21 October 2008 Microscope in Salatiga

The first picture in Salatiga

On Monday morning, 20th October 2008, Lusi Dewi came with her husband Santoso to Hotel Metro in Semarang. After eight years we saw each other again! We made a detour to the beach with very rich houses but no birds, we ate delicious fish in a big restaurant and visited the coffee plantation Banaran in Bawen (“Kampoeng Kopi”). From there we could see Salatiga beneath us on the plane.

View on Salatiga (left) with the gunung (mountain) Marbabu and the lake Rawa Paning

The next day, October 21, Ed and I went to Lusi’s office together with computer, camera, agar plates, cells and fluorochromes. After drinking coffee with the rector of the University, Kris Timotius, Lusi and Agus Kristijanto, we went down to the room where the microscope had been waiting for almost a year. It took me a full hour to assemble the microscope; but then Lusi could take the first picture!

It took a full hour to assemble the fluorescence microscope.
With Kris Timotius and Lusi Dewi: the first picture

Ed, Kris and Lusi at the microscope

Microscope for Salatiga

Marco Angelini and Thomas Beller in Milan - The Axiostar + Camera

To all those friends who contributed to the “Microscope for Salatiga”,

Remember that I wanted to bring a fluorescence microscope to Salatiga after my retirement in 2005?

The idea arose in 2000, when I visited my former student, Lusi Dewi, in Salatiga.

The microscope itself (a Zeiss Axiostar) was sponsored by Marco Angelini, director of Fraen Company (Milan, It), who developed the LED fluorescence illuminator for it. Thanks to you all I could purchase a Canon Powershot camera (plus adapters). The laptop computer for camera control and archivation of images was sponsored by Ed and Jeffy Aschermann.

We fetched the microscope in Milan on October 9, 2006. Marco Angelini and Thomas Beller were very helpful in demonstrating the LED-illumination. After testing the microscope in Amsterdam and comparing it with our own fluorescence microscope, we sent it off by DHL. In December 2007 the ~25 kg package arrived in Salatiga.

Special thanks go to Erik Manders (contact with Fraen Comp.), Chris Diekhuis (visit to Milan), Ellen Lutz (transport), Joachim Goedhart (fluorochromes and preparations), Norbert Vischer (ImageJ installation), Peter Zoon (Computer programs) and Frits van Beckum (contacts with prof. Kris Timotius of Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana).

Ed Aschermann: testing the laptop in Amsterdam - Pictures of Rhizopus oligosporus

Indonesian connection

Jeffy is an “anak Surabaya”, just as I am an “anak Batavi”, child born in Batavia. Jeffy was born in Surabaya 0n 29 January 1947. Her father (in the dutch army) and her mother (working for the Red Cross) met on the boat Orontes that brought them to Sydney, where they married on the 10 September 1945 (just after the Japaneese capitulation). Her father was assigned a post on the island of Sumbawa, where he accepted the (late) capitulation of the Japanese contingent.
Having studied Indonesian law at Leiden University, he became “Assistent Resident” of Surabaya until 1948, when Indonesia became independent. He then became law teacher at the University of Surabaya, but had to leave the country as one of the last dutchmen in 1958. Jeffy still speaks “bahassa indonesia”.

Departure at Schiphol: Ed, Lidie, Conrad, Jeffy

Search for my father’s house of birth in Semarang

My father, Oscar Woldringh, was born in Semarang on 15 December 1904. He left a picture of the house where he was born, without address.

Upon arrival in Semarang (on 18 October 2008) we walked from our hotel (Metro Hotel) to Toko Oen. There we met a french businessman who advised us to go to the former hotel Bellevue, now Hotel Candi Baru (= New Tjandi), where many old people lived who might recognize the picture of the house. In the restaurant of the hotel we met Sandra and Sigit, who thought to know the house. Sigit brought us to a beautiful, renovated building (Jl. Kyai Saleh #12-14) which was now a school. Inside it looked as a palace and we couldn’t believe that this was the first house of my grandfather, who had just married an english girl, Zilla Warren, in Surabaya (Her father, Arthur Warren, had been Vice-Consul of Surabaya).

The next day, October 19, we visited Mevrouw Wiriasudirja, the grandmother of Aileen A., student at AMOLF in Amsterdam. Her grandma used to make tempe, taoco and banana-wine (from fermented sugar-containing banana’s). She spoke beautiful dutch, but could not remember anymore her recipe. Aileen’s father, Ir. Paul Brotoseno, who came with sister Myra, also recognized the house….. He brought us in his car to the same address! Again we wondered how a young dutch couple could have lived in such a big house.

After this second visit to the house, Paul and Myra brought us to a small Chineese Temple, then to the huge office of a dutch train company (Bataafse Spoorweg Mij), to a fantastic shop/restaurant, where we ate and bought many Indonesian snacks, and finally to a huge, new Chineese Temple complex.

