Hi one and all,
Profuse apologies for the long period of literary silence, but Internet, she is not big in Indonesia.
In our last missive we were leaving Darwin Australia, and setting sail for our Indonesian adventure, the first call being Kupang on the island of Western Timor, we duly arrived some 4 days later, and settled down to enjoying the welcoming ceremonies provided by the local government.
This comprised of demonstrations of local dancing, singing, plenty of local food, plus of course interminable speeches of welcome and lord knows what else, all in Indonesian. Due to the fact that we were the only South African registered yacht in the fleet, I was invited up onto the stage to represent the South African flag and receive a Ceremonial scarf donated by the local government. If this means that I am now part of the South African Diplomatic service, I would appreciate someone telling me where I collect my salary.
After all the hype had cooled down, we were left with the decision as to where to go next, I say this as there are about 17000 islands in total (that is correct 17 thousand) from which to choose. Obviously, the direction we needed to take was roughly West if we ever intend getting back to S.A; so we opted for the island of Flores, our first stop being the town of Alor (or Kalabahi). Then on to Lembata, (anchored below a smoking volcano); Then again on to Riung where we celebrated Shirley’s birthday and our wedding anniversary, and our final stop on the island of Flores was at Labuan Bajo.
At all these venues, again there were more of the welcoming ceremonies, more dancing, more eating local fare, and yes another ceremonial scarf for yours truly. When and if, I ever get to Antarctica (or indeed back to Wales) I assume these scarves will come in handy.
Then it was time to go do battle with the Komono Dragons. For this adventure we chose the Island of Rinca, where they have a well organised game park set up with well trained rangers to assist in making sure you get to see these fascinating creatures and, as a bonus, getting to live to tell the tale.
Our next stop was the Island of Lombok, at Medana Bay; by now we were well ahead of the main body of the other yachts in the rally; this was the first stop- over that was privately owned, with an advertised 25 mooring bouys to which we could tie up. (At a price of course). Fortunately we were not the first arrivals, and one of our predecessors had the forethought to come out to advise us that most of the buoys (all the same colour and shape) were in fact sited directly above some pretty vicious and shallow reefs. I am still not sure if this was in ignorance or with some evil intent in mind. Having said that, the staff were all very accommodating, offering services which included food, fuel, bar, shower facilities (the first ashore since our arrival in Indonesia) and Shirley’s special, massage facilities. There was even an exclusive hotel about 15minutes walk away that included the offer of the use of a very high-tech and picturesque swimming pool, even for those of us who were non hotel residents, as long as we purchased food.
Our penultimate stop in Indonesia was at one of the three Gilli Islands (Gilli Aer) which cater for foreign visitors, with an abundance of rustic eating places, diving schools, bars etc,
No paved or tar roads on the island, indeed no motorised transport at all, just pony and trap carts, which could carry two passengers plus the driver at a time. All very relaxing, or would have been if it were not for the high speed ferries that constantly charged through the anchorage on their travels between there and Bali carrying multitudes of European holiday visitors bent on having a diving experience.
(I enjoyed the special “road signs” making allowance for divers crossing the road, see attachment)
Up to this juncture, all the islands we had visited were Muslim dominated, where the people were extremely courteous and friendly, despite the fact that our visits coincided with Ramadan, which meant that a lot of their time was spent obeying the religious rules that abide during this period. Such as either being called to, or actually at prayer, or having to suffer being without food or drink during the hours of daylight. The latter being onerous in the extreme when the ambient temperatures are constantly in the 30 -34 degree range. As an aside, one of our incoming e-mails recently, pointed out that in Muslim dominated areas, the old adage of “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is more effective if the apple is replaced with a bacon sandwich.
Then it was on to Bali, where we anchored off Lavina Beach on the north coast. Here the predominant religion is Hindu, and whereas the people are just as friendly as those on the previous islands, they, at least those vendors that form an impenetrable barrier along the shore line, do not have any concept of “no thank you” when offering any goods or services .Very difficult to stay polite and calm when up to 6 at a time are incessantly and simultaneously talking and demanding that you purchase whatever it is they are selling. They also have no concept that whereas a group of people can sing together, when they all talk together it just does not work. Having said that, we have enjoyed our stay here, and will leave here with fond memories of the people, scenery, and the culture.
Shirley enjoyed doing a Balinese cooking course with a local chef at a popular restaurant and I got to eat the makings which were rather enjoyable. She promises to make more on the boat.
The attached photographs show Shirley and I having a go at “Bull Racing” Bali style; not quite as stimulating as riding a fully grown Ostrich but at my age, stimulating enough.
Just a few lines on the complexity of sailing the Indonesian waters, the problems fall into the following categories,
1) The currents between the islands can be varied and often vicious, with many of them transforming into whirlpools which pick up our yacht and throw it around with gay abandon, even at 16 tons.2) The fact that navigation is complicated by the fact that the charts are often inaccurate, even our electronic charts regularly indicate that we are anchored well inland.
3) Finally, the information, including that related to navigation, provided by the organisers of the “Sail Indonesia Rally” that we joined to ease our process through to Malaysia, is only of any use as a rough guide line, quite surprising when one considers that this is the 11th consecutive year that the event has been held.
So on Sunday we are off to Malaysia, due to the fact that we have not slipped the boat for a proper clean since we left Trinidad some 2 years ago, the trip will probably take us close on 10 days. But if we get good winds, who knows.
Will write again upon arrival in Malaysia.
Taff, Shirley and Rubbish.
