Visiting the relatives

Soon after dropping anchor and starting to contemplate the evening meal my musings were interrupted with a call of "hallo mister" from outside. It was Harry from "Harry's Yacht Services", testing my interest in his tours. Negotiations were swift and a deal was quickly completed. The following day I'd be picked up at 8am, a guard would be deposited to watch over Kika, while I'd head off in search of the orangutans in the company of Rosy and Michael from Jeremiah.

Sure enough 7.30 the next morning, while still packing for the two day trip, a call of "Mr Nick" announced the arrival of my guard and a little later our forest transport arrived. The boat was a little over 40ft, narrow with a worryingly sharp bow and built on two levels. The three of us lived on the upper "deck", where we were looked after at various times by the captain, a guide, and a ship's boy. The designations seemed arbitrary as they all shared the steering of the boat, cooking and administering to us tourists - what a treat.

We headed back down the river before turning off into a tributary. Quickly the ferns lining the river gave way to more diverse thicker jungle.We started seeing large dragon flies, herons, then suddenly our first monkeys appeared, nonchalantly watching us from their perch in the trees.

Macaque monkey

All the more unexpected as I feared the loud thumps from the unrefined single cylinder Chinese diesel would scare away all wildlife - but I guess they must be used to it. Our solitary progress was occasionally interrupted by a roar of a speed boat; straight from a game show prize catalogue.

After a few hours the river started to narrow, bringing the damp slightly mouldy smell of the forest to us and soon after we arrived at Camp Leakey.

Our guide explained that the camps were "research and rehabilitation institutes" for orangutans not tourist spectaculars. Sure enough there wasn't an orangutan gift shop in sight, though fortunately the camp included a helpful information centre. The rehabilitated orangutans are offered food once a day. If none turn up that's a good sign - as they've foraged for themselves. Fortunately for our visit they seemed happy to take meal hand-outs from their relatives. As we approached the feeding station, we were followed, or rather overtaken by one large determined male, speeding towards his meal.

Once the ranger placed the inevitable bananas on the platform, the orangutans arrived in all directions.

Some raced along the forest floor, others arrived via the forest canopy announcing their imminent arrival by the swaying and creaking of branches as they made their slow, purposeful progress towards the food. They seemed oblivious to our presence, allowing us to watch their antics up close.

In many ways they seemed so similar to us, the way in which they carried and tended to their young, the way in which they seemed to sit or more often hang around and contemplate life.

Maternal care

It was as though they were a different race or tribe, not a different species and with some work we'd be able to converse with them and have them teach us how to effortlessly hang from and climb trees.

It wasn't easy to drag ourselves away from our privileged view of such amazing creatures but eventually we returned to the boat and headed back down the river. En route we briefly saw the Pinocchio-like noses attached to a group of proboscis monkeys, before arriving at a small bay in the river where we tied the boat between two trees for the night.

Pinocchio-like Proboscis monkey

As we tried to sleep under a mosquito net on a lumpy Teletubbies mattress with Tinky Winky, Laa Laa, Dipsi and Po keeping us company, the forest awoke. Our dreams were accompanied by high pitched calls of cicadas, croaking frogs, whining mosquitos and the bizarre, clanger-like, extra terrestrial call of the gibbons as well as many other sounds whose origin remains unknown.

Gibbon

The following day we visited a couple of other camps on the way back to the main river. After Camp Leakey the other stations were less impressive for sheer quantity of orangutans, but once hooked seeing any semi-wild orangutans was a treat.

New crew?

We returned as the sun-set with birds darting over the river, fish jumping from the still water, with a camera full of pictures, a head full of memories and a desire to learn more about these incredible creatures.

Kumai River

The anchorage just behind the headland proved to be well protected and just after 1am I gratefully crawled into bed. Normally I'm up with the sun. Not this morning. I slept soundly until just after 9am. I almost leapt out of bed to check the course and look out for shipping before I remembered where I was.

