Indonesia is a nation made up of thousands of islands. Not all of the islands are served by large ships, so there is a need for smaller freighters to deliver the goods and bring back the products of these far flung places. Amazingly, these ships are still wooden and they are still loaded by stevedores, a process from out of the past.
Hand loading a wooden freighter.
In the age of the container ship it is quite remarkable to see scenes like these.
There are going to be a lot of happy little girls on some island somewhere in Indonesia. What a sight: a boatload of Barbie Doll de lux sets!
The docks were a rough and tough place filled with hard-working men and women.
OK . . . not everyone was a hard-worker.
The stevedores were all very friendly, and many asked to have their photos taken.
Many different kinds of cargo were being loaded and off-loaded.
The ships seemed very old.
The old ships require constant maintenance. Here men are chinking the seams in the ship with jute.
It seemed like all the boats were being chinked.
It was a kind of photographers paradise: incredible images everywhere (despite the "poor" grey/silver light).
There were so many characters around, like this old "gopher."