Divine diving

Today in Labuanbajo Indonesia, Jordan and I with family Aaron and Dee all boarded the dive boat (Komodo Dive) for a day of scuba diving. Right from Sea Turtle they picked us up, and at the end of the day dropped us off. The 3 dives were at different and diverse locations. As I am not yet a licensed diver, I snorkelled while everyone else went down exploring the depths.

Komodo Dive

The divers had a great day seeing things such as the usual array of tropical fish, Hawksbill turtles, ribbon and moray eels, giant cuttlefish as large as a rugby ball, black tip and white tip reef sharks, and BIG angel fish twice the size of your average dinner plate! They were also treated to the sight of scorpion fish, including a leaf scorpion which is very rare and hard to spot.

Jordan (with facial hair!)

I too had a great day snorkelling. On my first outing, a guide from the dive boat accompanied me as the current was very strong and I was a little leery to be on my own. A deep hole in the area has such strong current that if you go too deep into it, it can suck you down making it very difficult to swim back out of. The guide and I kept closer to shore where we would not cross over the hole and we could still feel the strong current.

On my 3 snorkelling adventures, I picked out 1 small Hawksville turtle, an unusual clam with lips that weren't the common blue or brown shades but instead were such a multiple colour I would call it a paisley pattern. It was very beautiful and I had never seen such before. I also saw a giant clam, with the usual brown shades of colour, but was so large it couldn't even close when I approached it! And of course the prodigious array of tropical fish with many new ones for my eyes.

After Komodo Dive dropped the 4 of us off at Sea Turtle, we showered off the saltwater and went ashore for a nice evening out. It was still very hot but we dressed to ward off the pesky bugs and mosquitoes!

Aaron, Dee, Judy, Jordan

Snorkel day

Jordan's son and our new daughter-in-law (Aaron and Dee) arrived today! We were very surprised to see how much luggage they had come with as usually they are both very light travellers, but they were not sure what to expect in Indonesia so brought a bit of everything for attire. Reminded us of when my daughter and her fiancé (now husband) visited us in New Zealand and brought heaps of luggage - tough to find a place to put so much stuff on a small boat!

Once all settled, we untied from the mooring ball at Labuanbajo (Indonesia) and set sail to a small island called Bidadari (S08°28.998' E119°50.406') so we could all snorkel to cool off from the hot sun. We found a lovely spot with lots of good coral - both soft and hard varieties, many varieties of colourful fish including angel fish and clown fish, blue starfish, blue lipped clams that closed up when we got too close, and even a few small lobsters.

All underwater photos are courtesy of Aaron and Dee as once again we are without an underwater camera. (Our GoPro finally bit the dust after its unfortunate excursion into saltwater with an open casing.)

Feather stars swaying

Soft coral waving (in front)

Bright fish swimming

We also saw a blue spotted stingray which was a first for all of us. It moved very quickly along the bottom of the seabed.

Jellyfish are capable of movement but largely are at the mercy of currents and tides. We saw several small pink jellyfish which felt quite weird to hold. But then this very unusual lacy jellyfish appeared. Its appearance was quite stunning.

This unusual creature reminded Jordan and I of the exquisite sea dragons we saw at the Monterey Aquarium (USA) when we were there a few years ago (see November 2009 blog posting entitled At Monterey Bay for a photo of the sea dragon).

After only 2 hours of snorkelling, but feeling very happy with what we had seen, we headed back to Labuanbajo to tie up for the night.

Sabibi and Labuanbajo

We left our anchorage at the "hidden bay" on a calm sunny November 10th morning for an overnighter to the southwest side of Sabibi Island (Indonesia). We dropped the hook at S08°22.098' E120°00.814' and immediately leaped into the water. The water was at the highest temperature that we have encountered yet at 31.5°C and the day was more sultry than yesterday.