After a lazy start, enjoying savouring breakfast in a calm anchorage, I remembered I still had 45 miles to go up the river to Kumai. Adding to the challenge my various pilot guides, charts and software gave little indication if the tide in the river would be favourable or not.

Memories of east coast sailing returned as I sailed through muddy waters crossing banks with less than 2m under the keel leading to the entrance to the river. Once in the broad river I was in luck, the tide was with me and the depths increased - although the mud remained. I made it to Kumai with time to spare, dropping anchor a little before 6pm.

Anchorage behind headland: S3deg21.9' E111deg46.4'
Kumai: S2deg44.5' E111deg44.0'

A rare treat

It always seems to take a few days to reacclimatize to the rhythm of passage-making. Yesterday I was back on form after a couple of lethargic days. It also helped that the thunder storm reduced the humidity and the wind shifted more to the NE and blew consistently, giving the rare treat of a beam-reach. No rolling. No creaks. No bangs from lockers as items make a bid for freedom. The roly swells of the first day and the temperamental wind of the second became a distant memory as we made almost silent progress across the slight sea. The perfect day finished with a spectacular sunset over one of the islands stranded in the middle of the Java Sea.

The single-handed sailing is going well, but for the lack of conversation. Ideally we'd have a radio net, but, for whatever reason, the one we tried to organise before setting off hasn't worked out. I've taken to talking back to the BBC world service. No response so far.

At dusk the wind shifted more to the SE, so we're back on a rock and roll run. It's continued in the same direction today, so I haven't had to alter the sails, just the occasional click on the self-steering to change the course one way or the other by 6 degrees.

It's humid again today. I'm learning to make the most of 6-9am and 4.30-6.30pm. The rest of the day I've accepted that I'll be sticky; salt water showers only provide momentary relief and I'm rationing myself to two short fresh water showers a day.

A couple of highlights today. First was fifteen or so dolphins playing around the bow wave for a good half an hour. The second was the first fish I've hooked. A decent sized bull mahi-mahi - my favourite. Unfortunately I haven't had much opportunity to perfect single-handed fish-drill and lost him just as I bought him over the rail. Still the prospect of fresh-fish again is tantalizing enough.

I've got just under fifty miles to go to my waypoint at the entrance to the river. However I'm planning to see if it's calm enough to tuck in behind the headland and have a decent night's sleep before tackling the river tomorrow. I still find it quite eerie approaching an unlit coast. According to my charts, I'm fourteen miles off the coast, but there's no sign of habitation ahead, or even a coast line. I can just see something on the radar at its maximum range of 16 miles. The sailing is the easy part; it's the landfall that provides the real challenge.

Position @ 19.15 10th Oct S3deg48.9' E111deg47.8'

Saunas and storms

During the day I threaded my way between the islands of Surabaya. I'd considered stopping here if I needed a rest, but as all was going well I've decided to push on for Kumai. Dolphins joined me as I entered the shallow waters (less than 100m) of the Java Sea. There's also an increase in fishing boats, so I'd hoped for some action from squidy - nothing. Just a couple of false alarms from hooked flotsam.
I spent the day hiding from the sun and instead found myself in a sauna AND I've still 6 degrees to go to the equator. Somehow it seemed appropriate to be hearing news of financial melt-down as I dripped with sweat.

At dusk the weather suddenly changed. Like the first night I was treated to a blinding electrical storm, but this time the storm clouds were overhead. We've seen rapid changes in the weather before, but this one was exceptional. One moment I was rolling along under full-main and poled-out genoa the next the wind switched direction and dramatically increased. Still it was refreshing having cold rain drilling into my skin with an occasional warm wave dousing me as I struggled to reef the main at the mast. A perfect antidote to the lethargy of the day.

Sadly after a couple of exhilarating hours, the wind died completely. Rather than spending the night motoring I decided to wait for the wind, resulting in an overnight total of half a mile in the wrong direction.

