Exploring Another Side Of Karimunjawa

Seeing a routine of the local community is somehow fun. I had felt that way when I returned to Karimunjawa. When everyone thinks that the Karimunjawa beach is the only interesting thing to explore, I will definitely refute it. Karimunjawa has many interesting things to tell. One of them is the activities of fishermen's children or the citizens who carry out the routine as usual.

The bicycle I rode went down the streets of Kemujan Village, Karimunjawa. Unlike the side of Karimunjawa which is already crowded with tourists, in Kemujan we barely see many tourists. Even then, there are tourists taking the time to travel around Karimunjawa using a motorcycle.

Kemujan Village has diversity--here we can see a row of staged houses, a typical Bugis house that still survives. Yet, there is not a lot of staged houses left. People in Kemujan Village in the past 10 years mostly built walled houses. The reason is the wood used in building staged houses is much more expensive.

We can see many staged houses occupied by Buginese in Telaga - Batulawang Village. Every ethnic group in Kemujan has been united harmoniously although there is diversity in culture. The area with the most staged houses is around the Telaga intersection, near Telaga Mosque, and along the Batulawang road.

When I biked around Kemujan Village, especially Batulawang, many times I met local residents. Although I am also a local resident, many of them thought that I am a tourist. Just for information, Buginese in Karimunjawa can speak Javanese and Bugis language. Fortunately, my Bugis language doesn't disappear, so we can interact smoothly.
Interact with local residents
I had the opportunity to see local residents making wooden boats on the beach to fish. A wooden boat with the width of six boards is made in 3 months. The experience of boatbuilders is proven here. They must be able to make a boat as requested by the owner. I carefully looked at the details of shipbuilding. Each board is put together using Pasa (wood nails made of Ulin wood).

Fishermen in Karimunjawa generally work on boatbuilding near the coast. This will make it easier to move boats from land to sea. Anyway, the process of moving boats from land to sea will be done in mutual cooperation. I once pushed the boat to the nearest port a few years ago.

Another view that makes us able to enjoy Karimunjawa is the routine of beach boys. At each pier/port, they take time to fish with only a 3-meter-length fishing line on the edge of the dock. 

As Hasan did, one of the fishermen's children spending the afternoon fishing in the harbor. He said that fishing is just an activity to spend the afternoon before playing. In fact, even if only on the dock like this, he could get a lot of fish. 

"It (the fish) tastes really good when you fry it, bro," Hasan said to me.

Also, you may see how little kids play canoe. They played with the canoe on the beach and headed out to sea. Once there, they swam as long as they want. From this, beach boys have indirectly absorbed a lot of knowledge and experience. We never realize--who knows--that among them may be a tough sailor.

Karimunjawa is indeed famous for its beautiful beaches. However, it does not mean other sides and activities of its citizens are not interesting to explore. My biggest hope is that Karimunjawa will not only be known for its marine tourism but also in the future, be known as a tourism village that relies on culture, residents' activities, culinary, and beach boys' activities.