Lombok

Lubuhan Bajo - Lombok 4 September – 16 September

Time to move on, but it was afternoon, and we only sailed a few miles to a little bay in the south of Gili Lawa Laut. There was a mooring, but it was a rolly night due to tidal flows between islands. In the morning we went around the island to the its northern side where the snorkelling was excellent with very clear water and lots of fish. Rosi had second thoughts, as the first animal she saw was a sea snake. The poor animal escaped immediately to the bottom of the ocean. After a few hours we went to an anchorage in the northern part of Komodo. Brilliant snorkelling, the best so far. At night, we sat around a fire on the beach with some other boaties. Cruising can be hard.

Our next stop was Sumbawa. There were some reports about petty thefts from boats left unattended at anchor. We did not go ashore anywhere on Sumbawa. At nights we stoped at Raba, Kananga, Pulau Medang and Pulau Lawang on our way to Gili Air sailing past beautiful landscape and towering volcanic mountains which were cloud free in the mornings.

We arrived early afternoon at Gili Air north of Lombok and found the entrance into the lagoon easily and managed to find a spot in the already crowded anchorage. We walked along the beach where simple bungalow stye resorts and small restaurants line the shore. Rather than typical tables and chairs, most bars and restaurants have small gazebos on the beach with raised platforms with a small table and large comfortable cushions to sit on. Meals were delicious and inexpensive. No motorbikes or cars disturb peace and quiet. Island transport is by horse carriage. Next morning we wanted to do a 3 island snorkelling tour with a local boat and joined up with 3 other cruisers. The price for this 6 hour tour was AU$7.50. Our first snorkel was of Gili Trawangan to snorkel with the turtles. We just had to drift with the current and the boat drifted with us and made sure where ok.They took us to 5 different sites around all Gili Islands and we snorkelled with thousands of beautifully coloured fish, stopping for lunch at Gili Meno. Gili Air was great and we stayed 3 days, longer than anticipated but we could have stayed another 3 weeks there. Most of the rally boats anchored across on the Lombok site and took a day tour to Gili Air for a swim or snorkel.

We left Gili Air and did the short trip to the northern site of Lombok under motor where the venue was. Most boats organized transport for this event either by hiring a boat from Gili Air or a bus from Teluk Kombal but we decided to anchor in front of the venue after reading previous cruising notes of the anchorage being a wonderful place, calm no swell. We arrived at 10 am and broadcasted the good news on the radio and were later joined by 8 other yachts. We went shore to work out where the function was supposed to be held and talked to the locals who were setting things up but it didn’t look like much. We then continued our walk to the exclusive resort not far away and just for the fun of it ordered a fruit juice. This one came with two butlers, decoration and a nice setting at the pool on a mattress with cushion at our backs. So we drank slowly and pretended to be rich and famous. The total cost of two mixed fruit juices was $13. Normally just $2.50. Later in the afternoon we visited the Oberoi resort at the other end of the bay where one can stay for US$800 a night. The staff was friendly and had nothing against us for having a walk through the facilities. It was nice to put our feet on lush lawn for a while.
Later on our function was very low key. We all sat on the beach on braided palm leafs, received the compulsory speech. There was no cultural performances due to the fact that it was Ramadan. No dancing with an empty stomach. The “Gala Dinner” was a few plates of local dishes to share. We had to eat with our hands and most people were still hungry after all was eaten. I managed to cut up a plastic water cup and turned it into 2 spoons. So it was all over by 7 pm and bemos and water taxis went back.


On Sunday the 14 Sep we left early to make our way down South to the anchorage of Singiggi motor sailing into a brisk southerly dodging hundreds of outriggers coming home from nightfishing. We knew why the anchorge was not used for the Sail Indonesia fleet because it would only cater for about 20 boats. We went ashore and were met by dozens of hawkers. We bought a new simcard for our modem but could not get the Internet working because one would need a CDMA phone to registger first. Singiggi is a nice bay sheltered by a reef from the south but exposed to South West. It got a bit rocky during the day but we wanted to do some sightseeing anyway. Luckily one more rally boat, Lady in White, came in later and the 6 of us booked a tour. Just for the fun of it we walked through the grounds of the Sheraton Hotel and inquired about a room. The peak season was over and we bargained down the price from US$ 265 to US$ 140, but decided that it was no match for Jemimah.