Position @ 9.00am 9/10/2008 S6deg 19.2' E113deg27.8'
Distance to go: 240

Crewless in Lovina

After waiting in Lovina over the weekend for Margreet to retrieve her passport from the authorities, on Monday we discovered that it would be at least another three days. There was also an added complication of an impending visit from her sister, which meant we'd struggle to arrive in Singapore in time. Reluctantly we decided that it wasn't going to work.

However my unanticipated extra time in Lovina was put to good use, once I discovered good quality affordable seamstresses ashore. Together we constructed side screens for the bimini and mosquito nets for the hatches - I found the materials (Sunbrella, grommets, thread and webbing) and provided the patterns, while they did the work... It's been on the job list since Panama where I acquired a roll of Sunbrella material and a sewing-machine, but the tropical heat and nocturnal mosquitoes have caused some re-prioritization of the list. Now I just need to improve the windscoop and use the remaining material in a deck-awning - probably just in time for my homecoming...

Still passport-less, but with lots of enticing food from Carrefort in Denpassar, Margreet headed back to Lovina to wish me well. Now I've another excuse to catch-up with Antares so we can share the "Brat Rollmops" - (sardine-herring fillets in vinegar) and other Dutch delicacies now filling my fridge.

With a fruitless last minute crew-marketing bitz in Lovina and feeling that I have stuck around Bali for long enough, I decided on Tuesday to head-off single-handed. As I was making final course checks, I knocked a bottle of water over the computer which promptly died. Now I know that this wouldn't have delayed Chichester, Knox-Johnson or Moitessier or other heroic single-handed sailors in whose wake I presume to follow, but they didn't have a ravenous blog expecting frequent updates. Fortunately by mid-day the tropical climate had worked its magic on my sunbathing disassembled laptop and it sprang back into life, enabling me to raise anchor and head NW for the 380 miles to Kumai river in Kalimantan.

There were ominous dark clouds over the Balinese mountains as I left, but apart from an impressive electrical storm during the night, the wind has been light and variable - consistent with most of our Indonesian sailing to-date. Fortunately there's been enough wind to sail, although I'm not expecting to set any records on this passage - the speed frequently hovers around 2-3 knots. Still good to have a gentle introduction to my first multiple day single-handed passage.

Position @ 9.00am 8/10/2008 S7deg 02' E114deg22'
Distance to go: 300

Tourism Balinese style

Despite spending a couple of weeks in Bali, I'm still struggling to adjust to the rampant tourism here. There's almost a voyeuristic feeling of being slightly apart, observing but only participating at the fringes of the game played by locals and visitors.

That said yachts are not immune and on my return to Lovina the "Sail Indonesia" rally had arrived - package tourism for yachts. Prices had been hiked accordingly - I even had to pay for landing the dinghy on the beach.

After touring the local workshops in Lovina, searching for someone to machine a new part for the self-steering, the consensus was that I should head down to Denpasar (the capital) where I'd find the required skills. Fortunately Brendan and Lisa were keen for a sail so the following weekend we headed back round the island into Serangan. It was great comparing notes with Brendan about his trip and even be challenged to justify some of the sailing routines I've developed - it's too easy to become complacent, there's always more to learn... Still not sure about his genoa polling system though...

Arriving in Serangan I was greeting by Sten and Danika on Mata'irea.

Serangan

It also turned out that Astrid, Jasper & Marijn on Antares, Bo from Njord and the boys on Khulula were in Benoa, 15mins away by bike. Some of us decided to hit the night-life capital of Bali - Kuta. No more observing from sidelines as we threw ourselves into the energetic night-life with the enthusiasm of sailors who have been at sea for too long. We also combined the evening with a marketing campaign to search for my new crew. The Khulula boys took the task to heart, using my fliers as an excuse to start conversations with whoever they thought would be suitable crew for me - I wasn't complaining. The evening took a day to recover from, and nul point on the crewing front. Danika has a more sordid write-up on their website.

Typically I'd timed my arrival just before the start of the Ramadan holiday, however it didn't make much difference, the local workshops couldn't fabricate the required worm-gear; I'd have to wait till Singapore apparently. Still as ever once you start explaining the problem a solution presents itself. I managed to pack-out the motor to use the unworn region of the drive - almost as good as new.

