We had our tour of St Helena as planned. The visit to Napoleons residence was fairly disappointing as nothing had any labels so you had no idea what anything was! The local distillery was interesting and we purchase a very nice coffee liqueur. If only we had purchased more than one bottle!
The tour included showing us the new airport which has cost a fortune but cannot be used as due to the wind sheer, big planes cannot land! We had an interesting guide who apparently is 84. Next day we went swimming with Whale sharks. There was quite a big swell which made getting on and off the boat interesting but it was amazing to see such a huge creature so close. A few days later one actually surfaced at thee back of the boat. It disappeared by the time I could tell Mike about it!
After stocking up with food (not that much was available) we set sail on 21 March for our longest sail ever. It took us 28 days to sail the 3988 miles to Ile De Sainte in the Caribbean. Fortunately it was a fairly easy sail. We only had one squall where we were hit by 40+ knots of wind while we had full mainsail and goose winged genoa. Things got quite exciting until we could get the genoa put away. Otherwise we had light winds and even flew the spinnaker for 3 days without taking it down at night. It was frustrating crossing the ITCZ as it kept following us north. Then instead of the NE trade winds that we were expecting we had East winds which meant we were on a run for the final leg of our passage to the Caribbean. This is a slow point of sail for us so it made the passage longer.
We read lots of books, caught no fish and had lots of sargassum weed. It did seem like a very long passage and it has taken us quite a while to recover from it.
We had a few days rest in the Saintes. We were shocked at the quantity of boats and the prices of everything.
Mike celebrated his birthday while we were in the Saintes. We tried to go out for a meal at the resort where we were anchored on the day but it was closed. Instead we met up with friends Ken and Iloo from Antares a few days later and celebrated. We had a nice lunch in town and then did a pub crawl on the 2km walk back to the boat!
The following day we left for our sail to St Maarten. We had stops overnight at Guadeloupe, Antigua and St Barts and arrived at St Maarten at lunch time on 26 April. This is the end of our circumnavigation. We purchased the boat in St Maarten in March 2008, started sailing in November 2008 and arrived back April 2017. In our 8 ½ years we have sailed 47,200 miles, sailed to 56 countries and visited another 11 by air.
No we need to give the boat a bit of TLC. She has sailed 11,900 miles in the last year and crossed 2 oceans. St Maarten is good for getting parts and getting repairs done.
We are in St Maarten for a few weeks and then we will head to Curacao and Bonaire for the hurricane season. Start of the next sailing season we will be selling the boat and have already started looking for our next one!
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Walvis Bay to St Helena plus South Africa and Nambia Reprise
We arrived St Helena on Sunday 12 March after an 8 day passage. We left Walvis Bay where the water was 18C dressed in fleeces, thermals, hats and boots. As we sailed west the sea and air temperature gradually warmed up and is now a balmy 26C. As the days went by we could shed the layers. We were not quite down to our tropical attire as the nights at sea were still a little chilly. It was a fast passage for us with 2 light wind days. We did not have to motor at all which was a bonus. The down side was that it was very cloudy with rain squalls and fairly roly.
We were expecting to see lots of wildlife and to catch fish. We had 1 night where there was quite a lot of phosphorescence and we saw a few dolphins briefly! We caught no fish much to our disappointment.
St Helena is a strange island, as one person said it looks like someone has dropped a meteorite in the middle of the ocean. The island is steep sheer rock cliffs all around. We are moored off James Town which is the main town. Getting ashore is a challenge, we take a water taxi which goes along side a wharf. There is no protection from the swell so we have to grab a rope on the shore and jump ashore on the top of the swell. Usually a few people get off to receive the bags and to help the remainder get ashore. It is worse at low tide which is in the morning at the moment, getting back in the afternoon at high tide is not quite as bad.
The town runs along a valley between the cliffs. There are a few shops and restaurants. The jail is next to the police station at the bottom of town. There are no ATM's to get cash you have to go into the bank. Very few places take credit card and if they do they charge 5% though the bank also charge 5% to get cash! A supply ship arrives every 2 weeks and after it unloads there is a mad shopping frenzy to get fresh fruit and veg. Some things are grown on the island but they have a drought so there have been no potatoes on the island for 6 months. Eggs seem hard to find as apparently the chickens are moulting and not laying! Internet is available at the hotels and restaurants and costs £3.30 for half an hour. In this time, with the slow speed, you can just about check a few emails!
Thursday we had a tour of the island including Napoleons home and a distillery which brews local rum from Prickly pear cactus. Friday we swam with the Whale sharks. It seems that most of them have already left but we were lucky enough to find two. Amazing animals and huge!! Lots of remora and shark suckers all over and especially on the tail. Unfortunately, it was very rough and 15 minutes in the water snorkelling was all we could cope with.
Namibia
We finally left Simons Town on 30 January. We motored the 15 miles down to the Cape of Good Hope and rounded it fairly closely. We had to motor as there was little wind but the swells were quite big. At times the front half of the boat was clean out of the water. We were sailing with friends Jack and Sandy on Zorana and although we were fairly close their whole hull would disappear behind waves.
After rounding the cape we had an uneventful day motoring to a small island north of Cape Town called Dassen Island. We anchored overnight mainly because we could not stand the thought of being up all night in the cold!
We left the following day and had a 3 ½ day sail to Luderitz. It was fairly miserable weather and very cold so we were huddled up in thermals, fleeces etc.. Arriving in Luderitz there were lots of seals basking in the water. It is a fairly small harbour which exists mainly for the diamond mining industry. It is a small town thousands of miles from anywhere in the middle of the desert and we are not sure why anyone would choose to live there. It is very windy caused by the cold sea air hitting the hot and so most afternoons it blew about 30-40 miles an hour.
A group of us did a tour to the old diamond mining town in land which is now deserted and being consumed by the desert.
We left the boats in Luderitz and did a trip with Sandy and Jack to Fish River Canyon. It was a 500km trip which was slow as most of it was on gravel roads. We had a stop at a distillery which was based underneath a dam creating a green oasis in the middle of the desert. The government grows fruit there and the distillery uses the fruit which is not high enough quality to export. We also stopped to see wild horses and Oryx on the way and arrived at the canyon late afternoon.
After being so cold on the boat it was a shock to suddenly be in temperatures of +30C. We stayed near the canyon and then drove via another route back the following day. On the way we got a puncture so had to change the tyre and then buy a new one when we reached a town. The scenery was very varied and interesting even though most of it was desert.
We did a few boat chores before leaving for Walvis Bay on 14 February. We left on a fairly windy day so the seas were quite boisterous which was fine until a wave was dumped straight into our cockpit and on me (Karen)! It wasn't too bad other than I got wet! After that the seas calmed down and we arrived in Walvis Bay after a day and a half.
Walvis Bay is much bigger than Luderitz. There is a big cape which is covered with thousands of seals and lots of big ships were anchored inside the bay. The yacht anchorage was right down the south end of the bay which took about an hour to reach from the cape. Then from the anchorage we had a dinghy ride of about 1/5 mile to get ashore at the yacht club.
While in Walvis we met up with a local guy called Matt who was extremely helpful to us giving us lifts into town and helping us find parts. We did a few trips with him, The first was a ride into the dunes towards Sandwich harbour. We were literally driving over dunes near the water just following tracks from a previous vehicle. Fortunately Matt was a very good driver. On the way back he drove up a dune to show us the salt pans and then drove us off this incredibly steep edge. It was like a roller coaster ride with the track giving way underneath you. Then he took us back up and did the same backwards!
The lagoon south of the anchorage was full of thousands of flamingoes which we stopped to see on the way back from the dunes but by the time we came to leave Walvis Bay they had all gone.
We did another tour with Matt the following day to see the Welwitschia plants and the surrounding area.
We joined with Jack and Sandy again to drive to Etosha for a few days. We hired a 4 wheel drive vehicle as it is the rainy season and we were warned that if it rains the roads may be flooded by the rivers flowing. On the way we stopped to see some ancient rock carvings and spent the night at a town called Outjo. The following day we drove the remaining distance to Etosha and spent 4 days game viewing.
Although it is not the best time of year too visit we saw lots of animals and birds. The highlight was watching a pride of lions stalking a group of Impala. Unfortunately, we only saw 1 black rhino in the distance and we only saw 1 elephant. Elephants migrate from the park in the wet season so are difficult to see. We had given up hope of seeing one and were thinking of returning to the camp when a very large male walked out of the bush straight in front of us.
Once we returned to Walvis Bay we prepared to leave for St Helena and finally departed on 4 March.
South Africa
Most of S Africa closed down for Christmas so work stopped on the boat. A few days before Christmas there was a cruisers get together at a local vineyard. We were all driven to one vineyard for a tasting and then to another for a lovely lunch and more wine! It was also a good opportunity to meet up with friends we had not seen for a while.
We had a day visiting the botanical gardens which are on the other side of Table mountain from Cape Town and on the way back to Simons Town, we drove Chapmans Peak which is a very dramatic drive around the mountains along the coast. Another day we drove to Stellenbosch to do some wine tasting and to start to buy some wines ready for our departure.Our other local outing was a drive down the Cape to visit Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. It was a lovely scenic drive and then we walked up to the light house and looked where we would be sailing when we left.
Christmas eve we went into Cape Town and met up with friends who were in the marina there for a Christmas lunch. Before lunch we all went to an engagement party for Tom and Suzie on 'Adina' on the dock at the V&A marina. An unusual place to have an engagement party!
Christmas day we had our usual breakfast of champagne, smoked salmon and scramble eggs before joining other cruisers for lunch. We all brought a dish and then we BBQ'd our own meat. S Africans do not call it a BBQ though, it is a Braai!
Boxing day we left the boat for a few days holiday. The first day we drove to Swellendam with a stop at Cape Aghulas. It's the most southern point of SA but it is not very dramatic, Cape Point is much prettier. We did an outing from there to the De Hoop nature reserve. It was a long drive on gravel roads and the car was covered in red sand when we got back. The park does not have any of the big 5 but was pleasant with some rare antelope.
The following day we had a long drive to Knysna. We were told it was a very pretty town and as we had not stopped there in the boat decided to go and see it. We were fairly disappointed. The drive along the garden route was no where near as pretty as the area around Cape Town. The traffic through the town was horrible and the town was an overdeveloped seaside resort which had been completed spoilt by all the building. We reached our accommodation, parked the car and decided to walk everywhere until we left. Knysna Heads, the harbour exit, are very dramatic and worthy of a visit. The remainder of the town was just capitalising on ripping off tourists.
Our drive back was inland and was more dramatic with scenic mountain passes. We stopped at Robertson which is a wine growing area but much less commercialised than Stellenbosch. The wines were just as nice but much more reasonably priced. Then we drove through Franchoek for a nice lunch at the Noble Hill vineyard and then onto Cape Town for New year.
New Years eve we stayed on Anthony and Davina's boat, Divanty, in the V&A marina. All the boats in the marina got together for a party on the pontoons and then we all watched the fireworks at midnight. The party continued until about 4am and as it moved onto Divanty we had no chance of going to sleep until it ended!
After New Year it was back to work. We had the boat lifted so that we could change valves on the rear toilet. Sounds a small job but it took 3 days to undo the old bronze fittings, run hoses and work out how to fit the new valve!
Once we were back in the water we had to get the remaining work done on the main engine and get the generator repaired and re-installed. It seemed to take us weeks to get the work completed ready to leave. Many of the things we were hoping to get done have been left until we get to the Caribbean.
By the end of all the frustrations we were glad to leave.
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We were expecting to see lots of wildlife and to catch fish. We had 1 night where there was quite a lot of phosphorescence and we saw a few dolphins briefly! We caught no fish much to our disappointment.
St Helena is a strange island, as one person said it looks like someone has dropped a meteorite in the middle of the ocean. The island is steep sheer rock cliffs all around. We are moored off James Town which is the main town. Getting ashore is a challenge, we take a water taxi which goes along side a wharf. There is no protection from the swell so we have to grab a rope on the shore and jump ashore on the top of the swell. Usually a few people get off to receive the bags and to help the remainder get ashore. It is worse at low tide which is in the morning at the moment, getting back in the afternoon at high tide is not quite as bad.
The town runs along a valley between the cliffs. There are a few shops and restaurants. The jail is next to the police station at the bottom of town. There are no ATM's to get cash you have to go into the bank. Very few places take credit card and if they do they charge 5% though the bank also charge 5% to get cash! A supply ship arrives every 2 weeks and after it unloads there is a mad shopping frenzy to get fresh fruit and veg. Some things are grown on the island but they have a drought so there have been no potatoes on the island for 6 months. Eggs seem hard to find as apparently the chickens are moulting and not laying! Internet is available at the hotels and restaurants and costs £3.30 for half an hour. In this time, with the slow speed, you can just about check a few emails!
Thursday we had a tour of the island including Napoleons home and a distillery which brews local rum from Prickly pear cactus. Friday we swam with the Whale sharks. It seems that most of them have already left but we were lucky enough to find two. Amazing animals and huge!! Lots of remora and shark suckers all over and especially on the tail. Unfortunately, it was very rough and 15 minutes in the water snorkelling was all we could cope with.
Namibia
We finally left Simons Town on 30 January. We motored the 15 miles down to the Cape of Good Hope and rounded it fairly closely. We had to motor as there was little wind but the swells were quite big. At times the front half of the boat was clean out of the water. We were sailing with friends Jack and Sandy on Zorana and although we were fairly close their whole hull would disappear behind waves.
After rounding the cape we had an uneventful day motoring to a small island north of Cape Town called Dassen Island. We anchored overnight mainly because we could not stand the thought of being up all night in the cold!
We left the following day and had a 3 ½ day sail to Luderitz. It was fairly miserable weather and very cold so we were huddled up in thermals, fleeces etc.. Arriving in Luderitz there were lots of seals basking in the water. It is a fairly small harbour which exists mainly for the diamond mining industry. It is a small town thousands of miles from anywhere in the middle of the desert and we are not sure why anyone would choose to live there. It is very windy caused by the cold sea air hitting the hot and so most afternoons it blew about 30-40 miles an hour.
A group of us did a tour to the old diamond mining town in land which is now deserted and being consumed by the desert.
We left the boats in Luderitz and did a trip with Sandy and Jack to Fish River Canyon. It was a 500km trip which was slow as most of it was on gravel roads. We had a stop at a distillery which was based underneath a dam creating a green oasis in the middle of the desert. The government grows fruit there and the distillery uses the fruit which is not high enough quality to export. We also stopped to see wild horses and Oryx on the way and arrived at the canyon late afternoon.
After being so cold on the boat it was a shock to suddenly be in temperatures of +30C. We stayed near the canyon and then drove via another route back the following day. On the way we got a puncture so had to change the tyre and then buy a new one when we reached a town. The scenery was very varied and interesting even though most of it was desert.
We did a few boat chores before leaving for Walvis Bay on 14 February. We left on a fairly windy day so the seas were quite boisterous which was fine until a wave was dumped straight into our cockpit and on me (Karen)! It wasn't too bad other than I got wet! After that the seas calmed down and we arrived in Walvis Bay after a day and a half.
Walvis Bay is much bigger than Luderitz. There is a big cape which is covered with thousands of seals and lots of big ships were anchored inside the bay. The yacht anchorage was right down the south end of the bay which took about an hour to reach from the cape. Then from the anchorage we had a dinghy ride of about 1/5 mile to get ashore at the yacht club.
While in Walvis we met up with a local guy called Matt who was extremely helpful to us giving us lifts into town and helping us find parts. We did a few trips with him, The first was a ride into the dunes towards Sandwich harbour. We were literally driving over dunes near the water just following tracks from a previous vehicle. Fortunately Matt was a very good driver. On the way back he drove up a dune to show us the salt pans and then drove us off this incredibly steep edge. It was like a roller coaster ride with the track giving way underneath you. Then he took us back up and did the same backwards!
The lagoon south of the anchorage was full of thousands of flamingoes which we stopped to see on the way back from the dunes but by the time we came to leave Walvis Bay they had all gone.
We did another tour with Matt the following day to see the Welwitschia plants and the surrounding area.
We joined with Jack and Sandy again to drive to Etosha for a few days. We hired a 4 wheel drive vehicle as it is the rainy season and we were warned that if it rains the roads may be flooded by the rivers flowing. On the way we stopped to see some ancient rock carvings and spent the night at a town called Outjo. The following day we drove the remaining distance to Etosha and spent 4 days game viewing.
Although it is not the best time of year too visit we saw lots of animals and birds. The highlight was watching a pride of lions stalking a group of Impala. Unfortunately, we only saw 1 black rhino in the distance and we only saw 1 elephant. Elephants migrate from the park in the wet season so are difficult to see. We had given up hope of seeing one and were thinking of returning to the camp when a very large male walked out of the bush straight in front of us.
Once we returned to Walvis Bay we prepared to leave for St Helena and finally departed on 4 March.
South Africa
Most of S Africa closed down for Christmas so work stopped on the boat. A few days before Christmas there was a cruisers get together at a local vineyard. We were all driven to one vineyard for a tasting and then to another for a lovely lunch and more wine! It was also a good opportunity to meet up with friends we had not seen for a while.
We had a day visiting the botanical gardens which are on the other side of Table mountain from Cape Town and on the way back to Simons Town, we drove Chapmans Peak which is a very dramatic drive around the mountains along the coast. Another day we drove to Stellenbosch to do some wine tasting and to start to buy some wines ready for our departure.Our other local outing was a drive down the Cape to visit Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. It was a lovely scenic drive and then we walked up to the light house and looked where we would be sailing when we left.
Christmas eve we went into Cape Town and met up with friends who were in the marina there for a Christmas lunch. Before lunch we all went to an engagement party for Tom and Suzie on 'Adina' on the dock at the V&A marina. An unusual place to have an engagement party!
Christmas day we had our usual breakfast of champagne, smoked salmon and scramble eggs before joining other cruisers for lunch. We all brought a dish and then we BBQ'd our own meat. S Africans do not call it a BBQ though, it is a Braai!
Boxing day we left the boat for a few days holiday. The first day we drove to Swellendam with a stop at Cape Aghulas. It's the most southern point of SA but it is not very dramatic, Cape Point is much prettier. We did an outing from there to the De Hoop nature reserve. It was a long drive on gravel roads and the car was covered in red sand when we got back. The park does not have any of the big 5 but was pleasant with some rare antelope.
The following day we had a long drive to Knysna. We were told it was a very pretty town and as we had not stopped there in the boat decided to go and see it. We were fairly disappointed. The drive along the garden route was no where near as pretty as the area around Cape Town. The traffic through the town was horrible and the town was an overdeveloped seaside resort which had been completed spoilt by all the building. We reached our accommodation, parked the car and decided to walk everywhere until we left. Knysna Heads, the harbour exit, are very dramatic and worthy of a visit. The remainder of the town was just capitalising on ripping off tourists.