The tour was a fantastic day, the driver was the nicest person we had met. He suffered greatly with Ramadan fasting but kept his humor. He told us how he and his wife met and how the wedding unfolded. The story was better than the Titanic one. We visited a local produce market, fed the monkeys in the forest, visited a weaving place (bought another ikat), a pottery place and a big temple. And of course enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Lombok and the humor of our 4 british Sailors. One the way home the driver kindly stopped at the big Supermarket so we could do some shopping.

After a nice meal at “THE OFFICE” the swell came down and we and our shopping returned safely to Jemimah.


To be continued
Rosi & Mike

Flores

Flores – Lubuhan Bajo 27 August – 4 September


Sailing on, we found a beautiful island in Riung Bay. White sandy beach, corals for snorkelling, some shelter on the beach, all part of the 17 Islands National Park. Much better than the Monkey Beach anchorage, which is in the 101 anchorages and where most people went. We really enjoyed our stay and delayed our departure for a day.

The next stop at Lingeh was interesting. A nice anchorage behind extensive reef, but annoying locals. This was the closest we came to feeling uneasy, and we took removable things into the cabin for the night.

An early start, we followed our track to get out of that bay. We made it to Bodo Island, but it was too rolly for us. So we got into a nearby bay, well protected and easy to get into. Some locals came by, but went after we said no thanks to their offers of pearls and carved dragons. We even had some rain, the first rain for months! The boat needed a wash badly. We had a very restful night.

We needed that rest, as the trip to Rinca included 25 knots on the nose for some time. We felt that we should sail, so we tacked until we got into the bay where the National Park hut was. As we arrived rather early, and tourist boats were still coming in, we decided to have a look ashore. There was a jetty to tie up our dinghi, and some monkeys to greet us. We walked to the station and joined a tour immediately. We saw our first Komodo dragon near the cafe, and quite a few on the short walk, some of them mating (or more accurately, just lying on top of each other). They are close to 3m long, with very powerful legs. They all seemed to be rather inactive, which was ok with us. I would not like to test if they run faster than me!

We also paid the fees, which were rather steep (360,000 rupiahs). I suppose a lot goes into the park maintenance and preservation of habitat, so that’s ok. We could have gone again the following day, but the dragons were not that fascinating. We wanted to snorkel at Pantai Merah (red beach), supposedly a great spot. Unfortunately we had to fight a big current in Lintah Strait, and it was quite an effort to get there. But the only mooring buoy was vacant, and we were tied up securely. Snorkelling was good, we took the dinghi to various spots.

After some excitement with another boat dragging anchor, we moved to the Eco resort near Labuhan Bajo. The current was not against us this time, but the wind varied. We went to the resort for dinner, and the earth moved for us! The first tremor was a little one, similar to a truck going past a house. We did not recognise it, but the second tremor left no doubt that we experienced our first earthquake. Even the staff at the resort looked worried, and the Admiral went outside to check if the trees were ok. But that was it, and we had a lovely dinner (although expensive for Indonesia).

Next day, we had a look at Lubuhan Bajo. It is quite a nice town, and it could be the next big tourist thing in that area (“gateway to the dragons”). We found an internet cafe... This explains the long delays between postings. We moved the boat closer to the venue for the welcome dinner, and rested. Next morning, we got some fuel, and we got water from the town. There are shops with water filtration equipment, and for 20 l water, we paid 6,000 rupiahs. It was quite a bit of work: take the dinghi to the jetty, around a fence, along a breakwater wall, through some back yards, across the street, and there it was. It is a lot easier with empty containers...

