Nio village

Nio village - How on Earth did we end up here?

Bekki learns a new game

May 29th, 2014

Nio village, Flores Island, Indonesia

How on earth did we end up in this place? Nio village is a tiny town of about 200 residents, set deep back in a valley near the Gunung Inerie volcano on Flores island, Indonesia. Basically, we met a man named Moses in the town of Bajawa who works for an NGO that runs schools in the area. As the sponsers from Australia were in for a visit, Moses offered to drop us off here while the sponsors did their tour of the different schools.

So we hopped in the back of Moses' truck and ended up spending the day hanging out with all of the children in the village, sleept in the main room of a traditional house, visited the school and were even accompanied by some of the local boys down to some of the most amazing hot springs we have ever seen.

Check out the photos, this place is a trip!

John gets his hand pinched by some local boys

May 29th, 2014

Children in front of male "house" The umbrella in the background represents males in traditional village belief. A hut directly across from it represents females. No body could really tell us what they are used for, but the kids seemed to enjoy playing in and around them.	Playing games John playing the "Tom Tom Tom" hand pinching, ear-pulling game with the girls.	The village at dusk
Our dinner They cooked us fish and curry for dinner and did not even expect us to pay! (We left a donation before leaving).	Tattoos We gave away the remaining angry bird tattoos to the kids. They looooooved them! We highly recommend that you bring rub on tattoos when travelling.	Bekki wearing a traditional Ikat The woman in the photo with Bekki made the ikat that Bekki is wearing.
Loom	Alter The stones here are used as an alter for buffalo sacrifices. We were unfortunate not to have witnessed this...	81 years old
Kids taking John to the School In order for Bekki to snap the photo of the 81 year old woman, we had to first get rid of all the kids. John led them off toward the school, Bekki snapped this photo and then when to visit with the old woman.	Doorway Kids at the entrance to an traditional home.	Children playing football
Roof with statue	Woman weaving	Village girls
Boys in the hot springs These hot springs were amazing. Actually, it is not fair to describe them as a hot springs because it is more like a boiling hot river, with tons of water flowing down it. In this particular photo we are in a spot where a cold-water river joins the hot water river, making a temperature that is really good for swimming.	Village roofs Each roof of each home has a statue or spears or some other decoration. Although we did not learn the details, it appears that each one represents the family's position in the village caste system.	Nio village from above
Our guides Jumping for the photo	Group shot The truck brought us here. Getting out of the village was a bit of an adventure as we took a local produce and people truck early the next morning.	Snacks Bekki and the Australian sponsors handed out some snacks to the kids. The sponsors left soon after this.
Village concert The children lined up to sing songs for the sponsors to hear. Kids took turns leading the songs.	Hot springs This part of the river is so hot, you cannot put your hands in for more than a second.	Village men