I say this is the “last Christmas” here in Timor-Leste as that is the current plan. I decided to travel a little in Timor by bicycle for Christmas. My bike has seen some recent mechanical issues. The bike is not a premium bit of kit, and I’ve hammered it….. things wear out. Its tough to get spare parts here so I’ve had to rely on getting parts brought in by people I know travelling from UK or US (huge thanks to those people 🙏🙏). Just another challenge to be overcome 💪.
Christmas Breakfast In Dili
I cycled down to Dili from Fatuquero to stay 3 nights. Dili is hot hot hot. I’m happy my home site is in the mountains and cooler. It was fantastic to meet up with 6 other volunteers for Christmas Day and we had a Christmas breakfast at the Hotel Timor 🇹🇱 ( maybe the most famous hotel in Dili). We were part of a bigger group which was arranged by my British friend Tracy (she is the UK honorary consul here as there is no UK consulate or embassy here) which included Australians, Japanese, Koreans and Indonesians. It was a fun morning and great food. Tracey even bought me a Liverpool FC T-towel which was very thoughtful 😁.
Boxing Day Waterfall
On Boxing Day I had an early start and cycled up to Be Tuda Berloi Waterfall which is about 13 miles out of Dili and about 1700ft of climbing. It was a pretty hot and hard ride for me but rewarding. The waterfall was small but beautiful 😍. As I was cycling out of Dili I had a young man called Eemo (and his Brother) ride and chat with me on his e-scooter. Such a happy chap☺️. The road was pretty rough in spots and my bike got its usual hammering 🔨 … but stayed in one piece.
Atauro
Well, as I threatened in my last blog post, the plan was to bring my bike to Atauro Island for a few days and try and ride. I had been told that the roads were rough and steep, so the challenge was laid down! 🤔
First, I had to get myself and the bike over to Atauro on the Ferry. It was super busy as this was the first ferry after the Christmas break. Getting the bike loaded seemed to not be a normal event and one of the helpers at the port stuffed the bike right at the back of the loading bay along with a massive amount of rice bags and some animals. The boat trip was nice and I sat on the open top deck next to a group of youths who were playing guitar and singing. Even though the top deck was packed, the music seemed to calm people down as they sang along. See my quick YouTube video here.
The bike made it to Atauro and I had a great lunch at my digs (Barry’s Place). I was able to relax a bit in my hut and then peacefully snorkel in the sea as the sun went down.
Coast To Coast Atauro
I planned a route (using info from other travellers off the internet) from the east coast of the island (Beloi) to the west coast (Adara). Only about 7.5 miles accross but about 1000ft in elevation over the island.
It was both a beautiful and a brutal ride. The “road” was steep and really rough. On the way up, I got caught in a torrential downpour and had to stop under a tree for about 1hr while I watched the road turn into a river. I had to push my bike up some of the way as I neither had the low gearing nor grip to ride.
It was interesting that i did not see ANYONE in the mountains. Nobody has houses there on that route. I think that Adara is supported mainly by smaller boats which transport food, clothes etc from Dili and Beloi as opposed to transporting anything accross land from Beloi. There ARE road projects slowly happening here just like on the mainland, but it’s a slow process. Some photos of the day, in order, are shown below and I have a short YouTube video here.
My bike took a beating (as did my body) and was pretty dirty. I’m really happy I did the ride, beautiful and peaceful, but I would only ever do again on a mountain bike 🙄.
Ride To Akrema
The next day I had an early breakfast and headed out on a ride to Akrema, which is a ride up the east coast from Beloi. Famous for its white sanded beach (claimed to be the best beach in the whole of Timor-Leste). The ride was only about 13 miles total there and back.
Even though a coast road, there were enough steep climbs, and heat, to test my already tired legs from the ride the day before. The roads were relatively rough but nowhere near those I saw the day before. The ride was beautiful and didn’t disappoint. The beach at Akrema was pristine ( see last photo below) and I was able to dip my legs in to cool-off before the return ride.
My bike didn’t fare too well and I broke my rear brake cable about 1 mile out of Beloi 😬, so going steep downhill was a little bit rough. The Island of Atauro is definitely tough on bicycles.
After the ride I was able to go snorkeling and cool off. I also met some great Australian tourists who I will keep in touch with. Unfortunately this turned out to be my last snorkel in Atauro (for this trip) as we were informed that the ferry boat planned to transport back from Atauro to Dili the next day was coming a day early (and then stopping for New Year) and there would be no ferry transport the next day 🫤. I hurriedly grabbed my stuff together, had one last lunch at Barry’s, and set off for the port and the return ferry. This meant an extra day in Dili added to my plan. Not terrible, as I needed to fix the bike 🙏🙏.
So, I’m posting this blog as the ferry leaves port. Thanks for reading. I wish you all happiness and good health for 2026 🤗🤗.
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