioned some sharks that he had caught.  

Less than 20 minutes, the boat anchored. Arround the jetty some kids were swimming with pile of fish in plastic bucket in their hands. They looked so absorbed. I stood up, flashed my cam over and over then made my self get off out the boat. 

Photo by Agus Salim

From 300 meters a way, the houses a long the Beach of Maringkik Island gave far impression from Sasak life. It reminded me of Bajo Tribe in South East of Sulawesi. As I stepped my feet on the island and walked in between the stage houses with the fisherman. I saw some goats were running in front of me,  kids were reciting Al-Quran under the stage house, women were making a net and some other were putting tens of bucket on the ground for rain water. This island was starved for clean water. People usually bought water from Gili Beleq. A gallon of water costs about IDR 3.000. Gili Maringkik also doesn’t get fully electric service. The electricity is only on at night. 

Parting from its lack facilities, I found a lot of new things to enjoy. People in Maringkik Island do not speak Sasak as people in many gilis around Lombok do. People in Maringkik speaks Bahasa Maringkik since the people are the generation of four mixed tribes—Buton, Bugese, Bajo and Sasaks. The population in this island reach 615 families that mostly works as fishermen. 

In the eastern part of this island, stretches white sandy beach that is occupied by many boats. Near the beach, some fishermen were fixing their boat and made some nets. As I walked to the higher land which jutted out to the sea. I could see some other beautiful beaches such as Tanjung Ringgit and Pink. There wasn’t any tourist I had found, Maringkik Island keeps its beauty secret from world outside.