We day sailed from Bima, Sumbawa, anchoring for the night at Kilo, where we were mobbed by chidren demanding "books, T-shirts, Cocoa Cola." They had to settle for sweets from us. Three yachts spent the night here: Sal Darago, Ellida and Double Time. Our next stop was just a sandy ledge in the middle of nowhere. It was very quiet - no hassle, no 4.00am call to prayer, just one or two small fishing boats. Pulau Medang was our next stop, a beautiful coral island with white sand, reefs and palm trees. The yacht, Cheetah II, was already anchored but left just before dark. We bought fish from a local boat, gave a T-shirt to another man and a magazine to another. Liz and Graham from Ellida joined us for a fresh fish supper. One more day's sail took us to a small island off Lombok called Pulau Lawang. The current was usually against us on these passages and the wind either died or reversed by 9.30am. Our Shipmate, the second GPS died. We anchored between two reefs and spent a comfortable night. Nearby were the yachts Sea Topaz and Double Time. The next day we motored all the way to Medana Bay Marina, Lombok. As you can see it was a lovely place. There were no pontoons but there was a dinghy dock, water, a shop, bar, restaurant, showers and toilets. We spent four days here and took part in the activities provided for the Sail Indonesia fleet.
These included a full day's tour of West Lombok where we saw traditional villages which still practise many crafts and I had a go at adding a few palm leaves to a piece of roofing. Lunch was provided and a visit to a western style supermarket at Mataram concluded the day. Here it rained and we dodged showers for the first time in 99 days. Sal Darago remained dry in Medana Bay. About 50 boats were represented at the Gala Dinner. One person from each country received a locally woven scarf. I was lucky to be given one of the "extras".
The next day we left for the nearby coral island of Gili Air.
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