There was some coral not too far from Sea Turtle: green stag, blue stag, lots of vivid purple coral and yellow coral. Fish: the regular small bright blue fish and colourful angel fish. We took the dinghy ashore to extremely white sandy beaches where we noticed some folks bagging sand for cement but quickly had to leave as Sea Turtle was dragging and heavy rain clouds were overhead.

We left November 12th on a glassy calm day and we had to motor all the way to Labuanbajo (S08°29.685' E119°52.290').

Too calm to see horizon

On our passage, we saw mostly brown hills with little greenery, lots of floating sea grass, and baby blue water colour. The green hills seem to be in the past now at least until the rainy season.

Small villages

When we awoke at our isolated Indonesian anchorage, all of the small longboats that had anchored next to us had quietly slipped away in the pre-dawn hours for their day of fishing. We lowered the dinghy and went ashore to meet the people. It was very hot out.

We were greeted by a couple of exuberant villagers and many curious dogs. The very small village seemed to be separated by penurious family groups. At 1 grouping, we were offered plantain, dried fish, and bananas. This village was the most subsistence village we have yet seen and felt an overwhelming sense of immense poverty. They lived in basic huts with no furniture and cooked outdoors over a fire.

Very simple hut

They grew fruit and starches and caught fish, and also had a couple of pigs. Seaweed was being farmed in their little bay. We brought them some needed rope, batteries, and a few other items requested. A man who offered us coconuts with juice in them had a hard time seeing so we brought several reading glasses for the villagers to choose from.

These villagers had a hard time communicating through hand gestures and we got the definite feeling that they were not appreciative of anything that we brought them. No smiles, no head nods, just blank stares. Hopefully, we were reading them wrong. The kids were continually asking for stuff even after we gave them things. Most people were attired in T-shirts and shorts, some of which had probably been donated by other sailors.

There were 2 women expertly weaving baskets and this very skinny woman with very bad teeth allowed us to take her photo. Her face was dotted with small bumps and she had probably never seen a doctor or dentist.

Basket building

Another woman was weaving attractive multi-coloured cloth and she tried on several pairs of reading glasses before choosing the best pair for her eyes. A young girl was very insistent that she wanted glasses but we said no as we were worried it was more of a fashion statement than a need in her case.

Hard at work

After visiting, we scooted up around the point in the dinghy and we were shocked when we saw the water rise from a blast in the ocean. A fisherman with a few kids was using explosives to kill fish. After the blast, they would swim from their outrigger and collect the stunned and dead fish as they floated to the top and also dive down to collect others.

This fishing practice is illegal. It destroys the coral. They don't seem to consider that if they destroy the fish habitats they won't have fish in the future. They think in terms of food today, and don't worry about the future.

Youngsters swimming for dead fish

We knew there was another village named Dondo about 2 km down the coast so we took our dinghy. When first stepping ashore, I noticed the dark sand had gold-coloured flecks in it. We've noticed silver flecks in other sand but never golden ones. We walked over the sand and through a shallow river till we reached the village.

A few were about to dismantle this old fishing boat that had seen better days. These very common boats have side extensions that nets hang from, with lights that attract the fish.

Seen better days

These villagers from Dondo were friendly and more communicative. After a short visit, we walked back to our dinghy with a few villagers trailing behind. They were all lined up to see us off (westerners with inflatable dinghies seem to attract a lot of attention in Indonesia). But after several metres from shore, our outboard quit (fuel line vapour lock) and would not start!

We sheepishly rowed back to shore and pulled it up on land. The villagers offered us a tow back to Sea Turtle if we could supply them with a bit of fuel for their motor. We really appreciated this kindness but the pleasure was all theirs. Jordan and I got in their longboat with 3 men and watched as 2 others quickly hopped into our dinghy!

Will it sink?

The boat motor has a crank to start the 1-cylinder Chinese diesel motor with a big flywheel which is primitively connected to a plastic jug with fuel. We always hear the "bap bap bap" percussion of these mufferless boats but never realized how ear-splitting LOUD they are when you are actually in 1 of them. When cranking starts, the motor spits out black smelly smoke. Someone is always bailing water from the slow leaks.