Our drive back was inland and was more dramatic with scenic mountain passes. We stopped at Robertson which is a wine growing area but much less commercialised than Stellenbosch. The wines were just as nice but much more reasonably priced. Then we drove through Franchoek for a nice lunch at the Noble Hill vineyard and then onto Cape Town for New year.
New Years eve we stayed on Anthony and Davina's boat, Divanty, in the V&A marina. All the boats in the marina got together for a party on the pontoons and then we all watched the fireworks at midnight. The party continued until about 4am and as it moved onto Divanty we had no chance of going to sleep until it ended!
After New Year it was back to work. We had the boat lifted so that we could change valves on the rear toilet. Sounds a small job but it took 3 days to undo the old bronze fittings, run hoses and work out how to fit the new valve!
Once we were back in the water we had to get the remaining work done on the main engine and get the generator repaired and re-installed. It seemed to take us weeks to get the work completed ready to leave. Many of the things we were hoping to get done have been left until we get to the Caribbean.
By the end of all the frustrations we were glad to leave.
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Monday, December 19, 2016
Madagascar and Arriving in S Africa
Our sail to Madagascar was slow and frustrating. We had the wind behind us and because of the light winds, the sails kept filling and unloading as the boat rolled with the swells. It was uncomfortable and very hard on the rig. The final afternoon before we reached Cape De Ambre at the northern tip of Madagascar a block broke on our boom which meant we had to stop using the main sail. This would have slowed us down enormously if it wasn't for the current we were suddenly picking up and the increase in wind as we approached the Cape.
Conditions around the Cape can be very rough but the recommended route is to stay very close to the shore. We rounded the Cape at 1am less than a mile off the shore. We had a good trip around and shot around the corner with the current. The other side of the Cape we found lots of wind coming from where we wanted to go so we had a bash to our first anchorage at Nosey Hao. After a few hours sleep we continued south to Nosey Mitsio where we stayed a few days. With the help of parts from our friends Amenika and Garrett we managed to mended and re-install the broken block.
As we left the anchorage we pulled the main out to try our repair and the car on top of the boom which holds the main pulled off! The biggest problem with this was that it contains 86 torlon balls and we do not carry spares! So from then on we could not use the main sail. Our next stop was Sakatia island where we met up with new friends Davina and Anthony, and old friends Amenika and Garret, and Helen and Jim. We all had a lovely meal at the resort on the island. When we came out of the restaurant the tide had gone out so much that we were all struggling to carry our dingies miles down the beach to the sand. It felt as if we almost walked to the boat! The cry in the dark as we walked down the beach was 'have you found water yet?'
Finally we reacched Hellville, Nosey Be which is where we cleared into the country. We then started the search to buy a new car for our main. This took a while as Lewmars had to make us one and then ship it out. While we waited we headed to a lovely anchorage called Russian Bay. This is where lots of the 'yachties' hang out (mainly because it has a beach restaurant and bar!). It was a good place to get a few chores done and meet up with friends for drinks.
One day a group of us went for a sail on one of the local Dhows which was interesting to see how they sail these boats held together with bits of string and sails sewn together with multiple bits of cloth. You see these boats everywhere. Most of the supplies between the island are moved under sail and the boats entering the bays under full sail are a lovely sight to see.
Another highlight was seeing Lemurs. We saw them twice, at Nosey Khomba and another small island called Nosey Antsoha. Nosey Khomba was a lovely picturesque anchorage but the second night it was incredibly rolly so we left! Nosey Antsoha was better. This is a reserve and they have 4 or 5 different types of lemurs. Some of them will jump on you and let you feed them bananas. They are incredibly gentle and have the most amazing long fingers, they are also very cute and furry!
Most of our friends left before our part arrived. Getting our part ended up being quite fraught as it was sent by UPS and not DHL as instructed. This meant it ended up in the capital Antananarivo. We then had to get an agent to get it to Nosey Be and clear customs. This all took 8 days! As soon as we had the part in our hands we cleared out of the country and left! This was not because we didn't like Madagascar, we loved the place and the people, it is just the frustration of being ready to leave and not being able to.
From Nosey Be we headed south down the coast to Moramba. This was our jumping off point for our sail to South Africa. We were hoping to rest before leaving but instead spent 2 days unblocking the loo hoses! A great shame as this was an idyllic anchorage we would have liked to explore.
Our sail to S Africa was lovely for the first 7 days. We had light winds and gentle seas but really had to make use of the currents to keep a good speed. We then had to head into Maputo, Mozambique to avoid bad weather. Due to an adverse wind, we had to motor quite a way to make it before the bad weather which was a shame as with more time it would have been a nice if slow sailing day. We spent less than 24 hours in Maputo before leaving to head to Richards Bay. We had a very short window to get to Richards Bay before the next bad weather turned up. The first 12 hours were a slog against the wind and with current against us. Then the wind turned and we picked up the Aghulas current. At this point we were doing over 10 knots over the ground and we made it to Richards Bay in plenty of time.
A few boats arrived at the same time so we all celebrated with breakfast out. It was 2 friends birthday so we had champagne to celebrate. After checking in we moved the boat to Zululand Yacht club which is where it stayed for a few weeks. We hired a car and visited the St Lucia wetlands and Imfolozi and Hulhulwe game park. At St Lucia we went on a boat trip to see hippos and we also got a glimpse of a Leopard which apparently is very unusual. The following morning we left early to go on an organised game drive. We spent the day in Imfolozi and saw Lions, Elephants, Zebra, Giraffes, White Rhino and lots of Impala (locally called sheep). At the end of the tour we drove ourselves north to Hulhulwe park where we saw lots more animals and were fortunate enough to have a lioness and her 2 cubs cross the road in front of us. The following day we drove ourselves back through the parks with more animal encounters. Then we visited a Cheetah sanctuary where we got to go into the pen with the Cheetahs and stroke them.
After a day back at the boat we flew to Maun Botswana. This trip was the reason we were eager to leave Madagascar. When we booked it we thought we had lots of time to get to Durban for our flight but it ended up being very tight and we had to drive from Richards Bay to Durban as we couldn't get the boat into the marina in Durban in time. We visited the Kwai reserve and Moremi game reserve which are areas within the Okavango Dellta. We flew to Maun and then did a light aircraft flight to our lodge which gave us a splendid view of the delta. We went on a number of game drives and saw an amazing number of animals. Highlights included seeing a Baboon up a tree eating a baby Impala, Hyenas eating another Hyena, lions and the best, was 2 Leopards. There was a mother and her juvenile son, and the son had a baby impala kill. They were so close to the truck you could almost touch them. They were eating the kill, playing together and walking around the truck. We were watching them for ages and it was amazing!!
We flew back to S Africa and started preparations for moving south. We had a good day sail to Durban. Continuing the saga of things breaking on the main we broke another block just as we arrived in Durban. Fortunately we had a spare on the boat so were able to replace it. We had 2 days in Durban and met up with friends Anthony and Davina as well as a number of other cruisers we had not seen since Malaysia. There were 5 of us who left Durban at the same time for the sail to Cape Town.
The trip south is very dependent on weather. The wind is either from the NE or SW. Its not advisable to sail when it is SW as the seas can become very treacherous due to the strength of the Aghulas current. We had to make it to East London in one hop as there is no where to stop in-between. This is a distance of 200 miles so we had no option but to motor when the winds were light. At East London a number of boats stopped but ourselves and another UK boat called Camomile carried on. We managed to get to Moselle Bay on the south coast before having to stop for weather. Moselle bay is on the Garden route and is a pretty town. We had 1 day there before we left for Simons Town in False Bay. We had to round Cape Aghulas with the wind from the NE which we did at midnight so only got to see the lighthouse flashing!
Once around the Cape we had completed our sail of the Indian Ocean and had entered the Atlantic. We were very glad to see the back of the Indian Ocean, crossing it has been the hardest sailing we have done. We have also never motored as much as we have had to on our trip from Durban to Simons Town. We are not sure why anyone in S Africa has a yacht because the weather is so horrible for sailing.
We arrived in Simons Town on 6 December which is where we are now. It is a very picturesque town and the people are very friendly. We have been busy since getting here trying to organise all our repairs before everything closes for Christmas. This is also their main summer holidays so most businesses are closed from 16 December until mid January. We are finding the S Africans very relaxed so we are constantly chasing people to get things sorted. It's also been a struggle to find a hire car as there are none available in the area until mid January. Not sure how we did it but a car came up and we managed to book it so we have collected it this morning. Hopefully we can now explore the area a bit.
Our one outing so far was to see the African Penguins at Boulders beach. This is only 20 minutes walk from the marina. There are lots of penguins and they are currently all out of the water moulting and looking very sorry for themselves in the wind.
Christmas will be spent at the marina with friends on other boats. Then we are planning a trip around the coast to see a bit of the area and of course visit a few vineyards!
Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New year.
Conditions around the Cape can be very rough but the recommended route is to stay very close to the shore. We rounded the Cape at 1am less than a mile off the shore. We had a good trip around and shot around the corner with the current. The other side of the Cape we found lots of wind coming from where we wanted to go so we had a bash to our first anchorage at Nosey Hao. After a few hours sleep we continued south to Nosey Mitsio where we stayed a few days. With the help of parts from our friends Amenika and Garrett we managed to mended and re-install the broken block.
As we left the anchorage we pulled the main out to try our repair and the car on top of the boom which holds the main pulled off! The biggest problem with this was that it contains 86 torlon balls and we do not carry spares! So from then on we could not use the main sail. Our next stop was Sakatia island where we met up with new friends Davina and Anthony, and old friends Amenika and Garret, and Helen and Jim. We all had a lovely meal at the resort on the island. When we came out of the restaurant the tide had gone out so much that we were all struggling to carry our dingies miles down the beach to the sand. It felt as if we almost walked to the boat! The cry in the dark as we walked down the beach was 'have you found water yet?'
Finally we reacched Hellville, Nosey Be which is where we cleared into the country. We then started the search to buy a new car for our main. This took a while as Lewmars had to make us one and then ship it out. While we waited we headed to a lovely anchorage called Russian Bay. This is where lots of the 'yachties' hang out (mainly because it has a beach restaurant and bar!). It was a good place to get a few chores done and meet up with friends for drinks.
One day a group of us went for a sail on one of the local Dhows which was interesting to see how they sail these boats held together with bits of string and sails sewn together with multiple bits of cloth. You see these boats everywhere. Most of the supplies between the island are moved under sail and the boats entering the bays under full sail are a lovely sight to see.
Another highlight was seeing Lemurs. We saw them twice, at Nosey Khomba and another small island called Nosey Antsoha. Nosey Khomba was a lovely picturesque anchorage but the second night it was incredibly rolly so we left! Nosey Antsoha was better. This is a reserve and they have 4 or 5 different types of lemurs. Some of them will jump on you and let you feed them bananas. They are incredibly gentle and have the most amazing long fingers, they are also very cute and furry!
Most of our friends left before our part arrived. Getting our part ended up being quite fraught as it was sent by UPS and not DHL as instructed. This meant it ended up in the capital Antananarivo. We then had to get an agent to get it to Nosey Be and clear customs. This all took 8 days! As soon as we had the part in our hands we cleared out of the country and left! This was not because we didn't like Madagascar, we loved the place and the people, it is just the frustration of being ready to leave and not being able to.
From Nosey Be we headed south down the coast to Moramba. This was our jumping off point for our sail to South Africa. We were hoping to rest before leaving but instead spent 2 days unblocking the loo hoses! A great shame as this was an idyllic anchorage we would have liked to explore.
Our sail to S Africa was lovely for the first 7 days. We had light winds and gentle seas but really had to make use of the currents to keep a good speed. We then had to head into Maputo, Mozambique to avoid bad weather. Due to an adverse wind, we had to motor quite a way to make it before the bad weather which was a shame as with more time it would have been a nice if slow sailing day. We spent less than 24 hours in Maputo before leaving to head to Richards Bay. We had a very short window to get to Richards Bay before the next bad weather turned up. The first 12 hours were a slog against the wind and with current against us. Then the wind turned and we picked up the Aghulas current. At this point we were doing over 10 knots over the ground and we made it to Richards Bay in plenty of time.
A few boats arrived at the same time so we all celebrated with breakfast out. It was 2 friends birthday so we had champagne to celebrate. After checking in we moved the boat to Zululand Yacht club which is where it stayed for a few weeks. We hired a car and visited the St Lucia wetlands and Imfolozi and Hulhulwe game park. At St Lucia we went on a boat trip to see hippos and we also got a glimpse of a Leopard which apparently is very unusual. The following morning we left early to go on an organised game drive. We spent the day in Imfolozi and saw Lions, Elephants, Zebra, Giraffes, White Rhino and lots of Impala (locally called sheep). At the end of the tour we drove ourselves north to Hulhulwe park where we saw lots more animals and were fortunate enough to have a lioness and her 2 cubs cross the road in front of us. The following day we drove ourselves back through the parks with more animal encounters. Then we visited a Cheetah sanctuary where we got to go into the pen with the Cheetahs and stroke them.
After a day back at the boat we flew to Maun Botswana. This trip was the reason we were eager to leave Madagascar. When we booked it we thought we had lots of time to get to Durban for our flight but it ended up being very tight and we had to drive from Richards Bay to Durban as we couldn't get the boat into the marina in Durban in time. We visited the Kwai reserve and Moremi game reserve which are areas within the Okavango Dellta. We flew to Maun and then did a light aircraft flight to our lodge which gave us a splendid view of the delta. We went on a number of game drives and saw an amazing number of animals. Highlights included seeing a Baboon up a tree eating a baby Impala, Hyenas eating another Hyena, lions and the best, was 2 Leopards. There was a mother and her juvenile son, and the son had a baby impala kill. They were so close to the truck you could almost touch them. They were eating the kill, playing together and walking around the truck. We were watching them for ages and it was amazing!!
We flew back to S Africa and started preparations for moving south. We had a good day sail to Durban. Continuing the saga of things breaking on the main we broke another block just as we arrived in Durban. Fortunately we had a spare on the boat so were able to replace it. We had 2 days in Durban and met up with friends Anthony and Davina as well as a number of other cruisers we had not seen since Malaysia. There were 5 of us who left Durban at the same time for the sail to Cape Town.
The trip south is very dependent on weather. The wind is either from the NE or SW. Its not advisable to sail when it is SW as the seas can become very treacherous due to the strength of the Aghulas current. We had to make it to East London in one hop as there is no where to stop in-between. This is a distance of 200 miles so we had no option but to motor when the winds were light. At East London a number of boats stopped but ourselves and another UK boat called Camomile carried on. We managed to get to Moselle Bay on the south coast before having to stop for weather. Moselle bay is on the Garden route and is a pretty town. We had 1 day there before we left for Simons Town in False Bay. We had to round Cape Aghulas with the wind from the NE which we did at midnight so only got to see the lighthouse flashing!
Once around the Cape we had completed our sail of the Indian Ocean and had entered the Atlantic. We were very glad to see the back of the Indian Ocean, crossing it has been the hardest sailing we have done. We have also never motored as much as we have had to on our trip from Durban to Simons Town. We are not sure why anyone in S Africa has a yacht because the weather is so horrible for sailing.
We arrived in Simons Town on 6 December which is where we are now. It is a very picturesque town and the people are very friendly. We have been busy since getting here trying to organise all our repairs before everything closes for Christmas. This is also their main summer holidays so most businesses are closed from 16 December until mid January. We are finding the S Africans very relaxed so we are constantly chasing people to get things sorted. It's also been a struggle to find a hire car as there are none available in the area until mid January. Not sure how we did it but a car came up and we managed to book it so we have collected it this morning. Hopefully we can now explore the area a bit.
Our one outing so far was to see the African Penguins at Boulders beach. This is only 20 minutes walk from the marina. There are lots of penguins and they are currently all out of the water moulting and looking very sorry for themselves in the wind.
Christmas will be spent at the marina with friends on other boats. Then we are planning a trip around the coast to see a bit of the area and of course visit a few vineyards!
Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New year.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Mauritius, UK and Reunion
Gosh, it has been a long time since we last did a blog update! We ended our last update with us leaving Rodrigues for Mauritius. We had a good sail, enough wind and not too bouncy. It was another fast crossing and we arrived in Port Louis, Mauritius within 2 days on 6 July. Clearing in was fairly painless and we then moved to the Caudan waterfront. This is a rectangular basin on the waterfront and is the only 'marina' for yachts with a reasonable draft.
This was where we were going to leave the boat while we visited the UK. It was not possible to book so it was a matter of finding a spot when you arrived. Our first berth was towards the exit of the basin and we got a lot of wash. The chafe on the wall destroyed 2 of our mooring lines and ripped our fender covers. We were eager to move further in before we left. Unfortunately, this meant we had no choice but to stay in the marina the whole time as if we left we would have lost our space. On the up side we were in the centre of town and within walking distance of supermarkets and the big central market.
We had 2 days touring the island with friends Ken and Iloo from Antares. The first day we went to the national park. Its pretty but due to the wet weather we could not do any walking, not that it was possible to find any of the trails! Instead we visited a rhumerie and had a very nice lunch. The second day the weather was even worse with torrential rain and it was very cold. We visited a tea factory and then found another rhumerie for a not so good lunch.
On a better day, we did hike in the hills behind Port Louis and also visited a traditional restaurant for lunch. Otherwise our time was spent working on the boat and getting ready for our trip home.
We flew to the UK on 27 July. It was a good flight with lots of movies to watch. Then we had a very hectic month visiting friends and family and spending time with the Grandchildren. In between this we were buying all the parts we needed for the boat!
After our return to Mauritius on 1 September we got the boat ready to leave for Reunion. This was a 1 day sail and we arrived in Reunion on 6 September. It was another fast sail with no dramas. There has been a foot and mouth outbreak in Rodrigues since we left so Reunion confiscated all meat, dairy products, fruit and veg. The staff came on the boat with shoe covers which they then disinfected before throwing away as they left, and then they disinfected their shoes. At no point did they disinfect our shoes or feet or even ask us if we had any hiking boots, completely illogical! At least we have not had our wine bonded as we did in Mauritius!
Our stay in Reunion got off to a good start with Ken and Iloo taking us out for lunch. Other cruisers gave us lots of information on walks on the island so we eagerly started planning our stay. Tourist information in town were very helpful booking accommodation for us and finding us a cheap hire car. We planned a weeks trip around the island after a few days in the marina sorting things out. This gave us time to go shopping and buy lots of French cheese and re-stock the freezer. The supermarket was very expensive, more expensive than the UK, so lots of things we just could not bring ourself to buy. Unfortunately, fruit and veg is one of the things that is expensive. Living on French bread, cheese and pate though not healthy is reasonable!