Warn worm

Serangan was great for finding those hard to locate essential items and with Brendan and Lisa's help I found gelatine (for cheese cake), tahini paste (for hummus) as well as more mundane items such as switches, screw-drivers, butane gas refill and a dentist.

Once replenished I escaped from the expense of the capital to clearer water in Lembongan. What a bizarre place. Lembongan is a day-tripper destination for those staying around Kuta. As I arrived I had dolphins swimming with me while I was circled by Japanese tourists sitting astride towed inflatable bananas.

The banana

Come 4pm the day-trippers vanish leaving a peaceful island with villagers in conical hats, painstakingly gathering seaweed growing in "pens" close to shore.

Seaweed "pens"

In Lembongan the two extremes coexisted, but there seems to be little or no cross-over. Perhaps what I saw in Lembongan is a microcosm for life on the main island. For tourists in Bali there's a Disney-land of temples and beaches, and a student paradise of cheap booze and partying, while the traditional Balinese continue making offerings around their statues, playing the gamelan at their festivals and planting rice on the terraces, seemingly oblivious to the tourist antics around them.

Away from the tourism - delicious street food

Finally one of my crew wanted posters resulted in Margreet from Holland deciding to join me to Singapore, where I'll be looking for more crew. You wouldn't have thought it would be so difficult to find crew - perhaps I'm just too choosy.

We sailed from Lembongan back to Lovina where Margreet left for Seminyak to pick up her passport.

I'm looking forward to heading off again. This time to some small islands on-route to the orangutans in Kalimantan then onwards to Singapore....

---

Serangan, 21th - 30th Sept: S8°43.1 E115°14.3'
Lembongan, 30th Sept-2nd Oct: S8°40.7' E115°26.3'
Lovina beach anchorage, 3rd-6th Oct: S8°09.61' E115°01.30'

Busy Bali

It's been a busy week, fitting in as much as possible before Ina's departure, with a brief stop in Gili Air and a whirlwind tour of Bali.

In Gili Air we rejoined the cruising fleet and were gently eased into the Indonesian tourist world. Gone was the celebrity status of being the only boat in the anchorage, instead we were another tourist to target - "hey mister want to buy sarong, necklace... maybe later". Still tourist infrastructure brings some benefits such as lounging on the futons on the beach bars in Gili Air while watching the sun set. Amongst other delights, Barracuda was on the menu, a little frustrating given that we'd rejected the couple we'd caught a few days before - at least I'll know for next time.

Gili Air snake

Fishing boats off the coast of Bali

Salt 'manufacture'

From Gili Air we headed to Lovina on the the north coast of Bali. Barely had the water settled around the anchor than we were off into town searching for scooters to hire. We had a great few days, exploring inland for a change, relaxing in Ubud and finally heading down to Sanur to meetup with Brenden and Lisa, some friend's with a Rival 34, who we'd met in the Caribbean and are now working in Bali.

Living it up in Ubud

Ina flew back to France on Monday night. Perhaps I've been sailing for too long, but to me it's almost inconceivable to be back in Europe in less than 24 hours when it'll take me nearly a year before I arrive home.

Last supper - Nick, Ina, Lisa and Brendan

Keeping scurvy in check: early season mangoes,mangostine and delicious snake skin fruit (salak?)

I'm still apprehensive about leaving the boat unattended at anchor overnight and in our haste to explore ashore we hadn't found anyone to mind Kika in our absence. Clearly the worry was playing on my subconscious as one night in Ubud I awoke in a panic having dreamt that we'd dragged ashore and was even more convinced when I saw trees out of the window, imagining I was seeing them from the boat. Only after I raced over to the window to inspect the reef I was convinced we were resting on, and instead saw rice fields, did I slowly return to the reality. Still I was nervous as I arrived back in Lovina, scanning the anchorage until I spotted our mast - exactly where we'd left her five days before.