Upon arriving back to Sea Turtle, we invited the eager men aboard to have a look. They were quite amazed with everything, especially all the electronic equipment such as the depth sounder, auto-pilot, compass, watermaker, etc.

After cold drinks and snacks, they left to tell their wives and other villagers all about their excursion. Jordan tried the outboard again, and it started!! He thinks it got overheated from the roasting heat of the sun. Next project - an engine cover to reduce the sun exposure.

Homeward bound

We went in search of a spot to snorkel to cool off and found the coral to be very disappointing, probably because of all the blasting in the area. However we saw colourful starfish including a big fat orange one, several fish that we usually see, and lots of little fish. We always see a new fish or something that we have never noticed on previous underwater occasions, this time a bright green fish with purple fins. We also swam through a HOT spot which was very uncomfortable. We suspected a natural hot water venting.

Pit stop - Wuring

Racing west along at the lightning speed of 5 knots along the top of Flores Island (Indonesia), we needed to make a fuel pit stop. It would be the big town of Maumere. According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, Maumere is a sprawling, sweaty port town with graffiti-scrawled buildings, crumbling streets, and a profound litter problem.

We first tied up briefly to a concrete wall in front of the town where other local boats were but quickly discovered it was too shallow for Sea Turtle at only 1 metre. Many of the townsfolk were standing around watching as we discovered the shallowness. A local man offered to direct us to a better anchorage/fuel stop at Wuring Harbour just down the way. Yohan, softly spoken and slight of frame with a large mustache, was a man-about-the-harbour and offered to come aboard and direct us safely into Wuring and arrange for fuel.

Best buddies

Incidentally, in Indonesia, getting fuel is difficult for sailors. One needs a permit to buy fuel in jerry jugs. We were told that this law came about after the Bali bombing terrorists used fuel from a gas station that they got with jerry cans. Although, we later learned that fuel prices were subsidized by the government for the benefit of their people, not to be taken advantage of by foreign vessels. Sometimes this law was overlooked for us, but other times, we were refused and had to find someone local who was permitted to buy, of course at an inflated price for their efforts. So far, we've happily paid the equivalent of $0.60 Cdn and at times up to $0.90 per litre.

As we approached, we noticed the houses were all on stilts. When the high tide comes in it goes under several rows of houses. This is not so pleasant looking at low tide when the ground turns to mud, strewn with garbage and boats on the ground.

Stilted state

Wuring Harbour (S08°36.140' E122°12.201') is a very busy place with bustling activity on the docks. Yohan spoke with the police and said "No problem. You can get diesel and the police do not want to see paperwork." Life is so much easier in small places with no hassle of checking in, documents to fill out, paperwork, and more paperwork. Jordan got our jerry jugs and Yohan's friend had them filled along with a couple others and within a couple hours delivered them alongside in his dugout.

As we waited, we wandered around the docks. Crews in cargo boats would regrettably just toss their plastic glasses, bottles, and other garbage directly into the ocean.

Hectic harbour

Upon completion, we sailed (and motored a bit) to a hidden bay where we anchored at 17:15 (S08°27.621' E121°56.672'). It looked very pretty with a sandy beach, coconut trees, a few huts, and a couple of local longboats. Our meter said the water temperature was 31.3°C!! That's just like bathwater.

It was late so we didn't leave Sea Turtle. Several small fishing boats joined our anchorage with flashing lights so no one would run into them. There were flashing lights on shore too and a few fires burning. We slept with the fan running most of the night as the stateroom was thick with heat.

Quick escapes

Life starts early on the waterfront so not much past 05:00 we did too. Today was errand day in Larantuka (Indonesia): find an ATM, stock up on some produce, check email, locate fuel, etc. (checking email was unavailable). Right away we met a young man who spoke good English and offered to show us where things were.

We passed this building under construction and enveloped by bamboo struts, stairways, scaffolding...definitely no Workers' Compensation Board in existence here!