Old and new: could this be the house?

End of the journey: 27-30 May 2007

Comparison of our journey with that of La Condamine & Maldonado

Visit to Paris (27 May 2007)

"Batiment Perrault" of the "Bibliothèque de l'Observatoire de Paris"

On the 27th of May 2007 I had the opportunity to go to Paris, where I visited the Necker Institute of the Université Descartes. What an easy journey! I needed my passport once for an air ticket and, after a few hours flying, paid my dinner in a parisian restaurant with euro’s.
When La Condamine and Maldonado arrived in Para (Belem), the latter could go on a Portugese ship to Lisboa, where he arrived after 3 months in February 1744. Because of the political situation in Europe, La Condamine could not join him and had to find a crew of rowers that would bring him to Cayenne, where he arrived on 26 February 1744.

(From his journal one of the rare emotional remarks: “Je m’embarquai enfin la nuit du 29 au 30 Décembre 1743. Neuf ans d’absence de ma patrie, & l’espoir de trouver bien-tôt des nouvelles de ma famille & de mes amis, me donnoient la même impatience d’arriver a Cayenne, que si cette colonie eût été la France même.” )

When, via Paramaribo, he finally arrived in Amsterdam he had to wait 4 months before he obtained the necessary passport papers for travelling to Paris!

The library in the batiment Perrault; at left Mme. Simone Dumont

In Paris I visited the Bibliothèque de l’Observatoire de Paris (61, avenue de l’Observatoire) founded in 1667! Saying that I had been travelling in the footsteps of La Condamine and that I wanted to see his journals was sufficient to be admitted and to obtain the original book of the “Journal du Voyage fait par ordre du Roi....” (Imprimerie royale, Paris, 1751).

Copy of the front page of the book:
"Journal du Voyage fait par ordre du Roi, A l'Equateur, servant d'Introduction Historique a la Mesure des Trois Premiers Degrees du Meridien. Par M. De La Condamine.
(Oppofuit Natura Alpemque nivemque. Juven. Sat. X.)
A Paris, de l'Imprimerie Royale.
M. DCCLI."

I was thrilled! From the Préface I cite: “Nous partimes de France, M. Godin, M. Bougueur & moi, en 1735, envoyés par ordre du Roi dans l’Amérique espagnole, & chargés par l’Académie de faire aux environs de l’Equateur, des observations de divers genres, & sur-tout celles qu’on jugeoit les plus propres à déterminr la Figure de la Terre.”

With the help of a visiting astronomer (Madame Simone Dumont, Meudon; see photograph) I also obtained a volume of the “Histoire de l’Académie Royale des Sciences”, Année M.DCCXLV. A Paris de l’imprimerie royale volume M.DCCXLIX (cote 2163), with on page 391 an article by La Condamine entitled “Relation abrégée d’un voyage fait dans l’interieur de l’Amérique méridionale depuis la côte de la mer du Sud jusqu'au côtes du Brésil et de la Guyane, en descendant la rivière des Amazones, lue à l'assemblée publique de l'Académie des sciences, le 28 avril 1745, par M. de La Condamine”.

At its end (page 492) the article contained a drawing (Pl.IX) of the Marañon river between Sant Iago and Borja (see copy and an image of Google Earth), entitled: “Carte du detroit appellé Pongo de Mansériché dans Le Maragnon ou la Rivière des Amazones entre Sant-Iago et Borja où le lit du Fleuve se retrécit de 250 Toises à 25 Toises” , (i.e. from about 500 to 50 m). The drawing shows how the river flows between high banks and hills.

Comparison of the drawing made by La Condamine and the satelite image of Google Earth of the same region , Pongo de Manseriche (Peru)
(distance between Sant-Iago and Borja: ~4000 Toises or 8 km)

Farewell on 12 May 2007

Two Ara's

Farewell dinner in Paramaribo

Just as one and a half year ago we had a farewell party at the chinese restaurant Fa Tai in Paramaribo, together with Marina, Alicia and Denny, the children of our hosts Cindy and Dennis.

At the dinner we thanked Cindy and Dennis for their good care, hospitality and perfect organization. Lous and Lidie were happy that, after one and a half year of stories, they had now also experienced Surinam.
And I was very happy that Cindy knew the artist Paul Woei and called him right away. I had a long telephone conversation with him and thanked him that, through his poster, he had drawn my attention to the visit of La Condamine to Paramaribo. I hope to meet him on our next visit!

Perhaps he will appreciate the following citation from La Condamine's journal: "J'arrivai le 27, à l'embouchure de la rivière de Surinam.(...) Le lendemain, le Gouverneur m'envoya son canot avec un officier françois, qui me conduisit a Paramaribo, capitale de cette colonie, où j'admirai l'art avec lequel les Hollandais savent forcer la Nature." (Journal du Voyage fait par ordre du Roi; Imprimerie royale, Paris, 1751. Cote Bibliothèque de l'Observatoire).