The island is dominated by 3 cirques which are old volcanoes. They are very picturesque with lots of mountains, waterfalls and valleys. Our first walk gave us views over the nearest cirque called Mafate. It was graded an easy walk but still involved climbing ladders! The following day we did a harder walk graded 'sportif'. It was 12km with lots of clambering and climbing over boulders.
Monday morning we set off on our trip. First stop was a drive up to a lookout over Mafate called La Maido. We got some wonderful views of the valley. Then we drove a forest road south down the west side of the island before climbing up an extremely windy road to Cilaos. We have never seen so many hairpin bends. Driving was hard work especially when the locals driving the other way think they are the only people on the road and drive as if they are on a rally track!
We were supposed to hike up Col De Taibat an 830m climb but when we got up the following morning it was raining and very grey so we had to abandon it. So we went back down all the hairpin bends and headed to Bourg Murat with a stop for a short walk. We were staying 2 nights in Bourg Murat so that we could hike to the caldera of Piton de la Fournaise, the only active volcano on the island. The volcano had decided to become very active just before our visit. It had an eruption on the north slope so the area was closed off. We did drive to the parking area and see the eruption at night which was quite spectacular.
With a day spare we found another hike. This one was 17km and was listed as taking 6 hours with 800m altitude gain. The start of the walk was on the Plain de Caffres through a lovely moss forest. Then we entered the forest de Bebour where the walk got harder. We spent 2 ½ hours climbing through the forest clambering over trees and rocks with very few markers and no signposts. We were just thinking we were lost when we found a sign for the next track. Thinking we couldn't climb any further the path then proceeded to go up and up. We were walking in the clouds most of the time and could see very little. Eventually, we did start to descend and just as we despaired completely, we got back to the car. It was such a relief. The walk had taken us 7 ½ hours with only a 15 minute break for lunch. We were covered in mud and very exhausted.
Having exhausted ourselves, the following day we just drove to Hellbourg which is in the cirque de Salazie. We were staying in gites which are like old fashioned British guest houses. We were at a 1000m and it was very cold but there was no heating so we sat in bed reading with our coats on!
We did a shorter walk in Salazie just 4 hours and then moved on to Grand Ilet. This was up in the clouds again and cold. There was a heater in the room but it wasn't put on until 6pm and was then turned off again overnight! The owner was a little old lady who served our food and then stood watching us with her hands folded until we had all tried the food and told her it was good.
Our next adventure was a 2 day hike into Mafate staying at Aurere. The hike had a lot of ups and downs. Having done lots of difficult climbs I (KB) managed to fall flat on my face over a tree root. This was about half way through the walk so we continued at a slower pace as my knees were very bruised. We arrived in Aurere at 12.30 and had lunch. We couldn't get into our gite until 3pm and my legs were staring to seize up so we decided to walk back while I could. The route back was supposed to be an easier route.
It started off that way with a pleasant walk through the forest and then a narrow path part way up an escarpment. Then there were steps and ladders to climb and then we started to descend to the river. After that the walk got worse. We were clambering over boulders along a river bed and crossed the river on stones multiple times. It was all up hill but we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. All around us there were huge cliffs and we could see no way out of the valley. It was getting late by this time and we were wondering if we would find the end of the trail by night fall. After 3 hours we did find the road and more importantly the car. We were both very exhausted (again!!) and very relieved. The walk had taken 8 hours, it was 18km and had a 1300m altitude change. The adrenaline had numbed the pain in my knees but once we stopped they seized up and I have spent 2 days hobbling around!
After a 2 hour drive with lots of hairpin bends again we arrived back at the boat. It was so nice to be home and to be warm again!
Our last adventure was today. On the recommendation of Jean and Matt from Superted we went on a microlight flight over the 3 cirques. We each had our own plane with just us and the pilot in each one. It was a great view and very exciting, really glad we did it.
Now we are getting the boat ready to leave for Madagascar on Thursday. This should take about 4 days to the northern tip and then we will slowly make our way down to Nosy Be where we will clear in.
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This was where we were going to leave the boat while we visited the UK. It was not possible to book so it was a matter of finding a spot when you arrived. Our first berth was towards the exit of the basin and we got a lot of wash. The chafe on the wall destroyed 2 of our mooring lines and ripped our fender covers. We were eager to move further in before we left. Unfortunately, this meant we had no choice but to stay in the marina the whole time as if we left we would have lost our space. On the up side we were in the centre of town and within walking distance of supermarkets and the big central market.
We had 2 days touring the island with friends Ken and Iloo from Antares. The first day we went to the national park. Its pretty but due to the wet weather we could not do any walking, not that it was possible to find any of the trails! Instead we visited a rhumerie and had a very nice lunch. The second day the weather was even worse with torrential rain and it was very cold. We visited a tea factory and then found another rhumerie for a not so good lunch.
On a better day, we did hike in the hills behind Port Louis and also visited a traditional restaurant for lunch. Otherwise our time was spent working on the boat and getting ready for our trip home.
We flew to the UK on 27 July. It was a good flight with lots of movies to watch. Then we had a very hectic month visiting friends and family and spending time with the Grandchildren. In between this we were buying all the parts we needed for the boat!
After our return to Mauritius on 1 September we got the boat ready to leave for Reunion. This was a 1 day sail and we arrived in Reunion on 6 September. It was another fast sail with no dramas. There has been a foot and mouth outbreak in Rodrigues since we left so Reunion confiscated all meat, dairy products, fruit and veg. The staff came on the boat with shoe covers which they then disinfected before throwing away as they left, and then they disinfected their shoes. At no point did they disinfect our shoes or feet or even ask us if we had any hiking boots, completely illogical! At least we have not had our wine bonded as we did in Mauritius!
Our stay in Reunion got off to a good start with Ken and Iloo taking us out for lunch. Other cruisers gave us lots of information on walks on the island so we eagerly started planning our stay. Tourist information in town were very helpful booking accommodation for us and finding us a cheap hire car. We planned a weeks trip around the island after a few days in the marina sorting things out. This gave us time to go shopping and buy lots of French cheese and re-stock the freezer. The supermarket was very expensive, more expensive than the UK, so lots of things we just could not bring ourself to buy. Unfortunately, fruit and veg is one of the things that is expensive. Living on French bread, cheese and pate though not healthy is reasonable!
The island is dominated by 3 cirques which are old volcanoes. They are very picturesque with lots of mountains, waterfalls and valleys. Our first walk gave us views over the nearest cirque called Mafate. It was graded an easy walk but still involved climbing ladders! The following day we did a harder walk graded 'sportif'. It was 12km with lots of clambering and climbing over boulders.
Monday morning we set off on our trip. First stop was a drive up to a lookout over Mafate called La Maido. We got some wonderful views of the valley. Then we drove a forest road south down the west side of the island before climbing up an extremely windy road to Cilaos. We have never seen so many hairpin bends. Driving was hard work especially when the locals driving the other way think they are the only people on the road and drive as if they are on a rally track!
We were supposed to hike up Col De Taibat an 830m climb but when we got up the following morning it was raining and very grey so we had to abandon it. So we went back down all the hairpin bends and headed to Bourg Murat with a stop for a short walk. We were staying 2 nights in Bourg Murat so that we could hike to the caldera of Piton de la Fournaise, the only active volcano on the island. The volcano had decided to become very active just before our visit. It had an eruption on the north slope so the area was closed off. We did drive to the parking area and see the eruption at night which was quite spectacular.
With a day spare we found another hike. This one was 17km and was listed as taking 6 hours with 800m altitude gain. The start of the walk was on the Plain de Caffres through a lovely moss forest. Then we entered the forest de Bebour where the walk got harder. We spent 2 ½ hours climbing through the forest clambering over trees and rocks with very few markers and no signposts. We were just thinking we were lost when we found a sign for the next track. Thinking we couldn't climb any further the path then proceeded to go up and up. We were walking in the clouds most of the time and could see very little. Eventually, we did start to descend and just as we despaired completely, we got back to the car. It was such a relief. The walk had taken us 7 ½ hours with only a 15 minute break for lunch. We were covered in mud and very exhausted.
Having exhausted ourselves, the following day we just drove to Hellbourg which is in the cirque de Salazie. We were staying in gites which are like old fashioned British guest houses. We were at a 1000m and it was very cold but there was no heating so we sat in bed reading with our coats on!
We did a shorter walk in Salazie just 4 hours and then moved on to Grand Ilet. This was up in the clouds again and cold. There was a heater in the room but it wasn't put on until 6pm and was then turned off again overnight! The owner was a little old lady who served our food and then stood watching us with her hands folded until we had all tried the food and told her it was good.
Our next adventure was a 2 day hike into Mafate staying at Aurere. The hike had a lot of ups and downs. Having done lots of difficult climbs I (KB) managed to fall flat on my face over a tree root. This was about half way through the walk so we continued at a slower pace as my knees were very bruised. We arrived in Aurere at 12.30 and had lunch. We couldn't get into our gite until 3pm and my legs were staring to seize up so we decided to walk back while I could. The route back was supposed to be an easier route.
It started off that way with a pleasant walk through the forest and then a narrow path part way up an escarpment. Then there were steps and ladders to climb and then we started to descend to the river. After that the walk got worse. We were clambering over boulders along a river bed and crossed the river on stones multiple times. It was all up hill but we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. All around us there were huge cliffs and we could see no way out of the valley. It was getting late by this time and we were wondering if we would find the end of the trail by night fall. After 3 hours we did find the road and more importantly the car. We were both very exhausted (again!!) and very relieved. The walk had taken 8 hours, it was 18km and had a 1300m altitude change. The adrenaline had numbed the pain in my knees but once we stopped they seized up and I have spent 2 days hobbling around!
After a 2 hour drive with lots of hairpin bends again we arrived back at the boat. It was so nice to be home and to be warm again!
Our last adventure was today. On the recommendation of Jean and Matt from Superted we went on a microlight flight over the 3 cirques. We each had our own plane with just us and the pilot in each one. It was a great view and very exciting, really glad we did it.
Now we are getting the boat ready to leave for Madagascar on Thursday. This should take about 4 days to the northern tip and then we will slowly make our way down to Nosy Be where we will clear in.
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Sunday, July 3, 2016
In Rodrigues
We left Cocos Keeling on 29 May. As soon as we had exited the lagoon Mike had the fishing line in the water. Moments later the line was taken, ran off a lot of line and then broke! That was the end of the fishing for a few days! Not just because we had to spool new line but also because the sea was rough and we were not feeling great. The winds were then light'ish for a few days but then increased steadily to around 20 knots. We did manage to catch a nice Mahi Mahi before the winds got too bad.
The first 9 days we averaged 165 mile days which is a new record for us. This was with help from a knot of current but it was still a good speed. It was not a comfortable sail, the swells would come from all directions and when they hit the side of the boat it was as if we had been hit by a truck, with the noise and the way they knocked us sideways. Our worst day we had about 18 hours of winds well over 40 knots (we are not sure exactly what the wind was as we were too scared to look but the apparent wind was 40-45 knots). The swells built in size until some were at least 6 metres and the boat was over at some amazing angles. The noise was deafening the wind was howling through the rigging and the waves were breaking around the boat. For days after we arrived we still had ringing in our ears from the silence! We had the boat all closed up and just had to hold tight! One wave ripped our dodger on the side of the boat and another made it under our covers and filled the cockpit with a lot of water, if we had not had the wash boards in we would have had a very wet boat!
After 2 days of lighter winds we had an amazing sail on the last day covering 180 miles in a day. We did the 2000 mile passage in 12 ½ days, definitely a new record for Chapter Two. Lots of boats have arrived in Rodrigues with lots of damage so we did fair quite well. We have all agreed it was the worst passage we have ever done.
After the crossing Rodrigues was a welcome sight. The anchorage is in the turning basin for the supply ship and when a ship is not in we can also moor along the wharf which is where we were instructed to go on arrival. Our check in was very easy, the officials were incredibly helpful and friendly. It was also very easy as they were eager to go home as we had arrived at 4pm on a Friday afternoon!
We are anchored right in the middle of the main town Port Mathurin so it is an easy walk into town to go to the market or to buy fresh baguettes. It is a very laid back place and the locals are welcoming and friendly. There have also been quite a few boats here so it has been a very sociable stop. There are a number of marked trails on the island so we have managed to do a few hikes. 18 of us went on the first one which probably gave the locals a shock when we all piled on the bus. Our favourite walk which we have done twice is along the east coast. We get the local buses to and from the start and end points. The buses are very cheap and run all over the island playing loud reggae music as they go!
A few weeks ago we hired a motorbike along with friends on Jackie and Gary from Inspiration Lady and Iloo and Ken from Antares. Inspiration Lady we first met in Curacao in 2009 but have seen little of them since as they crossed the Pacific ahead of us. We were heading to the giant tortoise colony. Unfortunately, Gary and Jackie had an accident on the way and Jackie has spent a week in hospital with a deep gash on her leg. After seeing them both onto the ambulance, we continued to see the tortoises. They are from the Seychelles and Mauritius as all the ones from Rodrigues were wiped out by 19th century sailors. You can walk amongst them and stroke them. Some of the small children were also allowed to sit on their backs. There were also caves there which we had a tour around. They were very impressive with lots of stalagmites and stalactites.
There is a local bar called Madame Marcelles in the centre of town which has become our local. It looks a little intimidating from the outside as it is full of men having heavy drinking sessions after work but it is very friendly and they have not minded us women gate crashing their domain. The owner also cooks and serves the most wonderful pork. You can buy a plate of mixed pork and sausage to eat with your drink, a bit different to crisps. We have loved it and have also been having takeaway for our sandwiches!
We have really enjoyed our stay here and are very sad to leave. The only down side of being here is that each time a ship is due we all must leave the anchorage until it is moored and then we are allowed back in. So each week there is a procession of about 12 boats leaving the anchorage at 6.30am and then a rush to get back in and anchor first, as the anchorage is not very big for the number of boats. When the ship is due to leave 2 days later the whole thing gets repeated again. At the moment a ship seems to be visiting once a week so we are all getting very used to the routine.
Tomorrow we clear out in the morning and head to Mauritius. Its 350 miles and we are hoping to get there in 2-3 days. It will probably be another boisterous crossing!
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The first 9 days we averaged 165 mile days which is a new record for us. This was with help from a knot of current but it was still a good speed. It was not a comfortable sail, the swells would come from all directions and when they hit the side of the boat it was as if we had been hit by a truck, with the noise and the way they knocked us sideways. Our worst day we had about 18 hours of winds well over 40 knots (we are not sure exactly what the wind was as we were too scared to look but the apparent wind was 40-45 knots). The swells built in size until some were at least 6 metres and the boat was over at some amazing angles. The noise was deafening the wind was howling through the rigging and the waves were breaking around the boat. For days after we arrived we still had ringing in our ears from the silence! We had the boat all closed up and just had to hold tight! One wave ripped our dodger on the side of the boat and another made it under our covers and filled the cockpit with a lot of water, if we had not had the wash boards in we would have had a very wet boat!
After 2 days of lighter winds we had an amazing sail on the last day covering 180 miles in a day. We did the 2000 mile passage in 12 ½ days, definitely a new record for Chapter Two. Lots of boats have arrived in Rodrigues with lots of damage so we did fair quite well. We have all agreed it was the worst passage we have ever done.
After the crossing Rodrigues was a welcome sight. The anchorage is in the turning basin for the supply ship and when a ship is not in we can also moor along the wharf which is where we were instructed to go on arrival. Our check in was very easy, the officials were incredibly helpful and friendly. It was also very easy as they were eager to go home as we had arrived at 4pm on a Friday afternoon!
We are anchored right in the middle of the main town Port Mathurin so it is an easy walk into town to go to the market or to buy fresh baguettes. It is a very laid back place and the locals are welcoming and friendly. There have also been quite a few boats here so it has been a very sociable stop. There are a number of marked trails on the island so we have managed to do a few hikes. 18 of us went on the first one which probably gave the locals a shock when we all piled on the bus. Our favourite walk which we have done twice is along the east coast. We get the local buses to and from the start and end points. The buses are very cheap and run all over the island playing loud reggae music as they go!
A few weeks ago we hired a motorbike along with friends on Jackie and Gary from Inspiration Lady and Iloo and Ken from Antares. Inspiration Lady we first met in Curacao in 2009 but have seen little of them since as they crossed the Pacific ahead of us. We were heading to the giant tortoise colony. Unfortunately, Gary and Jackie had an accident on the way and Jackie has spent a week in hospital with a deep gash on her leg. After seeing them both onto the ambulance, we continued to see the tortoises. They are from the Seychelles and Mauritius as all the ones from Rodrigues were wiped out by 19th century sailors. You can walk amongst them and stroke them. Some of the small children were also allowed to sit on their backs. There were also caves there which we had a tour around. They were very impressive with lots of stalagmites and stalactites.
There is a local bar called Madame Marcelles in the centre of town which has become our local. It looks a little intimidating from the outside as it is full of men having heavy drinking sessions after work but it is very friendly and they have not minded us women gate crashing their domain. The owner also cooks and serves the most wonderful pork. You can buy a plate of mixed pork and sausage to eat with your drink, a bit different to crisps. We have loved it and have also been having takeaway for our sandwiches!
We have really enjoyed our stay here and are very sad to leave. The only down side of being here is that each time a ship is due we all must leave the anchorage until it is moored and then we are allowed back in. So each week there is a procession of about 12 boats leaving the anchorage at 6.30am and then a rush to get back in and anchor first, as the anchorage is not very big for the number of boats. When the ship is due to leave 2 days later the whole thing gets repeated again. At the moment a ship seems to be visiting once a week so we are all getting very used to the routine.
Tomorrow we clear out in the morning and head to Mauritius. Its 350 miles and we are hoping to get there in 2-3 days. It will probably be another boisterous crossing!
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Wednesday, May 25, 2016
2016 So Far!
Where are we now?
We started our Indian Ocean crossing from Johor Bahru at the bottom of Malaysia just across the straits from Singapore. After clearing out we sailed/motored for 7 days through Indonesia. We didn't stop except for a few overnights and to take advantage of the currents. The route we and the weather chose for us involved going through channels with strong currents so we would anchor when the current was against us and then take advantage of it when it was going in the right direction. The currents gave us a huge assist and minimised our diesel usage. We had purchased extra diesel containers before we left to ensure we did not run short of fuel. We managed to fill our tank with them before we left Indonesia.
We had a 2 day rest at a lovely spot on the western tip of Java and then left for the 600 mile crossing to Cocos Keeling which is where we are now. After squalls and rough seas on the first day we had a great sail and did the trip in 4 days, a record for us! Unfortunately, both of us are feeling very out of practice at doing the long sails. It has been 2 years since we have sailed a significant distance in open seas.
