Dili, Timor Leste (Monday 25 July)

A lazy day today, looking around Dili. Justin has classes today so I am on my own. Comoro River is the biggest of the rivers passing through Dili. During the dry season it is dry except for a trickle as are many of the rivers that drain from the highlands to the coast on the northern side of Tinor Leste. From the plane you can see them as grey fingers snaking down from the hills to the ocean. During the wet they become raging torrents and I’ve seen photos. But during the dry times the Comoro River empties out and becomes soccer fields for the kids and roadways but more importantly there is industry in it’s dry river bed. The gravel and sand is harvested for all sorts of uses, whether for building or road construction.

I lunch at a little cafe I come across on my walk around. The elderly lady there can’t speak a word of English and there isn’t a menu I can point to. All I wanted was a cup of tea but that seem to translate into two cokes, chicken satay, packet of popcorn, and a bread roll! The food just kept coming! I really should learn the language. You can do short courses in Tetun, which is a common dialect here. The courses run over two weeks and it is just 4 hours per day so time to do your own thing in the afternoon. This seems to be a popular thing for visitors to do and is something I will do when I come back.

I call into the European Commission building where the is a photographic display. Wendy Ricardo is an Australian photographer and she has a fantastic collection of traditional Timor Leste. This collection will be a cultural archive of East Timorese life as it use to be and can be seen in the outer villages. As Timor Leste progresses, I guess much of this imagery will be lost. Wendy and her partner also support some causes over here. Computers are one thing they provide for the schools when they can. If ever there was a place for all those prematurely retired computers in Australia, this would be it. Wenday plans to take her exhibition to Australia. I have asked for them to include Cairns on their itinerary and have suggested The Tanks would be a great venue. They will look into it.