On our last day, 12 May 2007, Rob and Emmy de Vries came to say goodbye. In the afternoon we drove to the airport at Zanderij. The plane brought us in 8 hours and 20 minutes to Amsterdam.

Rob and Emmy de Vries came to "Camp David" to say goodbye

Around Paramaribo and “Camp David”

The lodge of "Camp David"

Doleh in his kitchen

Only once we encountered a Tarantula

Only an experienced hunter like Christo (right) could spot the anteater hiding and sleeping high up in a tree

Hilbert-Jan and Boudewijn, shopping in Paramaribo after it had rained all morning.....

The flooded road to "Camp David". In Dennis' car we stayed dry!

During our stay we experienced that is was rain season: both the road to “Camp David” and, sometimes, the roads in Paramaribo were flooded. It was also the rambutan season: we enjoyed eating the delicious fruits!

Beautiful Rambutan fruits along the road to "Camp David"

Much remains to be seen in Surinam like, for instance, the Brownsberg. Also, I didn’t see the Quinine tree! So, this will have to come during a next visit!



During our trip we sometimes talked about what should be considered to be bullshit. The jungle, however, does not give much opportunity for philosophical contemplations. Here are some after-thoughts:

La Condamine believed eventually in the existence of the Amazones: “Il y a toute apparence qu’il y a eu des Amazones en Amérique”, he wrote in his “Journal”. When I asked Jose, one of our Colombian guides in Leticia, he also said to believe that they had existed…..
After having learned to believe in the miracles of the dutch “Sinterklaas” and after, at the age of about 6, having been told that he doesn’t exist, many people continue to believe in almost anything (except Sinterklaas). Apparently, believing is a necessary and functional habit or mechanism in human behavior.


Sceptical people are often reproached that they ruin the beauty of myths by trying to understand their origin and meaning. It is true that understanding something makes it unnecessary to believe in it and that believing something usually results from ignorance and inexperience, but believing and understanding can both have their beauty…..and their “bullshit”

Sinterklaas is not bullshit because we can value him without taking him too seriously
(the celebration allows to express our feelings in a harmless decor which is functional even though we do not (anymore) believe in him)

Believing and understanding become especially relevant in health matters. When we met, on our first visit to Surinam in 2005, Karin Anema on the tower of the wooden cathedral in Paramaribo, we didn’t know that she had brought her son, suffering from Perthe’s illness, in a wheel chair to the well-known medicin man (“dresi man”) Pake. She tells this story in her book “De groeten aan de koningin” (Atlas, 2006; see document in dutch). Pake literally takes her son out of the wheel chair. After a few weeks oily compressions and exercises, he could walk again! X-ray photographs, made later in the Netherlands, indicated that the bone of his hip was growing again.

Some of us also visited Pake on April 30. In a loud voice he gave them a long “lecture” in sranan tongo about blood streams, muscles and nerves. Poor Dennis had to translate everything, but he as well as the other listeners were impressed by this man and said to believe in his power and insight…..

Waiting at Pake's house. Later, Hilbert and I stayed outside enjoying the pouring rain

What is amazing in the story of Karin Anema is not so much the miraculous healing of her son, but rather the fact that the dutch orthopedic physician kept this boy for two years in a wheel chair. Perhaps this was indeed the right thing to do, but we should not believe that right away! We have to try to understand his decision, ask about his experience in similar matters and about other reported cases. These can now be found on the web; for instance at "Perthe's Disease": “Until recently most children with Perthes' disease were treated with a plaster cast or brace, or surgery. However, it is now known that at least half of cases heal well without any treatment, particularly children aged five and under, and milder cases. So, in some cases a specialist may simply review the child every now and then to check that the femoral head remains in the right place as it heals. Advice may include to encourage swimming (to keep the hip joint active in the full range of movements), but to avoid heavy impact on the joint such as running or jumping.”

Powdered bark of the quinine-tree was already used against fever by the inhabitants of Peru when the spaniards came

By structuring our health problems and by putting our physicians under regulated scrutiny, we have made huge progress in our health care. If we would not have done so during the past centuries, we would still have the insight of a medicin man in the time of La Condamine: we would perhaps still be using the powdered bark of the quinquina tree against high fever instead of our daily malarone-pill against the protozoan parasite Plasmodium.

But what to do with the power and insight of the Pake’s? Can we respect them without necessarily believing in them just as we can do with religion or Sinterklaas? I think we should value them without taking them (just as our own physicians) too seriously.

Relaxing in "Camp David"
Boudewijn, Doleh and Dennis

Eating "rijsttafel" at restaurant "Piet" on the Palisadeweg near Camp David