Cocos is an atoll owned by the Australians. The anchorage is on the north east side of the atoll of Direction Island. The island is typical of the tropical islands of the Pacific with blue transparent water, soft sand and lots of coconut palms. We were escorted into the anchorage by a pod of Dolphins and had 5 black tip reef sharks around the boat before we had anchored. It was a lovely sight after the murky water of Malaysia.
There are 2 other islands here, Home Islands which has a Malaysian population and is a 2 mile wet dinghy ride and West Island which is 5 miles away across the lagoon and too far for our dinghy. We visited Home Island for provisions a few days ago and are still getting over the shock. We purchased 2 loaves of bread, a packet of rolls, a small bunch of bananas and a dozen eggs and the cost was $AUS46 (£30). Probably the most expensive shopping we have ever done.
There are 9 boats here at the moment including one which we have not seen since Samoa in 2012! We all met on the beach yesterday for a BBQ. Sounds idyllic but we were eaten alive by mosquitoes despite the deet! We are not allowed to remove anything from the boat here so all our rubbish must leave with us which is a good incentive not to stay too long. We will probably leave in a few days to do the 2000 mile trip to Rodrigues. With good winds this should take about 15 days.
Our exit from Malaysia was later than we anticipated. This was partly due to the wind as the trade winds were very late establishing themselves but mainly due to the boat. We had a lot of checks to do before we left as there are lots of things we have not used in the last year which inevitably led to us uncovering issues. Our main problem, once again, was the generator. It is only 2 years old but has a major problem with water in the oil. We could not get it tested properly in Malaysia so finally decided to leave with it broken. This means we cannot run our watermaker (which is also not working properly, but cannot be fixed until we have a generator!) so are being very careful with water. We can get water for doing washing on Direction Island and drinking water on Home Island so we should not run short.
We did have a good time in Pangkor, where we left the boat while we were travelling, meeting up with Sue and Stefan from Charlotte who are doing lots of work on their boat at the moment. We also said farewell to our Australian friends, Sharon and Lindsay on Songlines. Mike had a good birthday celebration with them and Sharon got him a lovely birthday cake.
Before leaving Malaysia we left the boat in Pangkor marina for 2 months and flew to India and Nepal.
Trekking In Nepal
We flew from Delhi to Kathmandu on 3 March. We flew with Indigo airlines and it is probably one of the the scariest flights we have had. The pilot seemed to drop really low to the mountains and then had to accelerate and climb to reach the runway. We touched down at the very start of the runway with a jolt as the plane was still accelerating! An exciting start to our trip!
Kathmandu was fairly quiet and unpolluted due to the fuel shortage and we had a pleasant stroll around the area near our hotel which was full of shops selling trekking gear. The following morning we had an early start to catch the coach to Pokhara. It was a long day as the traffic was very bad and the roads very narrow. The roads are single track with lots of hills and tight turns and only just wide enough for the trucks and coaches to pass. Pokhara is the town where many of the treks start so the town is fairly touristy in a low key way. It is pretty with a big lake and stunning mountain views.
We spent 5 days in Pokhara. We did a few hikes there to get into training and also purchased the gear we needed. We took most things we needed but had to buy a sleeping bag, walking poles and thick padded body warmers. The gear is supposedly North Face but is very cheap. We had decided to carry our own gear for the trek so spent time reducing the weight by leaving behind as much as we could at the hotel.
We were going to walk the Annapurna Circuit. A trek of about 220km with an altitude gain from 800m to 5416m down to 1200m and back up to 3200m before descending back to 800m. Probably totally mad given that we were both very unfit, we have never walked that distance before and certainly never done any trekking carrying 10/12kg on our back. Plus we are used to living at sea level and had never walked to that altitude before.
We had a 3 hour bus trip to the start of the trail at Besisahar. From here there was a choice of getting a bus or walking to Bulbhule. Being determined to walk the whole trail we walked. It was a very hot afternoon walk and certainly showed up how unfit we were. We stayed in Tea houses which is basic accommodation providing a room with a bed and blanket. The accommodation is either free or a few pounds as long as you eat there. The standard varied from outside toilets and maybe a tap somewhere with water to our own bathroom and in a few instances we even had a hot shower. We would get up at 6am and start walking around 7am. The views of the mountains are better in the morning plus some days we were walking for 9 hours so an early start was necessary.
Until we got to about 3000m the temperatures were pleasant though we got very hot on the climbs. There was very little flat terrain, we were always going up and down, usually up! Thankfully there were very few steps and it was mainly trails that wound their way up hill. The day we got to 3000m we had snow plus we had a 3 hour climb up a steep mountain with numerous switchbacks. The lodge at the top was a welcome sight. Unfortunately, the owner was very mean and would not light the fire. We were given a small brazier which 4 of us sat huddled around wearing thermals, hat, gloves etc. After that it was a very rare occasion when our thermals came off, it was way too cold. We had a hot shower at one lodge but the room was so cold that your whole body was steaming! We would sleep in clothes, our sleeping bag which was good to -5C plus a thick rug or blanket over us. None of the rooms were heated, most were wood or brick with lots of gaps around the windows. Most mornings the water in the pipes was frozen. It was definitely back to pre central heating days.
Due to the altitude we had a few acclimatisation days, one at 3500m and 2 at 4500m. The 2 at 4500m was mainly due to Mike spending one day in bed ill. Not with altitude sickness but with a terrible cold and hacking cough. At one stage we though we may have to descend without crossing the pass but he rallied and on day 13 we crossed Thorong La pass. This was a climb from 4500m to 5416m and then an endless descent to 3800m at Muktinath. It was very hard work walking at altitude, you have to walk incredibly slowly and your heart is just pounding in your ears. Still it was an amazing sense of achievement.
The walk down the western range was mainly across a moraine field. The weather at the top of the valley was very windy which was a bit disconcerting when you are walking on a track that is only a few feet wide with a vertical drop of about 1000m!
The latter part of the trek was around the Poon Hill area and involved climbing to 3200m again. Very hard work as most of the trail was steps. It was a lot more crowded than the rest of the trail which was incredibly quiet. The Poon hill trek goes through Rhododendron forests which were in full bloom though we had no view of the mountains from here due to the low cloud. Still, we had had some amazing views of the Annapurna mountain range earlier in our walk.
The whole trek took us 23 days and we think we walked about 250km. We both lost lots of weight despite eating like horses and were incredibly fit by the end. We were also feeling very virtuous as we did not drink any alcohol for the whole trek. Hopefully our livers appreciated it! We are really glad we did it but don't want to do it again!
Nepal was a lovely place, we can totally understand why people keep going back there. After India it was such a breath of fresh air and the people are lovely.
A Month In India
Originally we wanted to go to India for 2 months but due to visa restrictions had to cut our trip down to 1 month. This meant making decisions on which parts to visit and which to cut out. In hindsight we probably made the wrong decision as to where to spend our time. We did not particularly enjoy India and are glad that we were restricted to a month. By the end we were counting the days down to when we could leave.
We were travelling on a budget so were using trains and coaches plus tuk tuks to get around. To enjoy it you probably need to cut yourself off from the reality of the place and have your own private car and driver! In summary we found India to be over crowded, dirty and smelly. The smell of urine everywhere including on people was difficult to get out of your nostrils and the scale of the poverty was shocking. It was also a shock to see the caste system in operation and to see just how middle class Indians treat the lower classes.
If you ignore the surroundings there are some amazing sights to see and the food was wonderful. We started in Delhi. We landed late at night and the temperature was 9C which was quite a shock after leaving 35C in Malaysia. We had a few days in Delhi visiting the Red Fort and sorting out all our train tickets for the month. Then we flew to Khajuraho to see the erotic Hindu temples. The carvings are amazing and very well preserved but you definitely wouldn't want to try many of the positions at home!
Our next stop was Orccha and there was supposedly a local train that ran daily between the 2 cities. There were no classes on the train so it was a major free for all with people sitting everywhere including on our feet and on the roof. The journey should have been 5 hours but it took 9 and the train went somewhere else. We couldn't move the whole time and the smell was dreadful. Trying the toilet was not an option! We then had to get a taxi to our hotel which ended up being very basic but was one of the friendliest we stayed in. We recovered and had a pleasant day walking around the sights.
Next was Agra which despite being full of tourists was a very nice city to be in. We went to the Taj Mahal for sunrise and also visited the baby Taj and a number of tombs. The other sights in Agra are just as impressive as the Taj.
After Agra we went to Fatephur Sikri to see a fort and a mosque, stopping at Akbars tomb on the way. We then had a break from buildings and visited Kaledeo bird park. It was OK but without a good telescope you could not see anything. Continuing on the wildlife trail we next went to Ranthambhore to see Tigers. We did see a Tiger but the whole experience was not enjoyable. You get driven around very bumpy roads at high speed hardly stopping to see the wildlife until a tiger is spotted. Once you have seen the tiger they take the truck to a rest area and sit there until they can take you back to the hotel. We were with a lot of Indian tourists and they seem to treat it like a visit to the cinema. They never stop talking or eating crisps etc!
We then went to see a series of forts and palaces at Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer. The fort at Jodhpur was very well done, this probably had the most in it to see and had an excellent audio guide. The places are all spread out across Rajasthan and we spent many hours on trains travelling between them.
We ended up back in Delhi with a short stop at Alwar. This is not a popular tourist spot and we understand why after going there!
The train to Delhi arrived in the north of the city and we then got the metro to our hotel in the south. The metro was very busy but I was practically the only woman in our carriage. India is very male dominated and you do not see women unless they are the upper middle class on holiday. Cleaning in hotels, laundries, ironing shops are all male jobs. It would not have been comfortable travelling as a single female.
We had one day back in Delhi and then flew to Nepal.
----------
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We started our Indian Ocean crossing from Johor Bahru at the bottom of Malaysia just across the straits from Singapore. After clearing out we sailed/motored for 7 days through Indonesia. We didn't stop except for a few overnights and to take advantage of the currents. The route we and the weather chose for us involved going through channels with strong currents so we would anchor when the current was against us and then take advantage of it when it was going in the right direction. The currents gave us a huge assist and minimised our diesel usage. We had purchased extra diesel containers before we left to ensure we did not run short of fuel. We managed to fill our tank with them before we left Indonesia.
We had a 2 day rest at a lovely spot on the western tip of Java and then left for the 600 mile crossing to Cocos Keeling which is where we are now. After squalls and rough seas on the first day we had a great sail and did the trip in 4 days, a record for us! Unfortunately, both of us are feeling very out of practice at doing the long sails. It has been 2 years since we have sailed a significant distance in open seas.
Cocos is an atoll owned by the Australians. The anchorage is on the north east side of the atoll of Direction Island. The island is typical of the tropical islands of the Pacific with blue transparent water, soft sand and lots of coconut palms. We were escorted into the anchorage by a pod of Dolphins and had 5 black tip reef sharks around the boat before we had anchored. It was a lovely sight after the murky water of Malaysia.
There are 2 other islands here, Home Islands which has a Malaysian population and is a 2 mile wet dinghy ride and West Island which is 5 miles away across the lagoon and too far for our dinghy. We visited Home Island for provisions a few days ago and are still getting over the shock. We purchased 2 loaves of bread, a packet of rolls, a small bunch of bananas and a dozen eggs and the cost was $AUS46 (£30). Probably the most expensive shopping we have ever done.
There are 9 boats here at the moment including one which we have not seen since Samoa in 2012! We all met on the beach yesterday for a BBQ. Sounds idyllic but we were eaten alive by mosquitoes despite the deet! We are not allowed to remove anything from the boat here so all our rubbish must leave with us which is a good incentive not to stay too long. We will probably leave in a few days to do the 2000 mile trip to Rodrigues. With good winds this should take about 15 days.
Our exit from Malaysia was later than we anticipated. This was partly due to the wind as the trade winds were very late establishing themselves but mainly due to the boat. We had a lot of checks to do before we left as there are lots of things we have not used in the last year which inevitably led to us uncovering issues. Our main problem, once again, was the generator. It is only 2 years old but has a major problem with water in the oil. We could not get it tested properly in Malaysia so finally decided to leave with it broken. This means we cannot run our watermaker (which is also not working properly, but cannot be fixed until we have a generator!) so are being very careful with water. We can get water for doing washing on Direction Island and drinking water on Home Island so we should not run short.
We did have a good time in Pangkor, where we left the boat while we were travelling, meeting up with Sue and Stefan from Charlotte who are doing lots of work on their boat at the moment. We also said farewell to our Australian friends, Sharon and Lindsay on Songlines. Mike had a good birthday celebration with them and Sharon got him a lovely birthday cake.
Before leaving Malaysia we left the boat in Pangkor marina for 2 months and flew to India and Nepal.
Trekking In Nepal
We flew from Delhi to Kathmandu on 3 March. We flew with Indigo airlines and it is probably one of the the scariest flights we have had. The pilot seemed to drop really low to the mountains and then had to accelerate and climb to reach the runway. We touched down at the very start of the runway with a jolt as the plane was still accelerating! An exciting start to our trip!
Kathmandu was fairly quiet and unpolluted due to the fuel shortage and we had a pleasant stroll around the area near our hotel which was full of shops selling trekking gear. The following morning we had an early start to catch the coach to Pokhara. It was a long day as the traffic was very bad and the roads very narrow. The roads are single track with lots of hills and tight turns and only just wide enough for the trucks and coaches to pass. Pokhara is the town where many of the treks start so the town is fairly touristy in a low key way. It is pretty with a big lake and stunning mountain views.
We spent 5 days in Pokhara. We did a few hikes there to get into training and also purchased the gear we needed. We took most things we needed but had to buy a sleeping bag, walking poles and thick padded body warmers. The gear is supposedly North Face but is very cheap. We had decided to carry our own gear for the trek so spent time reducing the weight by leaving behind as much as we could at the hotel.
We were going to walk the Annapurna Circuit. A trek of about 220km with an altitude gain from 800m to 5416m down to 1200m and back up to 3200m before descending back to 800m. Probably totally mad given that we were both very unfit, we have never walked that distance before and certainly never done any trekking carrying 10/12kg on our back. Plus we are used to living at sea level and had never walked to that altitude before.
We had a 3 hour bus trip to the start of the trail at Besisahar. From here there was a choice of getting a bus or walking to Bulbhule. Being determined to walk the whole trail we walked. It was a very hot afternoon walk and certainly showed up how unfit we were. We stayed in Tea houses which is basic accommodation providing a room with a bed and blanket. The accommodation is either free or a few pounds as long as you eat there. The standard varied from outside toilets and maybe a tap somewhere with water to our own bathroom and in a few instances we even had a hot shower. We would get up at 6am and start walking around 7am. The views of the mountains are better in the morning plus some days we were walking for 9 hours so an early start was necessary.
Until we got to about 3000m the temperatures were pleasant though we got very hot on the climbs. There was very little flat terrain, we were always going up and down, usually up! Thankfully there were very few steps and it was mainly trails that wound their way up hill. The day we got to 3000m we had snow plus we had a 3 hour climb up a steep mountain with numerous switchbacks. The lodge at the top was a welcome sight. Unfortunately, the owner was very mean and would not light the fire. We were given a small brazier which 4 of us sat huddled around wearing thermals, hat, gloves etc. After that it was a very rare occasion when our thermals came off, it was way too cold. We had a hot shower at one lodge but the room was so cold that your whole body was steaming! We would sleep in clothes, our sleeping bag which was good to -5C plus a thick rug or blanket over us. None of the rooms were heated, most were wood or brick with lots of gaps around the windows. Most mornings the water in the pipes was frozen. It was definitely back to pre central heating days.
Due to the altitude we had a few acclimatisation days, one at 3500m and 2 at 4500m. The 2 at 4500m was mainly due to Mike spending one day in bed ill. Not with altitude sickness but with a terrible cold and hacking cough. At one stage we though we may have to descend without crossing the pass but he rallied and on day 13 we crossed Thorong La pass. This was a climb from 4500m to 5416m and then an endless descent to 3800m at Muktinath. It was very hard work walking at altitude, you have to walk incredibly slowly and your heart is just pounding in your ears. Still it was an amazing sense of achievement.
The walk down the western range was mainly across a moraine field. The weather at the top of the valley was very windy which was a bit disconcerting when you are walking on a track that is only a few feet wide with a vertical drop of about 1000m!
The latter part of the trek was around the Poon Hill area and involved climbing to 3200m again. Very hard work as most of the trail was steps. It was a lot more crowded than the rest of the trail which was incredibly quiet. The Poon hill trek goes through Rhododendron forests which were in full bloom though we had no view of the mountains from here due to the low cloud. Still, we had had some amazing views of the Annapurna mountain range earlier in our walk.
The whole trek took us 23 days and we think we walked about 250km. We both lost lots of weight despite eating like horses and were incredibly fit by the end. We were also feeling very virtuous as we did not drink any alcohol for the whole trek. Hopefully our livers appreciated it! We are really glad we did it but don't want to do it again!
Nepal was a lovely place, we can totally understand why people keep going back there. After India it was such a breath of fresh air and the people are lovely.
A Month In India
Originally we wanted to go to India for 2 months but due to visa restrictions had to cut our trip down to 1 month. This meant making decisions on which parts to visit and which to cut out. In hindsight we probably made the wrong decision as to where to spend our time. We did not particularly enjoy India and are glad that we were restricted to a month. By the end we were counting the days down to when we could leave.
We were travelling on a budget so were using trains and coaches plus tuk tuks to get around. To enjoy it you probably need to cut yourself off from the reality of the place and have your own private car and driver! In summary we found India to be over crowded, dirty and smelly. The smell of urine everywhere including on people was difficult to get out of your nostrils and the scale of the poverty was shocking. It was also a shock to see the caste system in operation and to see just how middle class Indians treat the lower classes.
If you ignore the surroundings there are some amazing sights to see and the food was wonderful. We started in Delhi. We landed late at night and the temperature was 9C which was quite a shock after leaving 35C in Malaysia. We had a few days in Delhi visiting the Red Fort and sorting out all our train tickets for the month. Then we flew to Khajuraho to see the erotic Hindu temples. The carvings are amazing and very well preserved but you definitely wouldn't want to try many of the positions at home!
Our next stop was Orccha and there was supposedly a local train that ran daily between the 2 cities. There were no classes on the train so it was a major free for all with people sitting everywhere including on our feet and on the roof. The journey should have been 5 hours but it took 9 and the train went somewhere else. We couldn't move the whole time and the smell was dreadful. Trying the toilet was not an option! We then had to get a taxi to our hotel which ended up being very basic but was one of the friendliest we stayed in. We recovered and had a pleasant day walking around the sights.
Next was Agra which despite being full of tourists was a very nice city to be in. We went to the Taj Mahal for sunrise and also visited the baby Taj and a number of tombs. The other sights in Agra are just as impressive as the Taj.