To be continued
Rosi & Mike

Mausambi

Mausambi/Endeh Regency 22 -26 August


We left Sea world anchorage and motored (what else) all day to Batu Boga (no 18 in the famous 101 book). Hoping that nobody would already anchor there. This is a really good hideaway on the west side of a headland behind a reef. A bit tricky to get in but no problem in early afternoon with good light. The book says room for 3-4 boats. As we rounded the corner we counted 7 boats. We managed to actually find a nice spot as well but one large, expensive American yacht owner didn’t want us there and said we are too close. We were not but moved 300 meter away in the next less protected bay behind Nimbus II. Soon after they gave us a lift to the beach across where we first tried to anchor and we had a nice BBQ including damper. The locals sat behind us and watched us cook and eat. Nobody spoke English but they smiled. We played football with the kids. Next morning we swang towards the reef and the tide was at its lowest. We discovered a bommie about 50 cm under water about 15 metres away from us. A bit of a surprise because we anchored in 8 meters. We decided then and there to jump in from now on and snorkel around the boat. By the way the snorkelling there was really good.

By afternoon next day we arrived in Mausambi or Endeh regency anchorage. This one is exposed and we were rolling badly. Hoping for the swell to die down at night but it did not do enough. Next morning we went ashore and the landing was adventurous and wet. The locals build a landing jetty for us but walking on it in the surf was not easy and good entertainment for the locals. The village lies in pretty hilly surroundings. There were nice stalls with food, ikat, craft and even a medical tent including a rally casualty. A fellow elderly yachty from England fell ill and was taken to the local hospital. Mike helped the poor husband to shift their boat 3 miles away so he could be closer to the hospital. I stayed behind on the beach and practised my Indonesia with a big crowd of children. Mike had a similar experience when he walked back and was followed by a cheering crowd of children all the way.
That night we had dinner with the Politicians of the Endeh regency. It was a good night with nice food again and traditional dances and singing. One of the politicians asked us why there are only old people sailing in the rally. Mike responded that there are only young people in this rally. We all loughed . It was nearly 11 pm when we went back to the boat and the swell had not died enough to provide a safe departure. So I fell from the jetty and had an unwanted swim.

Kelimutu 25 August

Early morning start at 4.30 am with breakfast at the beach.Destination Kelimutu Volcano and the three colour lakes. The bus was an old rattling smaller version of transportation. The road was bad the first hour but the sunrise made up for it. As we got further into the land and higher up the mountain landscape became more beautiful with terraced rice fields and fruit and vegetable plantations and rainforest. We reached the entrance to the national Park and our guide got out of the car and offered two cigarettes at the gatekeepers stone statue to ensure good weather and views. From the car park we walked 10 minutes and stopped. The guide pointed to a grey clouded wall and said this is the spot were you can see the brown lake. In front of him were 20 disappointed eyes. He suggested to go further uphill where you can see all three lakes. Off we went and if by magic spell the clouds lifted the sun came out and with it a very beautiful and spectacular scenery. To our surprise the clouds stayed away for the time we were up there and we very very lucky that day because the day before some others had the view of the lakes and craters only for a few seconds. One lake was like cappuccino, the middle one turquoise and the third dark green to black. At the car park were of course ikat selling locals and I don’t know how I ended up with another one in our small boat. After we stopped at the village of Moni for lunch, saw a traditional village where we had to dress up in traditional costumes, walk 3 times around a stone before allowed into the village where we were greeted by the chief and traditional dances. We got some refreshments, were asked for a donation but it was all good fun. Next stop was at some hot springs were the water was too hot to enter the water. Some did and looked like lobster. I put my feet in for a few seconds. At least they got clean after walking bare feet thought the black dirt of the village ( part of the costume is no shoes). Back to Mausambi. Another Nasi Goreng, Bintang and Entertainment as part of the cultural festival.We returned to the boat without incident and survived another rolly night.

Despite two more days of local festivities and entertainment we could no tolerate (or should I say “I”) the swell and rolling any more. We decided to leave early to make our way towards the next venue destination of Labuan Bajo and the very western side of Flores. We left at 8 am for a small bay 15 miles away. No swell, anchored in 15 and drifted back to 4m. Not much coral but so peaceful. One more yacht joined us later and we were only visited by one local boat .Exchange some words with them gave biscuits and pencils. Made bread and banana smoothies.Still had so many bananas and they ripen all at the same time. This anchorage was really nice and not in any books so we like to have the book changed to the “102 “ anchorage and this one dedicated to “Jemimah”. In case someone is interested the way points are 08.32.249 121.35.945.

