Waingapu Photo

Flores, Labuan Bajo

We did some snorkelling off Rinca and the stag coral and variety of fish were very good. It was then a five hour motor without wind to the large town of Labuan Bajo. Anchoring in anything under 15 metres was difficult, but we snuggled up very close to a reef. The dinghy is now held together with wood and two G clamps. It is working okay at present. One set of "boat boys" is a nuisance here, even though we used them for laundry. We needed supplies and the boat boys charge 7000 to 9000 Rupiah per litre of diesel delivered. It is 4500 per litre at the pump. We
hired a bemo(small bus) and collected our water and diesel as well as some beers - Bintang. It was very satisfying, but we were barely in profit! Here we have eaten out. The local dish of Nasi Goreng - Friend Rice, with Ayam - Chicken, is about £1 per head in a local Makam Rumah. The tourist type cafes sell "normal" meals for £10. Walking along the pavements is tricky as you can see from the street scene above. All the people are very friendly except for "the fixers" who can be limpet-like unless you buy their wares. Does anybody wants some gross fake/imitation pearl necklaces?

Komodo Dragons on Rinca

Still sailing in company with Graham and Liz on Ellida, we arrived safely in Rinca and had a couple of days in the south and west of the island seeing a monitor lizard (AKA Komodo Dragon) and hordes of monkeys on nearby beaches. The wind was very strong with gusts over 30 knots. Finally we booked the 7am long tour on Rinca with a ranger and we got up close and personal with many dragons. Just occasionally we were a little too close like when Jeremy was stroking this dragon's tail and the dragon turned fairly quickly. All was well and we saw deer, wild boar, water buffalo, monkeys and VERY scarily a cobra, as well as various birds. We visited the water hole where David Attenborough filmed the Komodo Dragons.

Sumba

The last day we were back with Jimmy and we spent the morning organising washing and shopping, visiting the colourful street markets for our vegetables and fruit. After a disappointing lunch - Liz's dish was chilli hot and Kathy's fish was fried solid - we hired a bemo (small bus) and set off for the countryside. Arriving in the same village as we had visited the previous afternoon we renegotiated our contract and drove a further 10 kilometers to another King's house. We were pretty exhausted when we got back to the boats and very pleased that Jimmy collected our washing on his motorbike. Sumba is different. We were not official guests here so it was another learning curve having to negotiate all our own transport and itinerary. We enjoyed the island and Jimmy was a good guide.

Waigapu, Sumba

After a night sail we arrived in Waingapu, Sumba in a rather mucky harbour. We had two guides vying for our custom and chose to look for dinghy glue with Jimmy that afternoon. No luck on the glue, but we got our bearings in a thriving town. The next day we were supposed to meet Andreas, but he did not show so we went to the huge area where Sumba were celebrating 66 years of Independence. It was an impressive show and Andreas joined us. Later, we hired ojek bicycles to go to the King's house where the Queen gave Jeremy Betel Nuts and leaves plus ground coral to chew. It was utterly disgusting. We had a meal in a local shack - tasty and cheap (with no chilli). Then Andreas took us to a village where ikat is made. Jimmy turned up furious as we had agreed to do the village the next day with him! Andreas knew this but WE did not know Andreas had taken us to "Jimmy's" village. There was some fantasic ikat here, much more ornate than previous examples, but when I enquired how much a modest wrap around for me would be, I nearly fell off my chair - R2,500,000. Kathy's dress in Suba was R200,000. After the village we paid Andreas and found our own way home.

Gala Dinner, Sabu

Our last planned day on Sabu was very full. The open truck with the two seats met us in the morning and took us to John's village in the east. On the way we saw the site of a huge Dutch fort and drank milk from green coconuts cut from the tree in somebody's garden. Lunch was provided for us at a clinic, where John's wife worked as a nurse. Our last stop was at a swimming/washing place where Liz and I changed behind some trees. We washed our hair and had a refreshing dip in fresh water. Our guides, Julie and John, were very helpful. Back at our boats, we had just enough time to change before the gala dinner. We were joined by four members of the crew from the yacht "Canela". As the guests of honour we took our places on the stage, under spotlights. We were served a meal of soup, rice and meat which we ate sitting on lontar palm mats, watched by quite a large audience of local people. The Regent's representative entertained us with a song and then invited us to perform! We were saved from a joint rendering of "The Leaving of Liverpool" by one of the Brazilians, who sang a song. We joined in traditional dancing on the beach, then resumed our seats to be entertained by children practising for a talent competition. We danced on the stage and listened to speeches. Once again, Jeremy was called upon to give a speech of thanks. Julie translated for the audience. Unfortunately Kathy left her "underwater" camera on her bag not in it and it walked. The discovery led to a plea from the compere for it to be returned.