After Agra we went to Fatephur Sikri to see a fort and a mosque, stopping at Akbars tomb on the way. We then had a break from buildings and visited Kaledeo bird park. It was OK but without a good telescope you could not see anything. Continuing on the wildlife trail we next went to Ranthambhore to see Tigers. We did see a Tiger but the whole experience was not enjoyable. You get driven around very bumpy roads at high speed hardly stopping to see the wildlife until a tiger is spotted. Once you have seen the tiger they take the truck to a rest area and sit there until they can take you back to the hotel. We were with a lot of Indian tourists and they seem to treat it like a visit to the cinema. They never stop talking or eating crisps etc!
We then went to see a series of forts and palaces at Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer. The fort at Jodhpur was very well done, this probably had the most in it to see and had an excellent audio guide. The places are all spread out across Rajasthan and we spent many hours on trains travelling between them.
We ended up back in Delhi with a short stop at Alwar. This is not a popular tourist spot and we understand why after going there!
The train to Delhi arrived in the north of the city and we then got the metro to our hotel in the south. The metro was very busy but I was practically the only woman in our carriage. India is very male dominated and you do not see women unless they are the upper middle class on holiday. Cleaning in hotels, laundries, ironing shops are all male jobs. It would not have been comfortable travelling as a single female.
We had one day back in Delhi and then flew to Nepal.
----------
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Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Sri Lanka and After
Our last update we were on our way to Penang to get our visas for India. Well, that didn't happen! We were informed that as we were only in Malaysia on a tourist visa we could not get a visa for India. Our only option was to get a 30 day e-visa which is what we have done.
Our new batteries arrived and were fitted relatively easily, thankfully. After a little sightseeing we headed back north from Penang in preparation for our trip to Sri Lanka.
We flew to Sri Lanka on 24 November. It was a tedious journey. Air Asia changed the time of our flight from Kuala Lumpur so we had a 10 hour wait for our flight. This meant we arrived at Colombo at 10pm. The taxi had problems finding our hotel and ended up dropping us around the back which was a bit off putting as we had to practically step over sleeping bodies to get to the entrance. Once inside it was fine and when we explored the following morning we found it was very handy for the train and for sightseeing.
We left Colombo the same day by train and headed to the ancient city of Anuradapura. The train was OK except for the huge cockroach that was walking around our feet. Every time I moved my feet to avoid it the guy opposite took it as a sign that he could occupy all my leg room! We hired bicycles to see Anuradapura so set off early to avoid the heat. When we got to the museum to buy our tickets we had to sit and wait for the ticket lady to eat her breakfast! We had a nice cycle through the countryside to see a number of Bagodas (big stupas). Most of the other buildings were just walls in ruins and were hidden in the trees.
Our next stop was a local bus ride to Polonnuwara which is another ancient city. This one was better preserved and a more compact site. Entry to both sites was $25 each which was a bit steep considering what there was to see. Another bus trip took us to Dambulla. The buses are very cheap but going on them is quite an experience. They are usually crammed full. The seats are for 3 very small people and plastic so it gets very hot. The drivers are complete maniacs. They drive at full acceleration and then brake as hard as they can when they need to stop. The have 2 horns and could quite easily wear them both out in a day and they overtake whenever they want to. It doesn't matter if its a blind corner or if anything is coming the other way. Its best not to sit to near the front as the less you can see the better but at the back you get bounced out of your seat and can easily feel sick!
At Dambulla we visited a Buddhist cave temple and probably one of our highlights, Sigiriya. It cost $35 each to go to Sigiriya but it was one of the few places we didn't mind being charged a fortune as it was so amazing. Sigiriya is an ancient city that was built on the top of a 800m monolith. Not for those who suffer from vertigo! There are also amazing water gardens around the base of the rock and rock art part way up the vertical sides. Certainly worth a visit.
Our next stop was the previous capital, Kandy. Our hotel was slightly out of the city which was a good move as the whole place is full of traffic and very noisy. The roads only have 2 lanes but most of the time there is about 7 lines of traffic (mainly tuk tuks) all jostling for position! Our first day we went to the botanical gardens and the following day we had planned a hike in the Knuckles Range. We were aware there may be leeches so went prepared with long trousers tucked into our socks and velcro around the socks to stop anything getting down them. Our shirts were tucked into our trousers. The guides sprayed our boots and socks with a dettol and water solution and off we set.
The walk was down a wide road/track to a lookout point. The guides were soon showing us leeches and they were much smaller and thinner than we had envisaged. I (Karen) was walking with a pole and had a fright when a leech was suddenly on my hand having worked its was up the pole. Slightly later the guides were behind me and noticed my trousers and sock covered in blood. When we investigated 2 leeches had burrowed their way through my walking socks. They were sprayed with dettol to remove them. It spoilt the walk having to keep looking at your feet to remove leeches. It was also a bit disappointing as it was no where near as long as we expected and the route back was the same way as that we had already walked.
We had a another day in Kandy and decided that this was too long a stay. Our hotel recommended a walk in a park overlooking the city. We were given a map and set off on a well signposted trail. The walk was circular but part way around the signposts disappeared. We took what looked like a wide track down the hill and started walking. We then discovered it was leech alley, they were everywhere. We walked quickly so as not to give them an opportunity to get on us and then had short stops to inspect each others legs. After about a mile the path just fizzled out and we had no choice but to run the gauntlet back. It was up hill but we were practically running just to escape the leeches. We had no choice but to retrace our route the whole way making it a much longer walk than intended!
In the evening we went to see a Kandian dance show. We are not sure we ended up where we intended as we were charged a lot of money to see an am dram performance that didn't even last an hour. The area around the lake in Kandy is quite pretty but we never made it to see the Temple of the Tooth which is a very important Buddhist temple. We have just seen one to many Buddhas in our travels this year!
We had a luxurious (relatively) trip from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya on an air conditioned coach. It was slightly more expensive than the bus and we had to buy a seat for each of our bags but it was still cheap. The route was very scenic with lots of tea plantations and very hilly. Nuwara Eliya is called Little England as it has a British climate due to its altitude. True to its name it rained a lot and was very cold. We had to ask for an extra blanket for our bed and we purchased thick woolly hats to wear.
We had a trip to Hortons Plains and Worlds End planned from Nuwara Eliya. We were collected at 5.30am so we had multiple layers of clothes on and our new hats. There is supposed to be lots of wildlife at Hortons Plains but you don't see it as there are too many people. It was a nice walk, again with bad signage but the view at Worlds End was lovely and clear. The reason for the early start is that the view clouds up as the sun rises and as it was the rainy season, it rains every afternoon.
Our exit from Nuwara Eliya was by train. The trip to Ella is a very scenic railway ride. In fact it is so popular that all we could get were 3rd class tickets which were fine. Nuwara Eliya station is memorable for one of the worst toilets of the holiday. In general the public toilets in Sri Lanka were pretty bad but the ones in Nuwara Eliya were horrible. I think the prize for the worst ones goes to Galle station though where the smell was so bad that I never even made it anywhere near the door!
In Ella we had chosen a small hotel which according to Booking.com had amazing views. It did have the views but what we failed to realise was that to get to it we had to climb from the road up a series of steps followed by a track that was so steep that if it was a ski run it would be a black! By the time we got to the place we needed oxygen! And to top it all, a leech had got into my sandals and had a suck between my toes! Each time we did the walk to and from the hotel one of us had a leech on us (most often Mike). It was difficult to feel relaxed as we always worried about the ones we hadn't found!
Despite the trials of the hotel we visited a tea factory which was very interesting and walked up Little Adams peak which has lovely views. Our stay in Ella also ended badly. The bus from Ella to Tissa (town near Yala NP) was full when it arrived at the stop. We were all shoe horned onto the bus with some people standing on the steps not even being able to get onto the bus properly. The driver made no concessions to the fact that we were all wet (from the heavy rain) sardines with nothing to hold onto and we were thrown around every time he slammed his breaks on and then re-accelerated. It is probably the closest we have both come to loosing it. Tempers get a bit short when you are enduring those conditions and then it's made worse by locals who have no concept of waiting and just push passed you. In fact, the locals just have no concept of personal space at all. We were charged quite a lot for this horrendous drive and then were kicked off in a town somewhere to change buses. A relief as at least we got a seat on the next bus!
We had a full day booked in Yala NP starting at 4.30am (and we didn't get back until 7pm). We had an excellent guide and saw lots of amazing birds, Sloth bear, Elephant and a very distant Leopard. The roads in the park are definitely only for 4 wheel drive vehicles. Some of the roads were actually rivers due to the amount of rain. An excellent day and well worth the visit.
The following day we had an afternoon safari booked in Bundala which is quieter than Yala and supposedly better for birds. We saw very few birds (we saw much more in Yala) but did see lots of monkeys and Elephants. A second day at Yala would probably have been better but you never know.
Our last stop before we got back to Columbo was Galle. An extremely touristy old Portuguese fort town. It is full of gem shops and expensive restaurants. Nice to see but not worth staying more than a day.
We didn't see much in Columbo other than the independence monument and the park. By this time we had ran out of steam and decided our stay in Sri Lanka had been about a week too long. We had eaten enough curry and rice and wanted our comfortable bed back.
Our memories of Sri Lanka are of an expensive place where prices for accommodation are at least double the price in other parts of Asia and the cost of food is the same as the UK (unless you live on curry and rice). They think their monuments are better than they are, otherwise why do they charge soooo much to get into them, and finally leeches. Against that the wildlife is amazing and Sigiriya verges on a Wonder of the World!
We returned to the boat just before Christmas. We spent Christmas day at Rebak resort. They provide a Christmas brunch with sparkling wine so we went along with friends Sharon and Lindsay off Songlines. We then met up with them again for New Year when a group of 10 of us went out for a meal in Kuah before seeing the New year in on Songlines.
Since then we have been working hard on the boat trying to do much needed internal varnishing. We are also staring to get the boat ready for its big trip across the Indian Ocean.
We are now in Pangkor where we are leaving the boat to fly to India tomorrow. We are staying 30 days in India and then fly to Kathmandu to hopefully walk the Annapurna circuit. This will probably be our last update until we return from Nepal in mid April.
Happy 2016 everyone.
Our new batteries arrived and were fitted relatively easily, thankfully. After a little sightseeing we headed back north from Penang in preparation for our trip to Sri Lanka.
We flew to Sri Lanka on 24 November. It was a tedious journey. Air Asia changed the time of our flight from Kuala Lumpur so we had a 10 hour wait for our flight. This meant we arrived at Colombo at 10pm. The taxi had problems finding our hotel and ended up dropping us around the back which was a bit off putting as we had to practically step over sleeping bodies to get to the entrance. Once inside it was fine and when we explored the following morning we found it was very handy for the train and for sightseeing.
We left Colombo the same day by train and headed to the ancient city of Anuradapura. The train was OK except for the huge cockroach that was walking around our feet. Every time I moved my feet to avoid it the guy opposite took it as a sign that he could occupy all my leg room! We hired bicycles to see Anuradapura so set off early to avoid the heat. When we got to the museum to buy our tickets we had to sit and wait for the ticket lady to eat her breakfast! We had a nice cycle through the countryside to see a number of Bagodas (big stupas). Most of the other buildings were just walls in ruins and were hidden in the trees.
Our next stop was a local bus ride to Polonnuwara which is another ancient city. This one was better preserved and a more compact site. Entry to both sites was $25 each which was a bit steep considering what there was to see. Another bus trip took us to Dambulla. The buses are very cheap but going on them is quite an experience. They are usually crammed full. The seats are for 3 very small people and plastic so it gets very hot. The drivers are complete maniacs. They drive at full acceleration and then brake as hard as they can when they need to stop. The have 2 horns and could quite easily wear them both out in a day and they overtake whenever they want to. It doesn't matter if its a blind corner or if anything is coming the other way. Its best not to sit to near the front as the less you can see the better but at the back you get bounced out of your seat and can easily feel sick!
At Dambulla we visited a Buddhist cave temple and probably one of our highlights, Sigiriya. It cost $35 each to go to Sigiriya but it was one of the few places we didn't mind being charged a fortune as it was so amazing. Sigiriya is an ancient city that was built on the top of a 800m monolith. Not for those who suffer from vertigo! There are also amazing water gardens around the base of the rock and rock art part way up the vertical sides. Certainly worth a visit.
Our next stop was the previous capital, Kandy. Our hotel was slightly out of the city which was a good move as the whole place is full of traffic and very noisy. The roads only have 2 lanes but most of the time there is about 7 lines of traffic (mainly tuk tuks) all jostling for position! Our first day we went to the botanical gardens and the following day we had planned a hike in the Knuckles Range. We were aware there may be leeches so went prepared with long trousers tucked into our socks and velcro around the socks to stop anything getting down them. Our shirts were tucked into our trousers. The guides sprayed our boots and socks with a dettol and water solution and off we set.
The walk was down a wide road/track to a lookout point. The guides were soon showing us leeches and they were much smaller and thinner than we had envisaged. I (Karen) was walking with a pole and had a fright when a leech was suddenly on my hand having worked its was up the pole. Slightly later the guides were behind me and noticed my trousers and sock covered in blood. When we investigated 2 leeches had burrowed their way through my walking socks. They were sprayed with dettol to remove them. It spoilt the walk having to keep looking at your feet to remove leeches. It was also a bit disappointing as it was no where near as long as we expected and the route back was the same way as that we had already walked.
We had a another day in Kandy and decided that this was too long a stay. Our hotel recommended a walk in a park overlooking the city. We were given a map and set off on a well signposted trail. The walk was circular but part way around the signposts disappeared. We took what looked like a wide track down the hill and started walking. We then discovered it was leech alley, they were everywhere. We walked quickly so as not to give them an opportunity to get on us and then had short stops to inspect each others legs. After about a mile the path just fizzled out and we had no choice but to run the gauntlet back. It was up hill but we were practically running just to escape the leeches. We had no choice but to retrace our route the whole way making it a much longer walk than intended!
In the evening we went to see a Kandian dance show. We are not sure we ended up where we intended as we were charged a lot of money to see an am dram performance that didn't even last an hour. The area around the lake in Kandy is quite pretty but we never made it to see the Temple of the Tooth which is a very important Buddhist temple. We have just seen one to many Buddhas in our travels this year!
We had a luxurious (relatively) trip from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya on an air conditioned coach. It was slightly more expensive than the bus and we had to buy a seat for each of our bags but it was still cheap. The route was very scenic with lots of tea plantations and very hilly. Nuwara Eliya is called Little England as it has a British climate due to its altitude. True to its name it rained a lot and was very cold. We had to ask for an extra blanket for our bed and we purchased thick woolly hats to wear.
We had a trip to Hortons Plains and Worlds End planned from Nuwara Eliya. We were collected at 5.30am so we had multiple layers of clothes on and our new hats. There is supposed to be lots of wildlife at Hortons Plains but you don't see it as there are too many people. It was a nice walk, again with bad signage but the view at Worlds End was lovely and clear. The reason for the early start is that the view clouds up as the sun rises and as it was the rainy season, it rains every afternoon.
Our exit from Nuwara Eliya was by train. The trip to Ella is a very scenic railway ride. In fact it is so popular that all we could get were 3rd class tickets which were fine. Nuwara Eliya station is memorable for one of the worst toilets of the holiday. In general the public toilets in Sri Lanka were pretty bad but the ones in Nuwara Eliya were horrible. I think the prize for the worst ones goes to Galle station though where the smell was so bad that I never even made it anywhere near the door!
In Ella we had chosen a small hotel which according to Booking.com had amazing views. It did have the views but what we failed to realise was that to get to it we had to climb from the road up a series of steps followed by a track that was so steep that if it was a ski run it would be a black! By the time we got to the place we needed oxygen! And to top it all, a leech had got into my sandals and had a suck between my toes! Each time we did the walk to and from the hotel one of us had a leech on us (most often Mike). It was difficult to feel relaxed as we always worried about the ones we hadn't found!
Despite the trials of the hotel we visited a tea factory which was very interesting and walked up Little Adams peak which has lovely views. Our stay in Ella also ended badly. The bus from Ella to Tissa (town near Yala NP) was full when it arrived at the stop. We were all shoe horned onto the bus with some people standing on the steps not even being able to get onto the bus properly. The driver made no concessions to the fact that we were all wet (from the heavy rain) sardines with nothing to hold onto and we were thrown around every time he slammed his breaks on and then re-accelerated. It is probably the closest we have both come to loosing it. Tempers get a bit short when you are enduring those conditions and then it's made worse by locals who have no concept of waiting and just push passed you. In fact, the locals just have no concept of personal space at all. We were charged quite a lot for this horrendous drive and then were kicked off in a town somewhere to change buses. A relief as at least we got a seat on the next bus!
We had a full day booked in Yala NP starting at 4.30am (and we didn't get back until 7pm). We had an excellent guide and saw lots of amazing birds, Sloth bear, Elephant and a very distant Leopard. The roads in the park are definitely only for 4 wheel drive vehicles. Some of the roads were actually rivers due to the amount of rain. An excellent day and well worth the visit.
The following day we had an afternoon safari booked in Bundala which is quieter than Yala and supposedly better for birds. We saw very few birds (we saw much more in Yala) but did see lots of monkeys and Elephants. A second day at Yala would probably have been better but you never know.
Our last stop before we got back to Columbo was Galle. An extremely touristy old Portuguese fort town. It is full of gem shops and expensive restaurants. Nice to see but not worth staying more than a day.
We didn't see much in Columbo other than the independence monument and the park. By this time we had ran out of steam and decided our stay in Sri Lanka had been about a week too long. We had eaten enough curry and rice and wanted our comfortable bed back.
Our memories of Sri Lanka are of an expensive place where prices for accommodation are at least double the price in other parts of Asia and the cost of food is the same as the UK (unless you live on curry and rice). They think their monuments are better than they are, otherwise why do they charge soooo much to get into them, and finally leeches. Against that the wildlife is amazing and Sigiriya verges on a Wonder of the World!
We returned to the boat just before Christmas. We spent Christmas day at Rebak resort. They provide a Christmas brunch with sparkling wine so we went along with friends Sharon and Lindsay off Songlines. We then met up with them again for New Year when a group of 10 of us went out for a meal in Kuah before seeing the New year in on Songlines.
Since then we have been working hard on the boat trying to do much needed internal varnishing. We are also staring to get the boat ready for its big trip across the Indian Ocean.
We are now in Pangkor where we are leaving the boat to fly to India tomorrow. We are staying 30 days in India and then fly to Kathmandu to hopefully walk the Annapurna circuit. This will probably be our last update until we return from Nepal in mid April.
Happy 2016 everyone.
Monday, November 2, 2015
It's Been A While!