Travelling on

Rosi & Mike

Sea World

Sea World/Maumere/Flores 18-22 August

We left early for a short 11 mile motor across to the Island Pulau Besar. Pulau means Island and besar means big. Our bahasa Indonesia gets better every day but we don’t know what day of the week it is. Albireo a German yacht is already there. The anchorage is totally protected from anything but north.Courious fisherman approached us instantly from the tiniest village I have seen so far. I counted 10 homes. We got lots of bananas (too many ) and they drifted of with a cap, t-shirt and pen. Don’t know who got the better deal. In the afternoon while having a sundowners we suddenly watched our dinghy drifting off. Brave Mike jumped after and swam his 100 meter world record but both were rescued by the local fishing boat and brought back to Albireo.The painter was rubbed through in the tube outside the dinghy. Glad it didn’t happen while we had a granny nap. At nights we always kept a second painter on the dinghy.

On Tuesday we motored to the next rally event anchorage at Sea World. Most of the boats were already there. The anchorage is very deep and it looked like there was no more room for us. Who wants to anchor in 30 meters. So we went past the fleet and found a sandy spot in 3 meters. That’s were normally only cats go. Our first impression: Resort nice and restaurant very nice. Good beach and reef. Beautiful hilly scenery. Prices for tour expensive and not well organized and price for 20 litres drinking water 20,000rp ($2.50). So we went to the other side of the creek and got same water for 12,000rp.Unfortunately when 100 sailboats rock up the prices automatically inflate.

The welcome ceremony was fun and the food delicious. Best dances we had seen so far. Our Kiwi cruisers performed the haka and two cruisers embarrassed us by fighting (about a 2 two year old child). Aki from the only Japanese boat sang Karaoke very well.

We visited the market in Maumere ( ride on back of motorbike). Maumere is quiet dirty and noisy and the day was very hot so we did not stay long. Bemo back to Geliting ( near Seaworld ) but could not find any eggs for sale. We were told the supply ship comes tomorrow. What’s the matter with all the local hens at Flores?

On Thursday we took a tour with the German Boaties of Nada Brahma (from Hamburg). The resort organized a nice aircon 7 seater for 500 000rp (A$60).That was a quarter of the price from the other organizers. We went to the Maria Statue on a hill and had a superb view over Maumere and ocean. Then to the famous Sikka village where we found an old Portuguese church and lots of ikat sellers. I bought a nice one for a good price but more and more sellers tried to make me buy all of them so I ended up running away from them. Mike filmed the scenario and I looked like a giant between all of these super short women. Back to lunch at Maumere (another Nasi Goreng).And then to the traditional fishing village just west of Maumere. The houses are build on stilts over the sea. They look tiny and uneven and poor. People all smiley and friendly. The harbour was full with traditional boats from Macassar bringing cement. They did not look seaworthy and the rigging was ancient. On the way back we asked the driver to stop so we could buy more Bintang.The shop had everything from beer to donuts to brooms. At night we had dinner at the resort for $5 p.p. So far our most expensive meal. We missed the cultural performance at the Sail Indonesia stage, it was not communicated.

See you later

Rosi & Mike

Lembata

Lembata Island 7 to 17 August

We intended to sail to Alor but a combination of leaving a day late from Kupang, no wind and a 4 knot current against us made us change course at midnight and sail directly to Lembata Island, the third destination on the Rally Program. Arriving at 7 am we spent the first day just anchoring around the first headland in a beautiful bay were we found a sandy patch between coral. The next day we sailed the 13 miles slowly (but we sailed) to Lebolewa the capital of Lembata and were the fifth yacht to arrive and snatched one of the best spots close to the jetty. Later we discovered that it was also the closest to the mosque and we were woken at 4 in the morning to the call for prayer. Lewoleba is a relaxed town with view of the smoking volcano Ili Api.