Indonesian safety standards

Have you ever seen the pod of a banana tree? Or the flowers of a papaya tree? Apparently both are edible.

Banana pods, papaya flowers, and red hot chilies

This quiet, smiling Muslim woman was wearing a shirt, a sweater, long sweatpants, and a black traditional head-covering - it's the wet season here and locals consider it to be cold but we think it's very hot! We have noticed scores of locals wearing sweaters or jackets even in the heat of the day.

Fish...fish for sale...

After our guide rushed us all around town, we had to quickly depart Larantuka while the rip tide was in our favour, otherwise we never would have been able to make it back through the channel.

After several nautical miles out of the channel, we anchored at S08°07.195' E122°46.837' for a quick snorkel to cool off. The water was 30.4°C but anything wet is still cooling!! We swam ashore to the sandy beach but found few shells.

We have noticed several fish attracters or fish protectors in the ocean. These are rafts anchored which give small fish protection. The large fish know about these protectors and they come for their meals. And the fishermen then catch the large fish...the food chain.

Quite far from shore

They usually have an upright pole and perhaps a flag. These are a danger for us, especially at nighttime, as they are not lit and hard to see.

As we continued to motor, we ended the evening with a stunning lunar sunset - a visible moon as the sun was going down.

Moon visible at upper centre

Larantuka

We had several canoes visit us at the sandspit location of Indonesia the next morning wanting to trade or sell fish and mangoes, which we did, and another that promised to return with papayas and bananas to trade for 1 of Jordan's old fishing rods. Unfortunately, he never returned and a trade never transpired.

We dinghied to the sandspit so we could burn our bag of garbage along with garbage that was already on shore. While we tended the fire, a longboat full of excited passengers showed up. Some introduced themselves as doctors and nurses who had recently graduated and just finished their 1-year internship in this remote area. So this day was a treat before they would return to the big city. Some were collecting sea cucumbers to roast - yuck!

They helped a bit to pick up garbage lying around and took many, many pictures. Pictures of them, group shots with us. Group shots of them on our dinghy which fascinated them. They told us that a doctor could look forward to making about 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 Rupia per month (equivalent to $200 to $300 Cdn per month). Compare that to being about what our doctors can easily earn in an hour or 2 - shocking. Several indicated that they wished to practice in the United States or Canada or Australia but first they had to earn the expensive plane fare. Bus drivers in Jakarta earn twice the amount of doctors.

Jordan in the middle row

As we were about to return to Sea Turtle, 1 of the doctors ran out to their boat and came back with several rice rolls for us!

Our next destination was Larantuka - the capital of East Flores Island (Indonesia) - and as we approached through the narrow channel, our GPS showed over 12 knots over ground in the riptide current. The channel was wide by the town but the current was still very strong so Jordan was concerned with anchoring amidst the other moored boats. We ended up tied alongside a large boat at the dock (S08°20.501' E122°59.482') as the dock was too high and unsuitable for Sea Turtle.

Tiny Sea Turtle next to large boat

All the guys on the boats of this busy port were very friendly and welcomed us to climb up to their decks and cross over to the wharf whenever we wanted to get ashore. Another crewman from a fishing boat on the other side of the pier invited us for dinner. Only 1 man spoke okay English but we all struggled through and made conversation somehow. But most were playing with their cell phones or tablets. Everywhere we go, no matter how rich or poor, most everyone has cell phones! And we've noticed that most Indonesian men smoke, as did these boaters.

The English speaking man next invited us to go with him to a youths' boxing event in town which we accepted. There were many motorcycles in town and almost every rider present at the matches watched with their helmets on even though it was very hot out! (We've noticed most riders seldom remove their helmets when doing errands such as shopping, etc.)

Shell extravaganza

We left the group of Banda islands of Indonesia on November 1st and for the next 4 nights both motored and sailed. We had a bit of rain with thunder and lightning and a waning moon, only a sliver showing.

We saw an interesting sky scene while the sun was setting. Through the distant clouds, a vivid blue streak radiated across the sky not unlike a rainbow would. We had never seen this before and watched it until the sun set and it was gone.