We went back to the UK for 6 weeks from Mid July until the beginning of September. It was a hectic time visiting friends and family and spending time with our grandchildren. Jon (Mike's son) and Carrie were married towards the end of our stay which was a lovely day and then we looked after Alex (grandson) while they went on honeymoon! It seems that each time we return home it gets more tiring!
When we got back to the boat we spent time getting over our jet lag and recovering our energy. We left the marina and anchored in a lovely bay called Singar Besar which is perfect for the SW monsoon. We had to give the boat a good clean as most of the wood inside was covered in mold, a good indication of the amount of rain here while we were away. The rains are now decreasing and the winds are starting to blow from the East again marking the end of the SW monsoon which is good.
As normal we purchased lots of things for the boat while in the UK all of which constitute at least one job. The one thing we have realised over time is that there is no such thing as a small job. Thinking a job will be quick is the worst thing you can do as that guarantees it will take most of the day!
At the beginning of October we decided to head to Phuket to get some stainless steel replaced on the toe rail. We also needed to get the generator fixed as we had been unable to get it started since we returned to the boat. We left from Telaga, at the the north end of Langkawi, ahead of what we thought was a squall. Unfortunately, it lasted longer than expected and was extremely violent so we had to abandon our trip and go back to the anchorage. The wind continued to blow strongly all night so it was definitely the right decision. After our false start, we left the next day and spent 3 days motoring to Phuket. We had a small sail the last day and also decided to fish at the same time. We managed to hook a tree! While trying to slow the boat so that we didn't loose all our line we managed to get the line around the boat. Mike had to get in the water and sort the line out before it got caught around our prop so that was the end of the sailing and the fishing!
After clearing in to Phuket at Ao Chalong, we went to Boat Lagoon marina to get our jobs done. There is a very long entry channel to the marina which is supposed to be dredged to 2m. We entered with 2.5M of tide and got stuck on the bottom even though we only draw 1.5m! So much for the dredged channel! We got our jobs started and then escaped from the marina on a nice high tide and went around to Yacht Haven at the the north end of Phuket.
Our metal work was sanded and polished rather than replaced and our generator head had to be removed and worked on. While we were waiting for them to be returned we sanded and painted the toe rail. It was hard work in the heat but at least the weather was good to us and it stayed dry until after the paint had dried. It took us 2 days and 9 tubes of silicon sealant to re-attach the stainless to the toe rail plus lots of paper towel!!
We anchored out side of the marina for a further week while we varnished the wood in the cockpit and then we headed back to Ao Chalong to clear out. The visibility has been very bad in Langkawi and Phuket from the forest fires in Indonesia. The airport in Langkawi has been closed a few times and schools have been closed as the air has been so bad. It seems to have cleared at the moment and hopefully the NE winds will blow it away.
We left Phuket and planned to make a few stops on our way back to Langkawi. The first stop was directly into the wind plus the wind direction and strength were excellent for a sail straight back to Langkawi so that is what we did. We had 12 hours excellent sailing but had to motor the next 12 hours whilst dodging all the fishing boats through the night.
We are now on our way to Penang to hopefully get our visas for India. We have also ordered new batteries for our house bank (the main battery bank that runs everything but the engine) which are being delivered to the marina. We are not looking forward to fitting 6 batteries. When we fitted the existing ones we were never sure how we got the last one in so getting them out could be interesting!
After Penang we head back to Langkawi to leave the boat again while we go to Sri Lanka for 3 weeks. We fly on 24 November and have an action packed 3 weeks planned. Then it will be back to Langkawi for Christmas with friends.
When we got back to the boat we spent time getting over our jet lag and recovering our energy. We left the marina and anchored in a lovely bay called Singar Besar which is perfect for the SW monsoon. We had to give the boat a good clean as most of the wood inside was covered in mold, a good indication of the amount of rain here while we were away. The rains are now decreasing and the winds are starting to blow from the East again marking the end of the SW monsoon which is good.
As normal we purchased lots of things for the boat while in the UK all of which constitute at least one job. The one thing we have realised over time is that there is no such thing as a small job. Thinking a job will be quick is the worst thing you can do as that guarantees it will take most of the day!
At the beginning of October we decided to head to Phuket to get some stainless steel replaced on the toe rail. We also needed to get the generator fixed as we had been unable to get it started since we returned to the boat. We left from Telaga, at the the north end of Langkawi, ahead of what we thought was a squall. Unfortunately, it lasted longer than expected and was extremely violent so we had to abandon our trip and go back to the anchorage. The wind continued to blow strongly all night so it was definitely the right decision. After our false start, we left the next day and spent 3 days motoring to Phuket. We had a small sail the last day and also decided to fish at the same time. We managed to hook a tree! While trying to slow the boat so that we didn't loose all our line we managed to get the line around the boat. Mike had to get in the water and sort the line out before it got caught around our prop so that was the end of the sailing and the fishing!
After clearing in to Phuket at Ao Chalong, we went to Boat Lagoon marina to get our jobs done. There is a very long entry channel to the marina which is supposed to be dredged to 2m. We entered with 2.5M of tide and got stuck on the bottom even though we only draw 1.5m! So much for the dredged channel! We got our jobs started and then escaped from the marina on a nice high tide and went around to Yacht Haven at the the north end of Phuket.
Our metal work was sanded and polished rather than replaced and our generator head had to be removed and worked on. While we were waiting for them to be returned we sanded and painted the toe rail. It was hard work in the heat but at least the weather was good to us and it stayed dry until after the paint had dried. It took us 2 days and 9 tubes of silicon sealant to re-attach the stainless to the toe rail plus lots of paper towel!!
We anchored out side of the marina for a further week while we varnished the wood in the cockpit and then we headed back to Ao Chalong to clear out. The visibility has been very bad in Langkawi and Phuket from the forest fires in Indonesia. The airport in Langkawi has been closed a few times and schools have been closed as the air has been so bad. It seems to have cleared at the moment and hopefully the NE winds will blow it away.
We left Phuket and planned to make a few stops on our way back to Langkawi. The first stop was directly into the wind plus the wind direction and strength were excellent for a sail straight back to Langkawi so that is what we did. We had 12 hours excellent sailing but had to motor the next 12 hours whilst dodging all the fishing boats through the night.
We are now on our way to Penang to hopefully get our visas for India. We have also ordered new batteries for our house bank (the main battery bank that runs everything but the engine) which are being delivered to the marina. We are not looking forward to fitting 6 batteries. When we fitted the existing ones we were never sure how we got the last one in so getting them out could be interesting!
After Penang we head back to Langkawi to leave the boat again while we go to Sri Lanka for 3 weeks. We fly on 24 November and have an action packed 3 weeks planned. Then it will be back to Langkawi for Christmas with friends.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Holiday in Japan
After 2 weeks work in the boat we flew to Osaka, Japan. It was a long 7 hour flight on Air Asia without any movies! We spent the night in a hotel near the airport and then got the train to Kyoto the following day. The train was amazing, it arrived at the station, was cleaned (properly) and then magically all the seats changed direction so that they would all be facing forward. Far superior to UK trains.
Kyoto is lovely to walk around and the transport system is amazing and fortunately has announcements and signs in English! There are a wealth of temples and things to see so we had 7 days of full on sight seeing. Each day we visited a different suburb and where possible walked between temples and Zen gardens. One evening we went to see an open air 'Noh theatre' performance. We managed to stay for 2 parts of a 5 part performance. It is certainly an acquired taste!
By the end we had seen practically every temple worth visiting. We then got the Shinkansen train to Hakone. The Shinkansen is another amazing experience, they are so clean and so fast. The purpose of visiting Hakone was to see Mt Fuji. We got one glimpse from the lake but the cable car which gives the best view was closed due to seismic activity. The weather which had been amazing in Kyoto decided to rain so we left early the following day and headed to Tokyo.
We had 4 days in Tokyo. Out hotel was about 30 minutes out of the centre but it didn't matter as the transport links are so good. Again we visited a few of the suburbs and did a bit of walking. Unfortunately we had missed the Cherry blossom and the rhododendrons but did see a few azaleas and the start of the hydrangeas. Even so we loved the lovely greens everywhere.
We left Tokyo and flew via Kuala Lumpur to Yogyakarta in Java, Indonesia. We wanted to visit the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan which we had missed as we were sailing through Indonesia the previous year. Unfortunately Java was a bit too much of a shock to the system after Japan. Also we had got very travel weary and had perhaps tried to do too much at once. We did visit the temples but they did not have as much impact as we expected due to our recent visit to Angkot Wat. We used the remainder of the time to relax.
After flying back to Langkawi it was a few days before we finally re-launched the boat. Once the shopping was done we headed out of the marina to an anchorage. It was quite a shock sleeping on the boat in 35c with no air conditioning after spending months sleeping in air conditioned accommodation. We caught up with friends Sharon and Lindsay on 'Songlines' and our friend Nigel from the UK visited us for a week on his way back from NZ.
We headed back to the marina and got the boat ready to leave again. We flew to the UK on 15 July which is where we are now for 6 weeks. We have been getting to know our grandson' and are looking forward to Jon's wedding on 22 August.
Kyoto is lovely to walk around and the transport system is amazing and fortunately has announcements and signs in English! There are a wealth of temples and things to see so we had 7 days of full on sight seeing. Each day we visited a different suburb and where possible walked between temples and Zen gardens. One evening we went to see an open air 'Noh theatre' performance. We managed to stay for 2 parts of a 5 part performance. It is certainly an acquired taste!
By the end we had seen practically every temple worth visiting. We then got the Shinkansen train to Hakone. The Shinkansen is another amazing experience, they are so clean and so fast. The purpose of visiting Hakone was to see Mt Fuji. We got one glimpse from the lake but the cable car which gives the best view was closed due to seismic activity. The weather which had been amazing in Kyoto decided to rain so we left early the following day and headed to Tokyo.
We had 4 days in Tokyo. Out hotel was about 30 minutes out of the centre but it didn't matter as the transport links are so good. Again we visited a few of the suburbs and did a bit of walking. Unfortunately we had missed the Cherry blossom and the rhododendrons but did see a few azaleas and the start of the hydrangeas. Even so we loved the lovely greens everywhere.
We left Tokyo and flew via Kuala Lumpur to Yogyakarta in Java, Indonesia. We wanted to visit the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan which we had missed as we were sailing through Indonesia the previous year. Unfortunately Java was a bit too much of a shock to the system after Japan. Also we had got very travel weary and had perhaps tried to do too much at once. We did visit the temples but they did not have as much impact as we expected due to our recent visit to Angkot Wat. We used the remainder of the time to relax.
After flying back to Langkawi it was a few days before we finally re-launched the boat. Once the shopping was done we headed out of the marina to an anchorage. It was quite a shock sleeping on the boat in 35c with no air conditioning after spending months sleeping in air conditioned accommodation. We caught up with friends Sharon and Lindsay on 'Songlines' and our friend Nigel from the UK visited us for a week on his way back from NZ.
We headed back to the marina and got the boat ready to leave again. We flew to the UK on 15 July which is where we are now for 6 weeks. We have been getting to know our grandson' and are looking forward to Jon's wedding on 22 August.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
60 Days Travelling around SE Asia
We left the boat out of the water at Rebak marina and became land travellers for 2 months. Packing our rucksacks, we became backpackers or budget travellers! We started in Bangkok, Thailand, worked our way north to Chang Rai before crossing the border into Laos where we headed south down the Mekong for 2 days. We continued south to 4000 islands before crossing to Cambodia and Angkor Wat. Our stay in Cambodia was cut short by the Khmer New year celebrations which meant everything was either closed or very expensive. Our last country was Vietnam and we worked our way north from Saigon to Hanoi and then flew back to Malaysia.
The highlights were Kanchanaburi in Thailand. Visiting the museums and walking Hellfire pass was very moving. A 4km walk exhausted us in the heat, it is hard to imagine having to do hard labour for 18 hour a day with minimal water and meagre rations. Ayuthaya, the old capital of Thailand was very interesting. It has lots of ancient Stupa which we enjoyed cycling around.
A big highlight was the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia. There are millions of tourists there and it was incredibly hot but still amazing to see. We had no idea that there was so many Wats or that they covered such a huge area. Angkor Wat itself and Angkor Thom are probably the best preserved but they all have something slightly different to see. We spent 3 days wandering around them.
In Laos our favourite place was Champasak and the 4000 Island group. The latter are down in the south of the country and are islands on the Mekong. We firstly stayed at Champasak so that we could visit the Khmer ruins of Wat Phu, not as big as Angkor but lovely and quiet but still impressive. Then we stayed on an Island called Don Khon. There is very little on the island other than a few waterfalls but we had a lovely bungalow with a balcony overlooking the Mekong. Very relaxing!!!
Vietnam was probably our favourite country and its difficult to think of highlights as there were so many. We enjoyed Saigon even though you did take your life in your hands just walking around. The traffic is manic with thousands of motorcycles. No one pays any attention to traffic lights or one way streets and if the road is too crowded the bikes just drive on the path. Motorbikes are used in SE Asia to transport anything and everything and can sometimes turn into wide loads. It is not unusual to see a family of 4 or 5 on one bike, women sitting side saddle. We even saw a woman feeding a baby as they were driving along and another putting on her make-up!
Hoi An was a lovely old town, interesting to walk around the shops and the local market. We had clothes made to order here at a very cheap price. Sapa is close to the Chinese border and is known for its hiking and Hill tribes. We weren't originally going to visit Sapa but are very glad we did. The hill sides are all terraced and covered with rice paddies and it is very pretty. The hill tribe women are friendly and some speak very good English. They are constantly trying to sell you things which can be a little tiresome but they are very nice about it. Even when we went walking they would follow us. We used to walk around saying 'not shopping' to get rid of them.
We planned our itinerary in advance and as much as possible we did everything independently. We did do 3 organised tours. The first was in Thailand at Khao Yai NP which was good, we had a very enthusiastic guide. The first evening we visited Bat caves and watched millions of bats leave the cave for their nightly hunting. We all stood spaced out in a field and the bats passed us so close and so quickly. Lots of fun. The second day was a walk through the forest where we saw Greater Hornbills and a sleeping Crocodile. Our second trip was to see the My Son ruins in Hoi An, Vietnam, a big disappointment after Angkor Wat and we had the most annoying guide. Last but not least but definitely the worst was our tour of Halong Bay in Vietnam. Not only did we have a very annoying guide again but the whole trip is such a big rip off. The boat goes about 3 miles into the bay and then anchors with about 60 other boats all doing the same thing. The food was mediocre and our guide wanted us to go to the beach at 6am as we hadn't had time to do it the first day- no chance! The next day you motor the 3 miles back and other than a visit to a cave that is it. We decided we preferred Phang Nga Bay in Thailand.
One of the things we realised as we travelled was just how affected all the countries had been by war. As I mentioned above Kanchanaburi was very moving and the Japanese were very brutal to the soldiers but one thing we never hear about at home is just how many Asians also died building the railway. Around 100,000,although no one is sure of numbers.
In Laos we visited the COPE museum which makes prosthetic limbs for people injured by unexploded bombs. Laos is still covered with millions of unexploded bombs and cluster bombs dropped by the US. Unfortunately the metal is precious to the villages so they dig them up. There are still lots of places you cannot visit because of the danger of the bombs and you have to ensure you stay on the paths. Almost half the country is off limits!
The two most depressing and moving places we visited were the S21 prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the War remnants museum in Saigon. The S21 prison is an old school that was used by the Khmer Rouge to hold and torture prisoners. It is exactly as it was during the war but with lots of photos. The Khmer Rouge documented everything so the photos are horrific. Prisoners were taken from here to the killing fields to be killed except babies which were thrown against a tree. It was horrific to see just how cruel people can be to fellow human beings because they are told to. None of the Khmer leaders have been tried yet and you have to wonder why?
The Museum in Vietnam was a Vietnamese view of the war with the US. Mostly it was pictures taken by US and Japanese journalists in the field. The worst part was the pictures of the effects of Agent Orange which showed lots of severely deformed children. It is horrible to think that babies are still being born with defects due to the poison. There are probably no rights or wrongs of the war but using agent orange can only be wrong.
We really enjoyed our trip but we both realised that we are not good at being tourists. We hated being in crowds and we hated the fact that every time you go and see something it entails a buying opportunity. Asia is cheap to travel in but you have to be constantly on your guard against being ripped off. Being a tourist means they (usually the taxi drivers) can charge a ridiculous amount of money. In Laos any type of transport would drop you at the most inconvenient stop just so that you had to spend more money getting to where you wanted to go. In Vietnam agents would almost double the cost of train tickets so we learned to use the Vietnamese web site to book and saved a fortune. One of our funniest incidents was on the train in Thailand, as soon as we were seated we were given a cup of fresh orange juice. The guy who served it walked away so we thought it was complimentary. After we had drank half he came back and asked us for a ridiculous amount of money, we refused to pay and gave him the drinks back! He wasn't happy but serves him right!
Epilogue
We have been back in Langkawi for 2 weeks. We are staying in a B&B as we could not face staying on the boat without a fridge and air conditioning in these temperatures. We have hired a moped to get to the ferry across to Rebak Island each day. We have been repairing the keel and doing other jobs we can only do while the boat is out of the water. We are finding the heat too much, Mike emerges from being down a hole on the boat looking as if he has just come out of the shower and both of us are struggling to drink enough to make up for the fluids we are losing. Still, we are both loosing some of the weight we put on while away!
In a few days time we fly to Japan for 2 weeks and then on to Java to see Borobudur. Watch this Space!!!
The highlights were Kanchanaburi in Thailand. Visiting the museums and walking Hellfire pass was very moving. A 4km walk exhausted us in the heat, it is hard to imagine having to do hard labour for 18 hour a day with minimal water and meagre rations. Ayuthaya, the old capital of Thailand was very interesting. It has lots of ancient Stupa which we enjoyed cycling around.
A big highlight was the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia. There are millions of tourists there and it was incredibly hot but still amazing to see. We had no idea that there was so many Wats or that they covered such a huge area. Angkor Wat itself and Angkor Thom are probably the best preserved but they all have something slightly different to see. We spent 3 days wandering around them.
In Laos our favourite place was Champasak and the 4000 Island group. The latter are down in the south of the country and are islands on the Mekong. We firstly stayed at Champasak so that we could visit the Khmer ruins of Wat Phu, not as big as Angkor but lovely and quiet but still impressive. Then we stayed on an Island called Don Khon. There is very little on the island other than a few waterfalls but we had a lovely bungalow with a balcony overlooking the Mekong. Very relaxing!!!