I think I'm missing a trick. While I'm waiting for new crew, I'm busy fixing all things that broke on the trip - isn't that the crew's job?...

Peaceful coexistence

Close relative?

Fixing a puncture on my puncture 'proof' tyres

Two wheels rule, mobile ice cream complete with ice cream van siren

Rincha to Gili Air

With Ina's imminent departure from Bali in mind we reluctantly weighed anchor after a couple of days in Rincha. Next stop Gili Air - a small island in the strait between Lombok and Bali.

Unfortunately predicting the direction of the currents in the area remains as opaque as ever and we spent the majority of the first day fighting our way against an unfavourable current up Sape Strait, between Komodo and Sumbawa. Finally by late afternoon we'd escaped the strait, and with help from the tide, a gentle breeze and smooth sea cruised along the northern coast of Sumbawa. One of the benefits of a flat sea is there's little chance of spray and we took advantage to organise a DVD night. Balancing the laptop on the upturned fish box while we wedged ourselves either side on the cockpit seats.

After spending weeks not seeing other yachts it felt like the rush hour with, at one point, four other yachts within sight. After being overtaken by spinnaker flying boats, I was shamed into digging out the cruising chute and experimenting with the rig, adding the cruising chute to a poled out genoa and full main. Having negligible swell makes a huge difference in light winds and with all the sails we could raise pulling together we managed to make 5 knots+ in light airs.

Last night we caught a tasty looking Barracuda. Unfortunately Barracuda sit high up the food chain and tend to accumulate ciguatera in their flesh.

Barracuda teeth

However the toxicity varies with location. In some areas people eat barracuda with impunity, in other places they won't touch them. Without local knowledge it's impossible to know if it's safe to eat. We decided to keep the fish but delayed the decision for a day as we still had some fish cakes left from the night before.

Night watch

This morning just as I was about to wake Ina up for her watch the fishing line starting running out. We'd caught a small tuna. While I filleted the tuna, I put the line out again and quickly had another small tuna on the line. This happened three times, giving Ina an extra hour in bed, and giving us another excuse not to eat the barracuda.

Fresh fish is welcome as provisions are running perilously low. We've run out of onions, have one aubergine, a couple of wilting stringy green beans, half an Australian cabbage and three sweet corn. The sweet corn look as though they've been encased in resin and it's not clear if they're edible or meant as table decoration.

Another great benefit of the easy sailing is the chance to spend extended time in the galley. Today's feast was sashimi followed by sushi rolls and tarte au citron.

Ina's discovered it's possible to make ricotta cheese from powdered milk which holds out the promise of a mango cheese cake tomorrow. Can't wait...

Gili Air (10th September 15:30): S8°22.0' E116°04.98'

'x' marks the spot in Rincha

A friend, who had cruised extensively in Indonesia, enthused about the wildlife in southern Rincha and I vowed to visit the 'x' Mike had marked on our chart all those months ago in New Zealand. We dropped anchor at the mark and found ourselves off a coral fringed beach within a steep sided channel between a small island and the southern coast of Rincha. The wildlife lived up to our heightened expectations. First thing in the mornings monkeys arrive on the beach, foraging for unseen delicacies. Followed by some feral pigs who meander carefree along the sand. The monkeys vanish just before the Komodo dragons arrive. As the Komodos make their slow progress across the sand, smelling the air with their flicking tongues, the other wildlife disappears for the day, leaving the beach to the sunbathing dragons.

Finally in the evening, after the dragons disappear for the night, deer arrive in the woodland just beyond the beach and the monkeys reappear.

Rincha not only offers fantastic terrestrial wildlife, the coral was some of the most varied and vibrant we've seen. Part of the reason is a mixing of nutrient rich cold water with the warm tropical sea, resulting in refreshing, but rewarding snorkelling.