For the welcoming ceremonies they drove the entire fleet in open trucks and motorbikes trough the town with police escorts and musik. Everyone was outside their homes and cheered. I have never waved so much in my life and this is how the Queen E II must feel like. For three days we enjoyed traditional dance performances and were asked to join the people on stage. We all did to the amusement of the locals. On the second day local government organized a tour to a small fishing village called Lewolein a 2 hour bad road bus trip away. The people were really friendly with welcome ceremony , dances and a nice lunch. I don’t know what I ate but it tasted yummy. Mostly vegetarian stuff and salsa and fish. We witnessed traditional Ikat weaving( Cotton picking, spinning, colouring and weaving) a very long process. I also bought my first Ikat in beautiful traditional burgundy colours. We were shown tradional food preparations including making cornflakes from a simple corncob. Later we were to witness a traditional fishing ceremony so we gathered at the beach under shady coconut trees and waited. Two fishermen appeared , grabbed a net and went into the water. They put the 50 meter long net in a half circle from beach to beach and then it happened. 200 locals young and old ran from the village screaming into the water fully clothed, head in and grabbed the fishes with their bare hands and put them inside their clothing. We were asked to join them and most of us went knee deep in and tried our luck. After 7 minutes I managed to grab one little fish about 5 cm long. I looked at it and let it go. In the meantime the locals caught dozens and hundreds of fish. They got out of the water dropped the fishes and started cleaning just with a shell they found .Later we swam and snorkelled with goggles and our traditional swimsuits and attraction of the day for the Indonesians. All up we had a great time again.

For the following day a tour to the whaling village Lamalera (where the locals hunt 15 to 25 sperm whales each year with small wooden boats and spears) was planned. But the bus trip was supposed to be 3,5 hours one way on a bad road with a bus which has seen better days so we gave it a miss and sailed out of Lebolewa early to make our way west towards Maumere. We had a great sail across the bay for 2 hours and then of course the wind died and the ISUZU sail came out. By afternoon we found a nice, well protected anchorage called Tanjung Gedong on the north east coast of Flores. Next day we walked up to the village and were shown around by some friendly locals who invited us into their homes for coffee. The village has no bikes or cars. We shared our anchorage with some other rally boats and in the afternoon 7 people went by dinghy to the next village to see the local high school. The teacher and children were so excited to see us and we had a tour of the school and village. They were very grateful about the exercise book and pens we had as gifts. I had never seen any children so happy about receiving a pen. In the afternoon we snorkelled and witnessed two catamarans who dragged while rafted up. Re-anchored while still rafted up. Well done guys.

Our next stop was supposed to be a day sail (motor) away at Babi Island 20 miles on the charts but for a reason it was not part of any previous rally notes or the 101 Anchorage Book. The reason was obvious. A very deep drop-off and suddenly 2 meters over coral. Let’s go somewhere else. Suddenly the wind increased to 20m knots from the south (our direction ).Wind and tide wrong we sailed back 8 miles to Anchorage 15 from Book called Waimalung and found 4 other yachts here. One more arrived shortly after us and provided good entertainment during anchoring procedure for us. We decided to stay two nights and enjoyed good snorkelling and beautiful sunset rating 9.5 and 1 hour later a full moon rise with similar rating. Its a hard life!

Take care
R&M

Kupang - West Timur

Wednesday 30 July 2008

We are in Indonesia! It took us 95 hours for the 475 miles to get to Kupang. The weather was not against us, but also not exactly with us. If there was any wind, it was in our favour. But for long hours, there was none, and we had to motor. Anyway, we arrived, and had Quarantine on board within a few hours. Customs could not make it that day, but we could go ashore and visit Teddy’s bar for our first Bintang (23,000 rupiahs a big bottle, Teddy charges a bit more than others). The food was also expensive (30,000 rupiahs a serve) and not to be recommended. But newcomers are bound to pay a bit more.

The next day we spent waiting for customs. After a while I had enough and picked a guy up from the customs boat. He got wet on the dinghy ride to our boat, and looked rather sick. The formalities were over in less than five minutes, and I took him back. Ashore, we had to complete more formalities, with lots of photocopies of everything. Evething was stamped at least three times, and at last we were free to explore Kupang.