A path in the sky leading us to tomorrow and beyond...

Jordan at the bowsprit

On November 5th, we made landfall. We found a suitable anchorage (S08°14.587' E123°19.568') just off the northeast side of Adunara Island and Kroko atoll. In spite of currents, we set the hook securely in sandy bottom with lots of sea grass and spotty coral around. It was a very delightful spot, right in front of a lonely sandspit and a couple of small islands.

Sea Turtle

A stroll on the sandspit yielded only a few small white sand dollars and the ubiquitous plastic garbage flotsam. We drift snorkelled a bit but there was not much to see so we decided to check out another nearby island and were quite thrilled when we found several very large pristine Cowrie shells and also a large gorgeous Conch shell!

Early morning sunrise

Rhun

From the tiny island of Nailaka (Indonesia), we dinghied over to the larger westernmost island of Rhun where we had snorkelled yesterday and this time went ashore to a beach to see what we could find. We found a few shells but also saved some old washed up remnants of Chinese pottery from the Dutch colonial period.

As a digression, I offer an interesting bit of history. Rhun is sometimes called Manhattan Island in jest. You see, in 1667, the Dutch possessed almost all the Banda islands except for Rhun which it wanted to complete its control of the spice trade. So a trade was made: Rhun, owned by the British, for the sparsely populated island of Manhattan, owned by the Dutch. That's right, now the New York island (USA). What a difference time can make!

View from the village

The village has about 1,000 persons and was mostly very tidy with not too much of the ubiquitous Indonesian litter lying around. Some houses were constructed with tile overlay which was quite attractive and many had detailed, colourful window and/or doors.

Neat and colourful tiled house

Built along a steep slope of steps and concrete paths along vine-draped limestone cliffs, the village has an upper and lower level, and we were soon joined in our village exploration by a young local man named Burhan. Burhan told us that there was a wedding feast being prepared for tomorrow and he walked us to where the preparations were in progress. Many women were slaving in the hot temperatures - boiling food in large pots over fires, squeezing coconut cream from fresh coconut, preparing fish cakes in small ovens in hot shacks, etc.

Meal prep for wedding

Burhan invited us to the wedding and party which was later in the evening (feast tomorrow/wedding today) but we politely declined as we were anxious to get some miles under us. The entire village attends a wedding and most prepare and provide for the feast.

Burhan next took us to his guest house where he served us fresh coconut juice from coconuts picked from his trees in the backyard. He also picked a fruit from his tree that we had never tried before called kedondong, a small green fruit that you eat entirely. Crunchy with pucker power! We had also purchased from a neighbour a fruit called delima, a larger yellow fruit (which was similar to a pomegranate). Neither will be on our shopping list soon.

Not to our taste

Burhan also sold us a papaya and 3 coconuts for 10,000 Rupia (about $1 Cdn). We love the prices in Indonesia!

We drift snorkelled past Rhun once again (as it had been so good yesterday) before lifting anchor at 15:00 under hot sunny skies and calm seas for our passage south towards Flores.

Our unscheduled visit to the Banda islands was another example of finding an unexpected surprise and those are the experiences we remember the best. For us, that's what sailing is all about!

3 islands

It was time to move on. But on our departure from this archipelago, we wanted to hit Rhun Island about 10 nautical miles out. (Rhun is also shown on charts and signs as Run but is pronounced roon as in goon.) Our new friends, Joel and Anna, decided to sail with us the short distance to Rhun and take a local boat back to Banda Naira (Indonesia) as we would be continuing to other locations.

Friends excited to be aboard

A couple of hours later, we dropped anchor at a small island called Ai (S04°31.690' E129°45.870') where we drift snorkelled in the fast moving current.

We next motored to the nearby island of Rhun (S04°32.052' E129°41.739') where we again snorkelled. It was excellent snorkelling and we saw 2 turtles, giant Napoleon fish, 3 Spotted Eagle Rays, and fish galore. It was an encyclopedia of coral varieties.

