VISITS TO THE RUINS OF THE PORTUGUESE FORTS ON SOLOR AND ENDE
ISLAND
Written
by Mark Schellekens
SOLOR
On
January 7th, I paid a visit to the island of Solor off Flores’ North/East
coast. My main goal was to have a birdwatching trip on an virtually unknown island
combined with a visit to the ruins of the fort. Solor is easily reached from both Flores
and nearby Adonara. Direct small boats go early mornings from both Larantuka on Flores and
Wairwerang on Adonara to Menanga and Lemakera on Solor. The fort is located in the village
of Lohayong (about 3km West of Menanga) on the Eastern part of the island. The site of the
fort is sadly overgrown with vegetation and villagers have built houses on the foundations
of the fort. Still, several walls are still standing up and the entrance can still be
found as well as 2 abandoned cannon.Foundations
can easily be traced and some of the walls facing the sea are still standing up.The soil at the site is littered with debris from
the fort and pieces of glass with VOC-logo and pieces of Dutch pottery were also found.Before visiting the fort, visitors are asked to
sign the guestbook of the mayor of Lohayong and donate a small fee. In the village of
Lemakera on the Eastern tip of Solor, there is a collection of 13 Portuguese guns that
were left behind. Some women guard the guns and a small fee will be asked if one wants to
take pictures of the guns.
The
ruins of the Portuguese fort on Ende island (Ende Minor) are nothing more then a
collection of coralrocks. Just a single wall remains standing up and for the rest there
are some floor parts and foundations visible. The site is used nowadays by local farmers
to farm Tapioca and corn and little remains as most of the stones from the fort have been
used to build houses in the village of Kemo (pronounced as “K’mo”). This
village is easily reached from mainland Flores, from the town of Ende from where 4-5 boats
daily sail to Kemo, where the ruins are located.
Both
sites were fun to visit. The ruins on Ende were a bit of a disappointment but the trip
there made it worthwhile as one can enjoy a leisurely trip by boat from mainland Flores.
Solor is a beautiful little island where one can spend several days relaxing, enjoying the
peace and quiet.
