It is about 40 kilometers away from northern coast of Indramayu. The distance was not that far, but since we used low-strength machine boat, it took very long to reach it.
Some people call the Biawak Island as Menyamak Island or Byompis Island. The island gets its name after the reptiles called biawak (giant lizards) inhabiting the island.
The weather was friendly for our three-day vacations. We soon found out that in addition to the biawak, a man named Subur Sudirman is also inhabiting the 120-hectare island.
Subur has been living in the island since April 2014 and he is well-known among the fishermen who often harbored on this island, as he is the guard for the lighthouse.
Before settling down on April, Subur had previously tasked in the island several times. He started to get to know the Varanus salvator reptile in 1993. He was tasked to the island again in 2011.
He was never stayed more than a year in the island. However, seems like this year is going to be different. Approaching his retiring day, he seems to planning on staying longer with the reptiles.
Subur even inherited the job as lighthouse guard from his father. Becoming the keeper of the lighthouse is not a job without sacrifice.
During his duty, Subur can only meet his family in Tangerang once in three months. However, Subur is getting used to the lonely life in the secluded island. He is not really alone though, there are dozens of giant lizards that have been tamed.
The lizards are often seen roaming freely around the island gate to the housings of Transportation Ministry. When we arrived around 13:00, none of the reptiles were seen. But they did greet us when the day turned into dark.
The giant reptiles crawl slowly and there were not much teeth seen.
“But they can took us down with the whip of their tail,” Subur explained.
The reptiles have weak eye sight and relying on their sharp olfactory system. A fisherman was once got bitten after handling the fishes on his boat.
Since the island get visited by tourists more often, the lizards started to ejoy human foods too. They chew on leftovers left by tourists. The lizards that occupy the area behind the lighthouse have different behavior. They are wilder and would runaway on approach with human.
One of the attractions in the island is the tomb of Syekh Syarif Khasan, or Bompies as the Dutch called it.
“There was a group of people visited the tomb for pilgrimage, some others looking for fortune charms,” said Subur.
Around 500 meters on the right of the lighthouse, there are two others places considered as sacred. Namely an old well and a tomb of an unknown Dutchman. Legend says, according to Subur, that anyone who see the water inside the well as orange to red will be fortunate. However, when we looked into the well, the water was just of turbid color.
We were then challenged to hike up to the lighthouse. We could see from the placard that this building is dated back to 1872. It means that the steels are 142 years old, since Subur said that it has never been renovated. It is obvious from the rusts that decorated the outer wall.
To go up to the top, extra physical and mental condition were truly required. Why? Because every one step on the stair would created creaking sound. The stair was of 50-cm spiral-shaped. Looking down the stairs would definitely make you tremble. However, the sweats, heart beating, and shuddering were paid off once we reached the top.
From here, we felt like we are the conqueror of the island. On the left wing facing the harbor, we can see green trees from where hundreds of grouse flew away in rows. On the right, beach pines dominated the scenes. We can also see the harbor with few fishermen boats docked in.
When the sun started to sink, we know it was the time to come down, as there is no lighting along the stairs.
Source : Tempo
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