It is a rather large and noisy city, with bemos honking their horns at everything. The conductor, who is a boy in his early teens, holds a bundle of money in his one hand, and holds on with the other while hanging out of the door to call for customers. The inside holds huge speakers under the benches, going at full blast. A bemo fits about 10 people, but if there are passengers, everybody gets a ride. Payment is on exit, and tourists are charged 3,000 per person regardless of distance. Once we got the hang of it, we were charged 2,500. A massive saving of 12 cents!

We discovered a night market not far from Teddy’s bar. There were mainly food stalls, and a serve of nasi goreng, mie goreng, or gado gado was 6,000 rupiahs. Other stalls sold sweets, and we are yet to be disappointed. Everything tasted great.

We also went to the local market, where we were the only whites. Everybody was very friendly, lots of smiles and laughs. Maybe it had to do with my attempts at Bahasa Indonesia. The museum was small but nice, and it was good to find our way. People were very helpful. We tried to find the modern shopping mall, and were told to catch bemo 22 on the other side of the street. The traffic is frightening, and we were hesitant to risk our lives, when a young motorbike rider came across and stopped the traffic for us! This was just one example of many when local people just helped with a smile. You may have noticed by now that we are totally overwhelmed by the wonderful people here in West Timor.

At night, there was a reception by the governor of Nusa Tenggara Timur. Dancing, food, and a presentation of an ikat shawl for every participant. Then more dancing, and we joined in. A night to remember.

We went on a tour organised by the government. In spite of this, it was brilliant. We visited villages where people still live the traditional lifestyle (minus the headhunting, which was outlawed when Indonesia became independent in the early 50’s). We were presented with more ikat shawls as a welcome, plus the traditional timorese welcome. Again, everybody was unbelievably friendly. The food was again great, and were were free to look around. I wish I could speak more Indonesian, I could not make it past the general smalltalk. We took lots of photos, but our internet connections are patchy. We’ll publish some tmle later.

The next reception was with the Mayor of Kupang. Another lot of good food and dancing, and we were again made feel very welcome. Apparently we are on TV news here every night, and the foreshore entertainment was all set up for us.

A quick word about how things are here. The anchorage is very rolly from 11 am until sunset, we had to leave early and return late. On shore, there are many young students who work as a guide, and can organise about everything, like fuel, water, or spare parts. If you get here, ask for Tiel, he is a great guy with good english. He studies computer science, but he is still very nice and helpful.

Customs were the people who stuffed things up by impounding boats for a few days, and charging 50,000 rupiahs to have the sticker removed from the boat again. There are rumours that someone from Jakarta flew in (the press got hold of the story) to have the local head of Customs arrested. I suppose they do not want to get a bad reputation.

Another tour enabled us to visit an orphenage. The girls danced a welcoming dance, and we were shown around. It became obvious that there is not much money around. They are funded by World Vision, and of course we contributed as well. All children appeared happy and smiled, and we could distribute some of the things we brought. It was a very moving experience.

The next stop was a special school for children with some forms of disabilities. The teachers are doing a marvellous job, teaching skills according to the children’s ability. We distributed more goodies, and we wish we could do more. There are only one or two visits by westerners per year, and it appears to be something really special. It was certainly special for us.

Lunch was smoked pig in a small village, different but tasty. We also saw some ikat weaving, it requires a lot of patience. The day concluded with a visit to the monkey cave, where we sat amongst a few dozen spider monkeys. The corn feed was well received. Another great day.

To prepare for the next leg, we had a haircut in the local salon. Rosi was not too sure, so I had to go first. As he did a reasonable job (as reasonable as can be expected with my hair), she had a go as well. We paid 50,000 for both of us , which is around $A 6. All that was left to do was to clear out with the port captain (requiring another few copies of something we had to fetch from the boat), and farewell West Timor!

This was our first impression of Indonesia, and it could not have been better. The people are just wonderful. The bureaucracy needs improvement, this may happen over time. We are very happy to be here.

Time to move on.
Until next time, selamat tinggal!

Rosi & Mike