The only downside to the anchorage is at dusk the wind picks up, funnelling between Rincha and the small island "protecting" the anchorage. And it blows: 25-30 knots+ throughout the night. Around 2a.m. I went outside for a pee and in my befuddled sleepy state I noticed something strange about the dinghy but couldn't immediately work out what. Finally it hit me, it was the wrong way up. Fortunately we'd removed the snorkelling gear and the fuel tank the night before, but suddenly I realised the oars, seat and most importantly the outboard was still there. Disaster. I roused Ina and together we flipped the dinghy back the right way up and took off the outboard. I'd learnt the resuscitation routine when our old 2hp went for a swim. Take out the spark plugs, drain the water from the cylinders and fill with oil, turn the engine over a few times, then return to bed, trying to sleep while imagining all the places the salt water could have penetrated. In the morning, Ina headed off in the canoe, and amazingly found the two oars, wedged between rocks on the beach. Meanwhile I cleaned and dried the motor.

Outboard repairs

Our old 2hp motor was never the same after it's drowning - sounding more like a bag of rusty nails than a refined Japanese 2-stroke. I feared the worst but when I reassembled it, it started and seemed as good as ever. The dinghy seat remains somewhere in 20m under the anchorage. If only I had air in my dive tank....

Rincha (7 September 12:30): S8°47.18' E119°40.21'

Maumere to Tatawa Besar via Batu Boga

After a manic morning making the final rounds of the port officials, replenishing our water and diesel supplies and for Ina booking her flight back to France, we eventually escaped the busy town Maumere and set sail for the short hop to Batu Boga.

Ina again took on the captain's role. The downwind sailing in the strong SE wind was less of a challenge than the windward-beat into Maumere but we still had to thread our way through the off-shore reef north of Maumere, holding our nerve as the depths dropped below 3m, but thankfully emerging unscathed.

The anchorage in Batu Boga was less than 25 miles from Maumere but couldn't be more different; a perfectly protected anchorage nestling in Frisian spotted hills with a couple of huts ashore and shared with a couple of fishing boats and the first yacht we'd seen since our landfall in Nemberala.

The perfect antidote to Maumere. Perhaps we were desperate for a chance for someone else to talk to, as we didn't waste time putting the dinghy in the water but swam over as soon as the anchor was down to meet the Ulla and Peter from Sweden on their yacht Lovina for a great evening exchanging Indonesian experiences.

Ina's flight is out of Bali on 15th September which forced us to focus on how to spend the remainder of the trip. We decided to spend time in the area around Komodo and a few days in Bali. With the decision made, we set off for an overnight sail to Komodo.

Passing Lovina

Kika from Lovina

The sail to Komodo was uneventful, though enlivened by a large school of porpoises who lazed around with us for a few minutes.

The light wind encouraged us to be more creative in the galley; Ina perfected her bread-making skills with some yeast Ulla had provided. We also attempted to make the most of the oddly shaped cuts of meat we'd bought in Maumere, the highlight of the day - a pressure cooker version of coq au vin.

Light wind sewing

The light overnight winds meant that we weren't going to make our chosen anchorage off Komodo before nightfall, but with the bay dotted with islands it was easy to locate an alternative. By 4p.m. we were anchored and drift snorkelling past stunningly vibrant coral with dinghy tied around my waist.

Well populated reef

Worth a mention were the first couple of turtles we'd seen in Indonesia, and grids of long spined urchins. After painfully stepping on an urchin in the Carribean, I'd kept my distance, but studying them in this strangely regular grid formation they were stunning, dotted with varied coloured florescent spots and appearing as alien mines with lights indicating their clock was ticking...

Alien like urchins

Batu Boga (3 September 17:30): S8°27.65' E121° 56.6'
Tatawa Besar (4 September 15:00): S8°30.46' E199° 42.79'

Checking into Maumere with Aladin

For the afternoon sail from Pulau Besar to Maumere we changed roles. Ina became captain for the day and I was relegated to crew. Ina quickly developed a management style of her own. Gone was the gentle suggestive style of the former captain - "perhaps we could adjust the sails". Instead orders were issued with disconcerting authority and expected to be obeyed instantly. Still with the wind blowing from Maumere, Ina quickly adapted to windward sailing and appeared to be a natural as we tacked into the setting sun, while I while raced to keep the sails in trim.