After a great day, Joel and Anna headed back to Banda with a pre-arranged boat that came to pick them up before it got too dark out.

Taxi anyone??

Jordan and I re-anchored Sea Turtle to a more secure spot at Nailaka (S04°32.262' E129°41.490'). We dinghied ashore and walked around the very small island, and of course collected more Cowrie shells before the golden sun set over the Banda Sea. Another great day.

Sea Turtle anchored off Nailaka at left

Hatta

Another highlight of the Banda islands of Indonesia is the world class diving. We were told not to miss the small island of Hatta a couple hours to the east. So we threw off the dock lines and spent a day over there. When we approached, guess who! It was Joel and Anna, our friends watching us from the beach as we tried to anchor. They had hired a local boat to take them there for the day.

Jordan, Judy, Anna, Joel

Anchoring was next to impossible as the reef is shallow right up to the "wall", then it drops off to oblivion. Either too shallow or too deep, not to mention scarring this pristine underwater coral. treasure. We were directed further along till finally we found a marginally tenable spot after 2 tries. Jordan dove to ensure a secure anchor and adequate clearance under the keel.

We met up with Joel and Anna for what was the best snorkelling we have had in all our travels to date! Visibility was an incredible 30 m (100 feet). There was the most amazing and prodigious array of both soft and hard coral that blanketed the bottom and the abundance of fish and variety was unmatched. The scene was the best as we drifted along the reef's edge. It was a dramatic feeling of floating or flying out over the edge while we looked down along the wall into the disappearing ominous deep. As our luck with underwater cameras would have it, ours was kaput. But no worries, the scene is saved to mental memory forever!

Our snorkelling ended up back at Sea Turtle to excitedly reflect on what we just experienced over cold, refreshing drinks with Joel and Anna.

For the return to Banda Naira, we found an elusive breeze that took us most of the way.

Small passenger boat in the distance

Songs to sing

We were a rare novelty to the Banda (Indonesia) residents and word gets around. This time we were both invited to a school to talk to students learning English. They not only wanted to know about us and our travels but being proud of their limited learned English, they wanted to practice on us. We were greeted by the faculty as we arrived with our plastic blow-up globe marked with our route travelled so far and a picture book of Vancouver Island.

We talked to 3 or 4 classrooms of about 20 students each. There are 100+ students that attend this school of junior high age. A video was being shot to show parents.

The students had many questions after each of our presentations and their English was praiseworthy although a bit rehearsed. They sang songs to us and 1 class asked us to sing a song for them. So after a blank stare, Jordan wrote on the blackboard the words to "Row Row Row Your Boat" and as soon as we started to sing, they picked up with a commendable chorus. To their delight, Jordan acted out the words so that they would understand the foreign English words. Once was not enough though. We can just see it now, when the next yachtie get invited, guess what song they now have to present?!

Ch-e-e-e-e s e

There were very few Muslims in the classroom. In the above, only 2 girls were wearing the head coverings and only 1 boy wore the cap. Many are either Christian or Catholic.

We were taken to a teacher room where we were served hot tea loaded with sugar and cake topped with sweetened coconut gratings. After a tour of the library, we were on our way back to Sea Turtle with 2 of the teachers giving us a ride of the back of their motorcycles, the mode of transportation in these parts.

As a side note, we have at times had difficulty getting cash from ATMs. Only certain machines coordinate with our Canadian bank systems. So in Banda, we had to solicit a Chinese merchant to exchange some US cash which we keep for this purpose. So far, the best internet was a small shop in Tual, but other than that, it has been poor to non-existent. This is all to be expected though as we so far have really been off the beaten path. So keeping up to date with the blog has been limited!

Banda bustle

The day the passenger/cargo ship comes to Banda's inner harbour is always a busy event. The alley in front of the terminal is packed with comers and goers and venders of every type set up in their makeshift booths and small boats cramming the docks to facilitate the expediting of cargo and passengers. This day was no exception as a colossal passenger/cargo ship arrived early in the morning passing real close in front of Sea Turtle, and shoehorning itself in at the pier.