We left Sabu the next morning for Raijua. Nearly there we received a call from Julie. Kathy's camera had been found could we return for it. We set off back and Ellida turned too, into a 25knot headwind. Their engine failed to start and Sal Darago towed the 16 ton Saltram the ten miles back. They had turned back to help us as our dinghy was still defunct. Julie and the Culture Director returned the camera which had been taken by a boy, but turned out to be too hot to handle. There are few places in the world where we would have had our camera returned. Sabu is a gem of an island, with much that is traditional. It is a fascinating destination.

Deflated!

The next day the four of us from "Ellida" and SD were taken on a full day tour of the west part of Sabu. The two seater open truck was our mode of transport. Juli and John were our guides and translators but there were always 8 or more other people from the Department of Culture and Tourism on the open truck. The Director General of the D. of C. and T. led us on a motorbike. We saw villagers making: salt from seawater; sugar from the sap of the lontar palm; weaving ikat material; and always chewing the dreadful Betel nut, giving their mouths the appearance of recently fed vampires! We climbed to a holy village and had a superb view of the south of the island. On our return the dinghy was deflated as one seam had split. Jeremy has tried all our glues and none has worked. Ellida are kindly ferrying us to the shore and back.

Sabu Welcome

Our British friends on "Ellida", who had been delayed in Darwin with engine problems, arrived at Sabu on 10th August. A Brazilian yacht, "Canela", had also arrived and anchored near the ketch, "Gloria". We were all invited to the welcome ceremony. As in Rote, we were entertained with traditional dancing and music. At first, there were the four of us from "Sal Darago" and "Ellida", but as we were half way through a meal of pork and rice, four of the crew from "Canela" arrived. We all had to sit on palm mats under a shelter on the beach. Nex,t we were loaded into an open truck, which had only two seats, and taken on a tour to see sacred megalithic stones at a traditional village. Jeremy and I were chosen to be "King" and "Queen". We were purified by having water splashed over us and then had our bodies rubbed with rice and herbs. We had to rub noses with the female guide. Four of the crew from "Gloria" joined us at the village, so the truck back was changed to one with wooden seats down both sides.

Sabu Island

We arrived at Sabu on the morning of 9th August. We saw a large ketch anchored between two reefs about 3 miles from the main town of Seba and decided to anchor there as well. It was a lovely place. There were breaking waves on both sides of us and people were surfing but the anchorage remained calm. We had to re-anchor as the local fishermen wanted to fish in the spot we had chosen at first. It wasn't long before we had 6 fishermen on Sal Darago, drinking water and eating biscuits. Their outrigger canoes were tied to our dinghy. Jeremy tried his very best to have a conversation in Bahasa Indonesia. It was hard work but the fishermen were very patient with him.

Party Rote

Saturday night was the Gala Dinner/ Farewell Party in Ba'a. Kathy and I were the ones there, but again seven other visitors were brought by bus from Nembrela. There were important speeches given by Government (Regency) Officials and a reply given by me on behalf of the yachties. Adie kindly translated my speech. We had a superb meal and were again regally entertained. The yachties were seated front row and presented with many gifts. There was dancing, singing and music both traditional and modern. Sometimes the guests were persuaded onto the floor. It was an excellent end to an exceptional visit on a very special island. Visit Rote sometime.

Friendly Rote

Adie, an English Teacher, who was acting as our translator, invited Kathy and I to his home for lunch. First we had to stop off at the market, but Kathy's motorbike rider took her straight to Adie's house. Just for a few moments, I thought I had lost her... Kathy was pretty worried as well. We were soon reunited and we played cards with Adie's son and nephew, while his wife cooked lunch. Their card rules were slightly different which was possibly why we kept losing;-) Lunch was delicious and the hospitality awesome. Adie later had a lemonade on Sal Darago, a poor reflection of the welcome we had received.

Scenic Rote

On Thursday we were taken by bus to Nembrela, where we picked up some other tourists and more yachties who had been anchored there for the surf. We visited the surf beach nearby called Boa and a traditional village at the end of a long track (rather more difficult than the Black Sands Beach track in Mull), where the people were cultivating and drying seaweed for use in cosmetics and body lotions. Lunch was free again! at an Nembrela restaurant, before the bus ride back for Kathy and me.

Wonderful Rote

We arrived in Ba'a, Rote on Tuesday and had a quiet wander round the "town", meeting up with Dewi a Sail Indonesia Rally Organiser. The Welcome Lunch was the next day at 11. By 11 there was only Sal Darago in the harbour. The people had been expecting 15 yachts. A bus from one and half hours away, Nembrela, brought a couple from the yacht Max. Nembrela is a famous surf beach. At the lunch (for 30 sailors) the four of us were treated as if we were royalty. There was dancing, music and of course lunch.
It was an amazing experience.