We'd chosen Maumere to check into Indonesia as we'd heard reports of problems with corrupt customs officials at the more usual port of entry of Kupang. However we'd only heard that it was possible to complete the official paperwork in Maumere from another sailor in Darwin; noonsite makes no mention of it. Another cause for concern was our cruising permit. I'd applied for the cruising permit on arrival in Darwin. Weeks passed with promises of the permit arriving the following week, until we lost patience and set-off with the expectation that the permit would arrive prior to our check-in. We arrived in Maumere without the anticipated email attachment. Fortunately we'd taken the precaution of a little Photoshop work on a friend's permit, but felt uncomfortable using a forged permit, even if it was only a temporary measure.

Aladin was to be our contact ashore, acting as an yacht agent to help navigate through the official arrival process. As we dropped anchor I pondered our first problem, how to find Aladin in the bustling town before us. I need not have worried. He found us, paddling out to greet us in a leaky dug-out. With our provisions running low and looking forward to a change of scene, we'd promised ourselves a meal out. However Aladin insisted we should stay onboard until we checked-in but on seeing our disappointment organised a take-away of gado-gado, fried chicken and rice. Our first dug-out food delivery.

We were both up early the following morning to clean the boat, hide the remains of our local produce and make another futile email check for our cruising permit. By 8.30 Aladin arrived and sent me ashore to ferry the six officials back to the boat; two each from customs, immigration and quarantine. Despite what felt like loosing my body weight in sweat - it was hot and I wasn't looking forward to Indonesian jail - by the end of the morning we had stamps in our passports, had declared we had no monkeys on board and that no one had died on the recent passage and been "given" an impressive looking 50 page ship health book to note any deaths and quarantinable diseases. For the first time our ship's stamp was almost a requirement, adding legitimacy to the crew list, stores list, medicine list and disease list.

Finally we were free to head ashore for a celebratory meal and Bintag or two...

Maumere (1st September 17:00): S8°36.7' E122°13.1'

Pulau Besar

After another early, but thankfully uneventful start, we made our way along the north coast of Flores to Pulau Besar. The landscape is becoming more dramatic; a more mountainous interior giving way to steep cliffs plunging into the sea.

Pulau Besar is a small fishing village, with stilt houses arranged around a mosque and fish drying on nets between the huts. Heading ashore we were greeted by Amin who after initial greetings took off at a cracking pace, beckoning us to follow him. After 10mins out of the village and through a banana plantation, we started to wonder where we were heading. Questioning Amin he wrote on our notepad "Urung Detung" sounding suspiciously like "Orang-utan". To confirm our suspicions, Ina drew a picture of a monkey which just seemed to add to the confusion. After another 5 minutes, we came to "Urung Detung", a small village and the tour commenced. Today's tour consisted of a trip to the well and a stop at a seemingly random spot in the town where the villagers poised for photos. Charming, but again frustrating with our limited ability to communicate.

A highlight of the trip was the discovery of a new fruit - gambou (sp?). It looks a little like a small thin red pepper/large chilli, but has the texture of an apple, with the juice and taste somewhat similar to a peach. A welcome change from papaya and bananas.

We arrived back at the fishing village with our guide asking if we could print a photo of him. Unfortunately the printer onboard isn't functioning, but instead Ina drew Amin, gathering an intrigued crowd to watch the portrait emerge.

Intrigued crowd

6am we were woken up by the mosque's loudspeakers. Not by the usual call for prayer but instead by early morning techno blasting across the village. Could the change in melody signify the start of Ramadan or the perhaps the local teenagers had taken-over the amplification system.

It's hard to pull ourselves away from these wonderful anchorages each day, but we need to push-on as Ina has a plane to catch back to France from Bali in mid-September and there's still over 400 miles to go...

Pulau Besar (31st August 16:35): S8° 26.7' E122° 24.5'