Vietnam was probably our favourite country and its difficult to think of highlights as there were so many. We enjoyed Saigon even though you did take your life in your hands just walking around. The traffic is manic with thousands of motorcycles. No one pays any attention to traffic lights or one way streets and if the road is too crowded the bikes just drive on the path. Motorbikes are used in SE Asia to transport anything and everything and can sometimes turn into wide loads. It is not unusual to see a family of 4 or 5 on one bike, women sitting side saddle. We even saw a woman feeding a baby as they were driving along and another putting on her make-up!
Hoi An was a lovely old town, interesting to walk around the shops and the local market. We had clothes made to order here at a very cheap price. Sapa is close to the Chinese border and is known for its hiking and Hill tribes. We weren't originally going to visit Sapa but are very glad we did. The hill sides are all terraced and covered with rice paddies and it is very pretty. The hill tribe women are friendly and some speak very good English. They are constantly trying to sell you things which can be a little tiresome but they are very nice about it. Even when we went walking they would follow us. We used to walk around saying 'not shopping' to get rid of them.
We planned our itinerary in advance and as much as possible we did everything independently. We did do 3 organised tours. The first was in Thailand at Khao Yai NP which was good, we had a very enthusiastic guide. The first evening we visited Bat caves and watched millions of bats leave the cave for their nightly hunting. We all stood spaced out in a field and the bats passed us so close and so quickly. Lots of fun. The second day was a walk through the forest where we saw Greater Hornbills and a sleeping Crocodile. Our second trip was to see the My Son ruins in Hoi An, Vietnam, a big disappointment after Angkor Wat and we had the most annoying guide. Last but not least but definitely the worst was our tour of Halong Bay in Vietnam. Not only did we have a very annoying guide again but the whole trip is such a big rip off. The boat goes about 3 miles into the bay and then anchors with about 60 other boats all doing the same thing. The food was mediocre and our guide wanted us to go to the beach at 6am as we hadn't had time to do it the first day- no chance! The next day you motor the 3 miles back and other than a visit to a cave that is it. We decided we preferred Phang Nga Bay in Thailand.
One of the things we realised as we travelled was just how affected all the countries had been by war. As I mentioned above Kanchanaburi was very moving and the Japanese were very brutal to the soldiers but one thing we never hear about at home is just how many Asians also died building the railway. Around 100,000,although no one is sure of numbers.
In Laos we visited the COPE museum which makes prosthetic limbs for people injured by unexploded bombs. Laos is still covered with millions of unexploded bombs and cluster bombs dropped by the US. Unfortunately the metal is precious to the villages so they dig them up. There are still lots of places you cannot visit because of the danger of the bombs and you have to ensure you stay on the paths. Almost half the country is off limits!
The two most depressing and moving places we visited were the S21 prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the War remnants museum in Saigon. The S21 prison is an old school that was used by the Khmer Rouge to hold and torture prisoners. It is exactly as it was during the war but with lots of photos. The Khmer Rouge documented everything so the photos are horrific. Prisoners were taken from here to the killing fields to be killed except babies which were thrown against a tree. It was horrific to see just how cruel people can be to fellow human beings because they are told to. None of the Khmer leaders have been tried yet and you have to wonder why?
The Museum in Vietnam was a Vietnamese view of the war with the US. Mostly it was pictures taken by US and Japanese journalists in the field. The worst part was the pictures of the effects of Agent Orange which showed lots of severely deformed children. It is horrible to think that babies are still being born with defects due to the poison. There are probably no rights or wrongs of the war but using agent orange can only be wrong.
We really enjoyed our trip but we both realised that we are not good at being tourists. We hated being in crowds and we hated the fact that every time you go and see something it entails a buying opportunity. Asia is cheap to travel in but you have to be constantly on your guard against being ripped off. Being a tourist means they (usually the taxi drivers) can charge a ridiculous amount of money. In Laos any type of transport would drop you at the most inconvenient stop just so that you had to spend more money getting to where you wanted to go. In Vietnam agents would almost double the cost of train tickets so we learned to use the Vietnamese web site to book and saved a fortune. One of our funniest incidents was on the train in Thailand, as soon as we were seated we were given a cup of fresh orange juice. The guy who served it walked away so we thought it was complimentary. After we had drank half he came back and asked us for a ridiculous amount of money, we refused to pay and gave him the drinks back! He wasn't happy but serves him right!
Epilogue
We have been back in Langkawi for 2 weeks. We are staying in a B&B as we could not face staying on the boat without a fridge and air conditioning in these temperatures. We have hired a moped to get to the ferry across to Rebak Island each day. We have been repairing the keel and doing other jobs we can only do while the boat is out of the water. We are finding the heat too much, Mike emerges from being down a hole on the boat looking as if he has just come out of the shower and both of us are struggling to drink enough to make up for the fluids we are losing. Still, we are both loosing some of the weight we put on while away!
In a few days time we fly to Japan for 2 weeks and then on to Java to see Borobudur. Watch this Space!!!
Thailand From Memory!
It is such a long time since we were in Thailand on the boat that in hindsight it would have been better if we had written this blog before we went travelling. So here is what we remember!
Once our parts arrived from the US and the AIS was installed we left for Thailand. We did an overnight sail from Telaga to Ko Racha Yai and arrived in a lovely bay at around 10am. The water was so blue and clear. It was the first time we had been able to see the bottom in months. Our joy was spoilt after about half an hour when about 50 day tripper boats arrived. Suddenly we were surrounded by boats with constant wash. It was scary to watch as while people were in the water swimming, snorkelling and diving other boats would drive through the bay at about 30 knots. Our peace was restored again at about 4pm when all the boats left and we then had a swim.
We stayed a day to clean the bottom of the boat and recover before sailing a short distance to the southern end of Phuket to clear in. The bay where customs etc are located is also extremely busy which made the sea very rough. Getting the dinghy into the water and the engine on was a major achievement and involved Mike getting very wet! After clearing in and shopping we headed around the west side of Phulet island. We found a nice quiet bay with a small yacht club, probably one of the nicest bays we went to because it was quiet.
We hopped up the west coats to a number of different bays but none of them were very nice. There were wall to wall hotels and we became an obstacle for the jet skiers to drive around! The sea was not clear and the one time we went snorkelling a jet skier thought it was really good fun to spray water all over us and the dinghy. We visited Ao Patong beach and met up with friends Lindsay and Sharon on 'Songlines 3' and Pauline and John On 'Our Odyssey'. They are Australian so we went to an Aussie bar to celebrate Australia day with them
Next we headed to the Similan Islands which are about 50 miles offshore and are supposed to be good for diving. Our first stop was on one of the middle islands, it was very pretty with lovely clear water. Once we had moored we had a big shoal of fish around the boat eating the algae off the bottom which was good of them! We met a Canadian couple on another boat and agreed to go diving together. The dive was fairly mediocre but what was scary is that there are so many dive boats. We were towing our dinghy so were very visible from the surface but this did not stop a dive boat going straight over the top of us. It was horrible having huge propellors above our head when we were only 30ft down. If we had panicked and gone up at all we would have been sucked into the blades.
We did a couple of other dives but they were not very spectacular. We then visited the northern anchorage where you are allowed to walk ashore. Again it was nice in the morning but at about 10am the day tripper boats arrived. They all have at least 750HP motors and insist on doing about 30 knots to the beach! We estimated at least 50 arrive at the same time. They stay for the morning then move to our first anchorage while the ones from that anchorage move north. It makes sitting in the bays very uncomfortable with the constant wash.
We moved back south ready to head back to Phuket. We though we had picked a quiet mooring but in the night the wind turned more northerly and it became very bouncy. Deciding we could not sleep we left at 1am into a fairly rough sea. We then spent 18 hours bashing to windward to get back to Phuket. It was very exhausting and for us the visit was not worth the sail.
Having given up on the west coast we headed into Phang Nga Bay on the east side of Phuket. The bay has some very pretty scenery with lots of limestone pinnacles (we think it is better than Halong Bay in Vietnam). There are Hongs which are collapsed caves which you get to through tunnels. One of the tunnels was quite long so that you cannot see the other end as you go into it. Inside the hongs there are trees and a few monkeys. It was a relaxing few days in the bay. It is not a place to swim as the water is very shallow and muddy but it was lovely. We also brought some fresh prawns from the fishermen, our first fresh fish in months.
It was then time to clear out and head back to Malaysia. Having learnt from our earlier experience we stopped at a quiet bay and dropped the dinghy before moving to clear out. On our way south we stopped at a few bays breaking the journey into day hops. One of our stops was at Rok Nok, a nice bay except that we managed to run the boat into the reef and are currently having to repair the keel!
We spent 4 weeks sailing in Thailand, neither of us particularly enjoyed it and we have no desire to go back.
We had a visit from friends Kevin and Jill when we got back to Malaysia. They stayed at Rebak resort and we took them out for a few day sails around Langkawi. Once they left we had the boat lifted out of the water and prepared for our land travel.
Once our parts arrived from the US and the AIS was installed we left for Thailand. We did an overnight sail from Telaga to Ko Racha Yai and arrived in a lovely bay at around 10am. The water was so blue and clear. It was the first time we had been able to see the bottom in months. Our joy was spoilt after about half an hour when about 50 day tripper boats arrived. Suddenly we were surrounded by boats with constant wash. It was scary to watch as while people were in the water swimming, snorkelling and diving other boats would drive through the bay at about 30 knots. Our peace was restored again at about 4pm when all the boats left and we then had a swim.
We stayed a day to clean the bottom of the boat and recover before sailing a short distance to the southern end of Phuket to clear in. The bay where customs etc are located is also extremely busy which made the sea very rough. Getting the dinghy into the water and the engine on was a major achievement and involved Mike getting very wet! After clearing in and shopping we headed around the west side of Phulet island. We found a nice quiet bay with a small yacht club, probably one of the nicest bays we went to because it was quiet.
We hopped up the west coats to a number of different bays but none of them were very nice. There were wall to wall hotels and we became an obstacle for the jet skiers to drive around! The sea was not clear and the one time we went snorkelling a jet skier thought it was really good fun to spray water all over us and the dinghy. We visited Ao Patong beach and met up with friends Lindsay and Sharon on 'Songlines 3' and Pauline and John On 'Our Odyssey'. They are Australian so we went to an Aussie bar to celebrate Australia day with them
Next we headed to the Similan Islands which are about 50 miles offshore and are supposed to be good for diving. Our first stop was on one of the middle islands, it was very pretty with lovely clear water. Once we had moored we had a big shoal of fish around the boat eating the algae off the bottom which was good of them! We met a Canadian couple on another boat and agreed to go diving together. The dive was fairly mediocre but what was scary is that there are so many dive boats. We were towing our dinghy so were very visible from the surface but this did not stop a dive boat going straight over the top of us. It was horrible having huge propellors above our head when we were only 30ft down. If we had panicked and gone up at all we would have been sucked into the blades.
We did a couple of other dives but they were not very spectacular. We then visited the northern anchorage where you are allowed to walk ashore. Again it was nice in the morning but at about 10am the day tripper boats arrived. They all have at least 750HP motors and insist on doing about 30 knots to the beach! We estimated at least 50 arrive at the same time. They stay for the morning then move to our first anchorage while the ones from that anchorage move north. It makes sitting in the bays very uncomfortable with the constant wash.
We moved back south ready to head back to Phuket. We though we had picked a quiet mooring but in the night the wind turned more northerly and it became very bouncy. Deciding we could not sleep we left at 1am into a fairly rough sea. We then spent 18 hours bashing to windward to get back to Phuket. It was very exhausting and for us the visit was not worth the sail.
Having given up on the west coast we headed into Phang Nga Bay on the east side of Phuket. The bay has some very pretty scenery with lots of limestone pinnacles (we think it is better than Halong Bay in Vietnam). There are Hongs which are collapsed caves which you get to through tunnels. One of the tunnels was quite long so that you cannot see the other end as you go into it. Inside the hongs there are trees and a few monkeys. It was a relaxing few days in the bay. It is not a place to swim as the water is very shallow and muddy but it was lovely. We also brought some fresh prawns from the fishermen, our first fresh fish in months.
It was then time to clear out and head back to Malaysia. Having learnt from our earlier experience we stopped at a quiet bay and dropped the dinghy before moving to clear out. On our way south we stopped at a few bays breaking the journey into day hops. One of our stops was at Rok Nok, a nice bay except that we managed to run the boat into the reef and are currently having to repair the keel!
We spent 4 weeks sailing in Thailand, neither of us particularly enjoyed it and we have no desire to go back.
We had a visit from friends Kevin and Jill when we got back to Malaysia. They stayed at Rebak resort and we took them out for a few day sails around Langkawi. Once they left we had the boat lifted out of the water and prepared for our land travel.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
2014 and Beyond
We have been told by a number of people that cruising is boat maintenance in exotic places! That is certainly true for us recently. We are sitting in Langkawi waiting for a parcel of boat parts to arrive from the US. We ordered all the parts that have broken since we left Australia plus an AIS transponder which is now compulsory to go to Thailand. It was supposed to arrive a week ago but so far it has had a nice tour of India, China and Malaysia but has still not reached us! So we are using the time to catch up on all the boat jobs we have not done while enjoying ourselves in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Before all this work started we had the end of the Sail Malaysia rally. When we wrote our last blog we were on our way to Pangkor. This was probably the highlight of the rally. After a few days anchored off Pangkor Island we moved around to the marina for the festivities. The first day was a tour of Pangkor island which included a wonderful Chinese meal at a beach side restaurant. We also watched some traditional boat building and visited a Chinese temple which was more like a theme park with a miniature great wall of china! After a few hours rest the evening meal started. This was at the marina and included lots more food and unlimited alcohol. Needless to say it was a good night. There was a karaoke where we discovered a few talented people amongst the group and the rest of us just sang out of key! James, the manager of Pangkor is incredibly helpful and certainly provided the highlight of the rally. We even had 3 free nights in the marina while we were being entertained.
The following day we had a day trip to a town called Ipoh which has lots of old British colonial buildings. Lunch was provided again and then we were taken to see an art exhibition and given afternoon tea! This was all government organised so there was no alcohol for the day.
Next stop was Penang. We had a very good sail to Penang island, passed under the 2 very long bridges from the mainland and anchored off Georgetown. We really enjoyed Georgetown. It is a lovely old city and its nice just to wander around and look at all the old buildings. We did a walking tour of the town and took in quite a few of the sights and visited a large Buddhist temple out of town. This was very bizarre as it was full of tourist shops and again was more like a theme park than a temple. Penang is famous for a meal called Laksa. This is a sort of broth with noodles and was delicious, we had one every day while we were there and would definitely recommend it.
After a few days we sailed to Langkawi so that we could have time at anchor before the rally activities started. Wow! What a surprise Langkawi was as there are lots of little islands with steep limestone cliffs and its very pretty. The first night we anchored in a narrow gully between 2 islands which was like being in a fiord. We moved to a few different places mainly trying to get away from the tourist boats which zip around at high speed all day but we are getting used to them.
We booked into Rebak marina on Rebak island for a week at the end of the rally. The marina invited us to a very nice reception where the wine and beer was flowing all evening. Then we had our last day trip around Langkawi. We were mainly taken to duty free shops (Langkawi is a duty free island) but also had afternoon tea provided by the Royal Langkawi yacht club. About an hour later we had dinner at a local restaurant and that was the end of the rally.
After the fun we started work on our very neglected boat. We stocked up on wine, beer and spirits (a litre of gin is £5!) and got ready for Christmas. Buying food for dinner was more difficult than buying alcohol. We joined with friends Sue and Stefan from Charlotte and Chris and Dave from CD for Christmas dinner. We all prepared part of the meal and we had a good party on Chapter Two. This followed the party on CD on Christmas Eve and then we had another Boxing Day party on Charlotte!
New Years eve was spent in Kuah town, the main town on Langkawi, with friends Sharon and Lindsay from Songlines 3 and Pauline and John from Our Odyssey. These are 2 Australian boats we met in Indonesia. Sharon and Lindsey like red wine, as do we, so much was consumed on New Years eve. We saw the New Year in for the first time in a few years and suffered the next day!
While we have been in Langkawi it has been nice to meet up with friends Jan Bart and Monique. They crossed the Pacific with us on a boat called Victory. We had not seen them for over a year as they had sold Victory and brought a catamaran in Thailand. They are now on their new boat in Langkawi before heading east back through Malaysia.
Once our parcel arrives we will head to Thailand. Phuket is only 120 miles and the nearest Thai island is only 20 miles away. At that point, the work will stop and hopefully the fun will start again.
Before all this work started we had the end of the Sail Malaysia rally. When we wrote our last blog we were on our way to Pangkor. This was probably the highlight of the rally. After a few days anchored off Pangkor Island we moved around to the marina for the festivities. The first day was a tour of Pangkor island which included a wonderful Chinese meal at a beach side restaurant. We also watched some traditional boat building and visited a Chinese temple which was more like a theme park with a miniature great wall of china! After a few hours rest the evening meal started. This was at the marina and included lots more food and unlimited alcohol. Needless to say it was a good night. There was a karaoke where we discovered a few talented people amongst the group and the rest of us just sang out of key! James, the manager of Pangkor is incredibly helpful and certainly provided the highlight of the rally. We even had 3 free nights in the marina while we were being entertained.
The following day we had a day trip to a town called Ipoh which has lots of old British colonial buildings. Lunch was provided again and then we were taken to see an art exhibition and given afternoon tea! This was all government organised so there was no alcohol for the day.
Next stop was Penang. We had a very good sail to Penang island, passed under the 2 very long bridges from the mainland and anchored off Georgetown. We really enjoyed Georgetown. It is a lovely old city and its nice just to wander around and look at all the old buildings. We did a walking tour of the town and took in quite a few of the sights and visited a large Buddhist temple out of town. This was very bizarre as it was full of tourist shops and again was more like a theme park than a temple. Penang is famous for a meal called Laksa. This is a sort of broth with noodles and was delicious, we had one every day while we were there and would definitely recommend it.
After a few days we sailed to Langkawi so that we could have time at anchor before the rally activities started. Wow! What a surprise Langkawi was as there are lots of little islands with steep limestone cliffs and its very pretty. The first night we anchored in a narrow gully between 2 islands which was like being in a fiord. We moved to a few different places mainly trying to get away from the tourist boats which zip around at high speed all day but we are getting used to them.
We booked into Rebak marina on Rebak island for a week at the end of the rally. The marina invited us to a very nice reception where the wine and beer was flowing all evening. Then we had our last day trip around Langkawi. We were mainly taken to duty free shops (Langkawi is a duty free island) but also had afternoon tea provided by the Royal Langkawi yacht club. About an hour later we had dinner at a local restaurant and that was the end of the rally.
After the fun we started work on our very neglected boat. We stocked up on wine, beer and spirits (a litre of gin is £5!) and got ready for Christmas. Buying food for dinner was more difficult than buying alcohol. We joined with friends Sue and Stefan from Charlotte and Chris and Dave from CD for Christmas dinner. We all prepared part of the meal and we had a good party on Chapter Two. This followed the party on CD on Christmas Eve and then we had another Boxing Day party on Charlotte!
