The taste of the World

Spices above.

Species below!

We've probably all heard the great tales of the Spice Race but Nathaniel's Nutmeg cemented this chapter of history into my mind's eye with an untold clarity by bringing all chilling accounts vividly to life Imagine sailing half the world to find an island only to fill up the ship with enough spices to return - the return journey would take a year for such vessels!

But the penny only drops when you realise that the return on investment was a staggering 6,000 or in some cases 60,000%!

The two islands of Ternate and Tidore lie to the east of Manado Both of these feature prominently in the history of the Spice Race The Sultan of Ternate presided over Sulawesi up until the Portugese arrived in the 1500’s Then the Spanish arrived on Tidore before the Dutch and their mighty maritime power came and conquered all!

To the northeast of Manado is the Pacific Ocean and here is part of the secret of why there are just so many species in the underwater gardens that surround Manado. This is the confluence of the Indian and Pacific oceans - it is literally, the best of both worlds and the proverbial garden of the sea.

Navigator after navigator departed Europe for ventures to the Spice Islands Now that we live in an era where most people can't make it to the local shops without Google Maps, their feats are truly remarkable! Most were accomplished before the sextant or even the advent of the magnetic compass, as we know it!

I love sailing and it has been my livelihood for the past 40 years The stories of The Great Spice Race intrigued me to the point where I just had to visit Manado And on that notion, I decided to go 'discover' this world for myself and what unfolded was much more delightful than anything I could have possibly imagined