Tiny dock compared to huge approaching ship...

Loads of longboats waiting for cargo and/or passengers...

Crowds of locals with their prized goods...

And then as quickly as it had all started, it suddenly seemed to be over. The people had all disappeared, the stalls were empty, and this gentleman appears to be finished for the day with his empty cart...

We too decided to high-tail it and dinghied over to Banda Besar (Big Banda) to a pearl farm. This large farm was set up different from the ones we had visited in French Polynesia. There were thousands of submerged oysters in the process of hopefully making saleable pearls.

Racks of oysters beneath our feet...

These Indo pearls are almost always white or a beautiful yellow, almost never black. They are essentially all sold for export through Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) and only a few locally. Up in the yard was a crew of chattering workers sorting emptied shells and they waved us over to see. As a by-product, the shells are sold to China and we watched as they did their rapid sorting.

Rickety dock leaving pearl farm facility...

It was still early so we went over by the volcano island of Gunungapi across from Sea Turtle to snorkel. We splashed in the water just down from the black lava flow and found it to be pretty good. There was a large amount of different varieties of coral and many bright coloured fish.

On the way back, we passed a little island with volcanic formation similar to Ireland's Giant's Causeway. So curious with such square rock formations...

So far, we have been unable to purchase wine in Indonesia. Beer, not so cheap, is always available, but wine, non-existent in most places is very expensive. A potent black market liquor called Arak and made from palm is sometimes available.

Our inquiry turned up a dealer but we weren't sure if we wanted to buy it or not, so we said we would think about it. When we later returned to Sea Turtle, the seller was hanging around, but totally inebriated! He tried to talk us into drinking with him, but we politely declined. We decided black market products were not the best idea to partake of, not knowing exactly what it was made of but we supposed if he drank it and lived, it would have been alright. Although at 02:00, Jordan saw him laid out in a cadaverous pose. In the morning, he was gone.

Sunday's events

When we wake in the morning, we never know what to expect. Early this morning, we were surprised to see 2 fancy longboats with a horde of paddlers coming close by us where Sea Turtle was moored in Banda Naira of Indonesia. We soon determined that they were participants in a race that soon ensued.

Ready to go

Once the excitement was ended, we moseyed over to the market/fish market where we learned that a large hammerhead shark had been landed yesterday and sections were now for sale in the fish market. We have tasted shark meat in the past and found it to be quite good but we bypassed on this, and also on the tuna eye!

You lookin' at me?

Today was to be a new experience for Jordan as he had agreed to teach the students of Maga's art class the concept of 3-dimensional art. (Maga had been our tour guide when we first arrived in Banda Naira.) We brought along a bunch of paper which was quickly grabbed up and there were plenty of coloured pencils in supply. The students seemed to enjoy Teacher Jordan and his new concept that he aptly explained and displayed. The concept of 3-D was also new to Maga and Jordan had everyone's attention. Many of the students caught on and produced excellent results despite no desks.

Art class

Class ended after a couple of hours when Maga asked if we wished to take a walk with him as he showed us around some more. We walked a long way out of town, up towards the airstrip, where his family has land with coconut trees; a worker shimmied up and tossed down several, some of which we drank, and some of which we took back to Sea Turtle for later consumption.

The airstrip, when no planes were around, was used for various Sunday activities such as football (soccer) or as a raceway by local motorcyclists. We watched in the heat of the day as several competed, with the winner cashing in on the pot of Rupiahs (each racer placed the equivalent to $0.25 Cdn in the pot).

We once again met Joel and his friend Anna for dinner at the Mutiara Guest House where the buffet food was delicious. We are really enjoying Indonesian food and finding most of it to be not too spicy. The prices are also super inexpensive!

(Abba, Mutiara's owner, presented both Anna and me with 1 of his nutmeg shaped broaches made of pearl shell. What a beautiful and appreciated memento!)