New Years eve was spent in Kuah town, the main town on Langkawi, with friends Sharon and Lindsay from Songlines 3 and Pauline and John from Our Odyssey. These are 2 Australian boats we met in Indonesia. Sharon and Lindsey like red wine, as do we, so much was consumed on New Years eve. We saw the New Year in for the first time in a few years and suffered the next day!
While we have been in Langkawi it has been nice to meet up with friends Jan Bart and Monique. They crossed the Pacific with us on a boat called Victory. We had not seen them for over a year as they had sold Victory and brought a catamaran in Thailand. They are now on their new boat in Langkawi before heading east back through Malaysia.
Once our parcel arrives we will head to Thailand. Phuket is only 120 miles and the nearest Thai island is only 20 miles away. At that point, the work will stop and hopefully the fun will start again.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Good Bye Indonesia, Hello Malaysia!
After clearing out from Indonesia at Belitung we had a 2 day sail/motor (mostly motor) to a small island called Selayar. It was a pretty stop and looked a bit like parts of Maine or Scotland but with 30C or so. Strong currents and lots of fishing traps made anchoring a challenge but it was good holding and relaxing for a full days rest before we continued north. We left with friends Chris and Dave from 'CD' and Stefan and Sue from 'Charlotte' for the short sail to the next anchorage. On the way we crossed the equator for the 4th time. It was fun as we rafted the 3 boats together with Chapter Two in the middle providing the power to get us across the equator. We all had a glass of fizz and toasted the sea gods as we crossed. We separated after crossing just before we were hit by squalls so it was all very good timing.
After a few more stops in pretty anchorages, we reached the straits of Melaka where we had to cross the shipping lane to the Singapore strait. We have never seen so many ships. There were far more than the English channel. It was very exciting and we had to turn the radar off as there were just too many echos to make sense of anything. We got across in one piece and headed up the Johor strait to Puteri Harbour marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
We spent 2 weeks in the marina and enjoyed the local restaurants especially our favourite, the Brussels Bar. As it's a Muslim country beer is fairly expensive (UK prices) but the burger and fries were tasty. In fact. the BB let us buy meat from them at cost price to stock up our freezer. We also stocked up with provisions at the local supermarkets which included a Tesco so we were a bit spoilt for choice after the small shops in Indonesia.
We organised a weekend trip to Singapore by car. It is very expensive to take the boat into Singapore marinas so we left it in the marina in Puteri. There are 2 bridges linking Singapore to Malaysia and lots of people cross between the two. The southern part of Malysia is becoming almost part of Singapore with many people living in Malaysia and commuting. The problem with this is that it is pushing the Malaysian's out as they cannot afford the new housing currently being built.
Our first day in Singapore we headed to the bay front area to see the gardens which have their own version of the Eden project and a bigger version of the London eye. We went to the Cloud Forest dome which was amazing given where it is but is really too small. To see a view of the city we headed to the Sands Hotel which is near the bay front. It has 3 towers linked by a 'ship' at the top. The view was good but it was very expensive for what it was and they do not allow you in any of the restaurants unless you are a hotel guest even though, they are practically empty!
We stayed at a hotel which is part of a sports club near to Raffles hotel. It was a homely and friendly hotel and we could use the members bar and restaurant and other facilities. We enjoyed this as all the restaurants in the area were in shopping malls and included the usual chains. Not somewhere to have a nice meal for the evening.
Our next day we spent hours walking around the botanical gardens including the amazing Orchid garden. There are so many different types and we took a lot of pictures as they were just so stunning!Then we headed to the main shopping area on Orchard Road. Its a bit like Oxford Street in London except every shop is a shopping mall full of designer shops. A shoppers paradise for those with very deep pockets but no good to us living on a boat! Our final day we headed quite a way out of the city centre to visit a bird park. They had an amazing number of different species of birds but it was sad to see how small some of the cages were for the bigger birds. However, many were larger and have walk through sections where you are in with the birds. This meant that you had some amazing views of ones like the Birds of Paradise. We also managed a trip to Raffles Long bar (last rebuilt 1995 or so!) but did not bother with a Singapore sling as its is just a tourist rip off. We are glad we visited Singapore but 3 days was definitely enough.
We have joined the Sail Malaysia rally and as part of the rally we had a day trip in the Johor Bahru area. The morning was spent in Johor Bahru itself visiting a few uninspiring buildings but the afternoon we were taken to a village. The locals were so warm and welcoming, it was lovely. They did a welcome dance for us before serving a nice lunch and then demonstrated some of their local cooking with Tapioca. I particularly like the tapioca covered with coconut, it was lovely and sweet!
After a few more days in the marina we left to start the trip north up the Melaka (Malacca in English) straits. It took us 4 days and we had to motor most of the way as there is usually no wind. We have also been having some amazing thunder and lightning storms. It rains most afternoons and we can see 3 or 4 strikes of lightening all coming down at the same time.
Our next stop was Port Dickson which is where we currently are. Our time here has been busy with games one afternoon, a dinner this evening and 3 day trips. The first was to the local area and we were taken to another village and to the military museum. The museum was definitely more a boy thing! Next we had a day in Kuala Lumpur. As part of the tour we went to the Batu caves which are caves with lots of stalactites and have a Hindu temple built inside them. There are 272 steps to reach the caves which are fairly big but probably looked more impressive without all the shrines! The other highlight of the day was seeing the famous Petronas towers with the bridge between the 2 towers. They are completely covered in stainless steel which definitely looked less rusty than our boat at the moment! Again, if you don't like shopping then there is no reason to visit KL. It is very busy and full of ugly high rise blocks.
Yesterday we were looking forward to a visit to Melaka which is the oldest city in Malaysia. We visited a number of historic sites (but they are surrounded by stalls selling tourist tatt) and we had a very good guide who told us lots about the history . The school holidays have just started in Malaysia so it was very busy which didn't help. We were taken to the maritime museum but there wasn't a single artefact in it. One thing we have discovered in Malaysia is that lots of places are called museums when they are really just displays of pictures and explanations about stuff they don't have.
After our rally dinner this evening (we are being fed a lot on the rally!) we have 4 days sailing to our next stop at Pangkor where we have more day trips and another dinner! The nice things about all the meals out is that we don't have to cook on the boat. It is so hot here that we just don't want additional heat from the cooker. Also the food in the restaurants is cheap, a bottle of beer normally costs us more than the food!
After a few more stops in pretty anchorages, we reached the straits of Melaka where we had to cross the shipping lane to the Singapore strait. We have never seen so many ships. There were far more than the English channel. It was very exciting and we had to turn the radar off as there were just too many echos to make sense of anything. We got across in one piece and headed up the Johor strait to Puteri Harbour marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
We spent 2 weeks in the marina and enjoyed the local restaurants especially our favourite, the Brussels Bar. As it's a Muslim country beer is fairly expensive (UK prices) but the burger and fries were tasty. In fact. the BB let us buy meat from them at cost price to stock up our freezer. We also stocked up with provisions at the local supermarkets which included a Tesco so we were a bit spoilt for choice after the small shops in Indonesia.
We organised a weekend trip to Singapore by car. It is very expensive to take the boat into Singapore marinas so we left it in the marina in Puteri. There are 2 bridges linking Singapore to Malaysia and lots of people cross between the two. The southern part of Malysia is becoming almost part of Singapore with many people living in Malaysia and commuting. The problem with this is that it is pushing the Malaysian's out as they cannot afford the new housing currently being built.
Our first day in Singapore we headed to the bay front area to see the gardens which have their own version of the Eden project and a bigger version of the London eye. We went to the Cloud Forest dome which was amazing given where it is but is really too small. To see a view of the city we headed to the Sands Hotel which is near the bay front. It has 3 towers linked by a 'ship' at the top. The view was good but it was very expensive for what it was and they do not allow you in any of the restaurants unless you are a hotel guest even though, they are practically empty!
We stayed at a hotel which is part of a sports club near to Raffles hotel. It was a homely and friendly hotel and we could use the members bar and restaurant and other facilities. We enjoyed this as all the restaurants in the area were in shopping malls and included the usual chains. Not somewhere to have a nice meal for the evening.
Our next day we spent hours walking around the botanical gardens including the amazing Orchid garden. There are so many different types and we took a lot of pictures as they were just so stunning!Then we headed to the main shopping area on Orchard Road. Its a bit like Oxford Street in London except every shop is a shopping mall full of designer shops. A shoppers paradise for those with very deep pockets but no good to us living on a boat! Our final day we headed quite a way out of the city centre to visit a bird park. They had an amazing number of different species of birds but it was sad to see how small some of the cages were for the bigger birds. However, many were larger and have walk through sections where you are in with the birds. This meant that you had some amazing views of ones like the Birds of Paradise. We also managed a trip to Raffles Long bar (last rebuilt 1995 or so!) but did not bother with a Singapore sling as its is just a tourist rip off. We are glad we visited Singapore but 3 days was definitely enough.
We have joined the Sail Malaysia rally and as part of the rally we had a day trip in the Johor Bahru area. The morning was spent in Johor Bahru itself visiting a few uninspiring buildings but the afternoon we were taken to a village. The locals were so warm and welcoming, it was lovely. They did a welcome dance for us before serving a nice lunch and then demonstrated some of their local cooking with Tapioca. I particularly like the tapioca covered with coconut, it was lovely and sweet!
After a few more days in the marina we left to start the trip north up the Melaka (Malacca in English) straits. It took us 4 days and we had to motor most of the way as there is usually no wind. We have also been having some amazing thunder and lightning storms. It rains most afternoons and we can see 3 or 4 strikes of lightening all coming down at the same time.
Our next stop was Port Dickson which is where we currently are. Our time here has been busy with games one afternoon, a dinner this evening and 3 day trips. The first was to the local area and we were taken to another village and to the military museum. The museum was definitely more a boy thing! Next we had a day in Kuala Lumpur. As part of the tour we went to the Batu caves which are caves with lots of stalactites and have a Hindu temple built inside them. There are 272 steps to reach the caves which are fairly big but probably looked more impressive without all the shrines! The other highlight of the day was seeing the famous Petronas towers with the bridge between the 2 towers. They are completely covered in stainless steel which definitely looked less rusty than our boat at the moment! Again, if you don't like shopping then there is no reason to visit KL. It is very busy and full of ugly high rise blocks.
Yesterday we were looking forward to a visit to Melaka which is the oldest city in Malaysia. We visited a number of historic sites (but they are surrounded by stalls selling tourist tatt) and we had a very good guide who told us lots about the history . The school holidays have just started in Malaysia so it was very busy which didn't help. We were taken to the maritime museum but there wasn't a single artefact in it. One thing we have discovered in Malaysia is that lots of places are called museums when they are really just displays of pictures and explanations about stuff they don't have.
After our rally dinner this evening (we are being fed a lot on the rally!) we have 4 days sailing to our next stop at Pangkor where we have more day trips and another dinner! The nice things about all the meals out is that we don't have to cook on the boat. It is so hot here that we just don't want additional heat from the cooker. Also the food in the restaurants is cheap, a bottle of beer normally costs us more than the food!
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Bali and Borneo
We went to the opening of the festival
in Lovina beach, Bali. There was lots of traditional dancing and
music. Unfortunately, it was so busy that it was very difficult to
see very much. Quite a change to previous events we have been to as
we were completely crowded out by locals whereas the ceremonies
further east we were treated like royalty and always given the prime
seats. Still we did get to see lots of the dancing that Bali is
famous for.
One of the other events we went to was
Bull 'racing'. Its not just about speed, the animals are really
dressed up and looked after and they get marks for style. These are
splendid looking animals and the event has it's roots in ploughing so
it's a bit like an agricultural show in the UK. It was quite an event
with a big local crowd.
We organised a 2 day trip to Ubud in
the centre of the island with a guy called Widi. Dave and Chris from
CD came with us. We left early in the morning and visited a
waterfall, coffee plantation and Buddhist temple on the lake. The
drive was very scenic with the road going across the mountains and we
had a lovely stop at the top with views down over the lake and temple
that we then dropped down to visit. We arrived in Ubud which was
quite a shock. Its listed as the cultural capital but was just full
of tourist tatt and tourists. Our guide found a us accommodation in
town which allowed us to have a walk around. After dinner we went to
a traditional dance show. It wasn't really what we were expecting and
it was difficult to understand but still an experience.
The following day we still had a list
of places we wanted to visit including the royal palace, royal temple
and an ancient monument called Gunug Kawi. We set off to go to the
palace first and at this point, we realised neither our guide nor our
diver knew where it was! After passing our hotel about 3 times and
asking lots of people we found it. This set the scene for the
remainder of the day. The guide and driver would argue about where
things were and after numerous stops we would find the right place.
Gunug Kawi was an interesting place but the whole route down to the
monument was lined with stalls all trying to sell you the same
things. It got to the point where you tried not to make eye contact
with anyone and you certainly didn't stop!
On the way back we were lost again
along dirt roads in lots of fruit growing areas, especially mangos
and oranges so we stopped to buy lots. The previous day we had gone
though a strawberry growing area so had our first strawberries in
years! Our last stop was to see the volcanoes and lakes on the east
of the island and then it was back to Lovina.
By this time we had had enough of Bali
and crowds so left the following day. We sailed to the western end of
the island which is a national park. It was a bit difficult to find
an anchorage as the charts are very inaccurate and there was lots of
coral. I (Karen) had a good dive with Dave from CD but unfortunately
Mike had a cold so could not dive.
We didn't stay more than a day as we
were all eager to get to Borneo. We had a day sail to an island
called Raas and then an overnight passage to Bawean Island. We are
trying to avoid overnight passages because of the amount of ships and
fishing boats but had no choice due to the distance.
We spent a few days at Bawean which was
a very pretty bay with friendly people. It was then a 2 day sail to
Borneo.
We had a good sail and arrived at the
river entrance mid morning so continued up the river to Kumai. The
trip was quite pretty until we neared the town and then we were met
by a power station billowing smoke and lots of grey warehouse looking
buildings. The town was ugly and a very busy port. We later found out
the grey buildings are built for the swallows to nest in and the
nests are then sold to the Chinese for birds nest soup. Its very
clever as it means the men do not have to search the caves for the
nests. They also play swallow song to attract the birds. Later, we
also saw that the artificial caves are built above shops so when you
go into the shops you can hear all the birds.
The following morning after our arrival
we got up and could not see across the river. The smog was so bad it
reminded us of 19th century England in the movies. The air
smelt of smoke and the boat was covered in ash, it was not very
pleasant. The smoke is the result of the cutting and burning the
forest down to plant palm oil trees. The only part of the forest left
is the National park for the Orangutans.
We waited for CD and Charlotte to catch
up and the 6 of us organised our trip to see the Orangutans. It was a
3 day 2 night trip on a local boat. The price includes a guard to
sleep on your boat to ensure it is OK. We think it is a bit like
paying an insurance policy, we are not sure if they do sleep on all
the boats but no one seems to touch them!
We had a great guide called Andi. He is
one of the most experienced guide and had helped look after some of
the animals before they were released. There are wild Orangutans in
the park but there are also a lot that have been rescued and
released. These still get some support and there are a number of
feeding stations where you can go and watch them. They get fed
bananas and milk on a platform. Andi was good at spotting wild
Orangutans and Proboscis monkeys along the side of the river. We also
saw Crocodiles and a number of other species of monkey.
One of the most famous feeding stations
is Camp Leakey and this is where Andi knows the Orangutangs. He took
us for a walk through the bush and was calling them. A few came down
to the path and we got to feed them bananas. It was lovely to get so
close to them. Most of the animals we saw were the females and many
had babies but at the feeding station we saw the dominant male, Tom.
He was so much bigger than all the other animals we saw and he
certainly rules the roost. He has apparently been in charge for 10
years now so most of the babies are probably his. In fact he grabbed
a female with a baby and dragged her into the bushes while we were
there!
We had a great time which was marred a
little as when we got to the end and were getting our money together
to pay the balance to our agent we discovered that the equivalent of
£80 had been taken from my purse. Fortunately, our agent said he
would sort it out and we deducted the amount stolen from what we paid
him so that we were not out of pocket. We had thought the crew were
very friendly so just goes to show.
Once we got back to our boats, which
were all fine, we got ready to leave. There is nothing else to stay
for in Kumai and the air is certainly not good for you. We had a 2
day passage to the island of Belitung. There was very little wind
after the first 12 hours so we had to motor a lot of the way. Our
first night we paralleled a whole fleet of fishing boats. They were
so close together and they all had a huge bank of flood lights. The
moon was not visible because of all the smoke but the fishing boats
lit up the sky so it was practically like daylight. After we left the
fishing boats behind we had to cross quite a busy shipping lane. It
wasn't too bad but the ships alter course as little as possible and
really do not give yachts very much room. Sometimes you feel as if
they are aiming straight for you!
Belitung is a much more prosperous
island than most and its main trade is tourism. We anchored off a
beach with a resort and there is nothing here other than restaurants.
It is very pretty but we get a strong on shore breeze every afternoon
which makes it very bumpy. It is also very obvious that the rainy
season is starting, the weather is very hot and humid, we have had
squalls blow through and a number of thunder storms. The weather
really is telling us it's time to head north.
The town is across the other side of
the island so a group of us hired 2 cars for the day and went on a
shopping expedition. We all got everything but it was a long day
trying to fit in all the places we all wanted to go. Mike had a bad
stomach so stayed on the boat. We had attended a farewell meal for
Sail Indonesia the previous night where we got to see some
traditional dancing. The food was nice but cold so it probably wasn't
a good idea to eat it. We have been eating out a lot in Indonesia, it
is cheap and tasty but all our stomachs have been bad at various
times, none of us have escaped!
We were invited to a local wedding a
few days ago. We were worried it would go on all day but turned out
to be quite short. We got to see the groom arrive at the brides
house, he arrived on foot with a procession of relatives. He was
dressed in a bright red costume which matched the brides. When he
arrived at the house he had to go through 2 lots of financial
“negotiations” before he could finally enter the room where the
bride was. This was a canopied room within the house and once he
entered the bride and groom then came out of the house. They sat in
chairs of state underneath a canopy and were greeted by all the male
guests who gave them a money gift. We then went in line and greeted
them and that was it. The family and locals all went inside for a
party and we left.
We have cleared out of Indonesia
thanks to the help of a local agent called Jonny. We will leave
tomorrow (24/10) to start the 400 mile trip to Malaysia. We will be
splitting it into day sails as much as possible due to the volume of
shipping around Singapore. We have enjoyed Indonesia but are now
ready to leave and start our next adventure.
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