Author: Savvy Sailing Girl

Greece 2015: Aegean Sea Eastbound

Greece 2015: Aegean Sea Eastbound

Eastbound through the Aegean

The second half of our loop island-hopping in Greece. Each place a wonder and a joyous experience.

Greece 2015: Aegean Sea Westbound

Greece 2015: Aegean Sea Westbound

Island hopping in the Aegean Sea

This is the stuff dreams are made of… cruising the Greek Islands is simply magical. It’s an experience to fill the senses with splashes of color, culture, and culinary delights! Here’s part I – the westbound route…

Syros Greece 2015

Syros Greece 2015

Beautiful Greek Island Gem in the Aegean Sea

Somehow, when we arrived here, we felt that we finally had found our spot in Greece… realized our dreams of cruising the Med. After speaking with our new Greek sailing friend Dino, we decided that we needed to rethink our plans for hurrying up into the Ionian islands and then up to Croatia and Venice in August. He said it was extremely crowded (more so than in the Aegean!) and very, very expensive. We really love it here and before you know it, we decided we were tired of pushing hard and sailing uphill just to make it to Venice this season. Dino highly recommended we not rush out of the Aegean and we’re going to take his advice. Sýros is a wonderful spot… Finikas, on the southwestern coast of the island, is not touristy, yet there are several great restaurants and a market that has everything we need. The mooring we’re on is bullet-proof and so we’re sleeping well, confident that the boat is okay (we aren’t dragging and neither are our neighbors!) There are buses that take you over to the main town of Ermoúpolis on the east coast. That’s a wonderful town, bigger and more touristic, but still has a great feel and lovely Venetian architecture, cobbled stone streets, windy alleys, great cafes and a free in-town bus to take you all around if you don’t feel like walking.

So, here we are, totally smitten with Sýros Island and happily moored by Finikas. We’ve put up the “boat ‘brellie” (the canvas cover to keep the sun off the cabin top) and relaxed with the idea of spending maybe a few weeks here. The Meltemis (strong Greek summer winds) are going to kick in again in another two days and we’ll just stay here until the next lull and then decide whether or not we want to go anywhere then.

Sat 25th July
We took the “clockwise” bus into Ermoúpolis, the main town and capitol of the Cyclades Island group. There’s also an “anti-clockwise” bus which goes by the beach resorts in the south, so we’ll need to try that one on another adventure into town. It’s 30 minutes to town and 1.40 euros/pp. We walked along the waterfront, chatted with some folks on a yacht tied to the quay (long enough to decide we absolutely didn’t want to bring the boat over here), took a free city bus up to a great vista point, and then walked down to find a cafe.

We happened upon “Belle Epoque” (above photo left) a tiny cafe off the main square in front of the town hall. Eric, the owner, was delightful to speak with. He’s half French and half Greek, so his Greek coffee and croissants were excellent, as was his special egg dish. He prepares everything with local ingredients and with loving care. My first Greek coffee was splendid and he let me watch him as he created this work of art. Every part of the process was exact, down to the number of stirs clockwise and anti-clockwise so that the coffee wouldn’t spin in the pot. You could tell how much pride he took in serving the best quality, and we enjoyed sitting outside and relaxing with our brunch.

Afterwards, we walked back up the hill where the bus had taken us, stopping off to see the Apollo theater (unfortunately we had missed the opera festival). We continued up the hill further to get to the famous St. George Greek Orthodox church, where we met Antonio (Anthony Quinn, as he said we’d be able to remember his name better!) the priest. He invited us to join him at a service later that evening at another church, higher up in the hills, but we were afraid we’d miss the bus back at 9pm and then have to wait for the midnight bus. Maybe we’ll go another evening as long as we’re staying a while.

Tuesday 28th Jul
I took the bus into Ermoúpolis on my own to wander around. On Saturday when we were in town, we walked past a storefront where they were doing sewing and alterations. It somehow looked good to me and so today I brought several items that needed repair and altering. I also went looking at frames for glasses, since I have an extra set of lenses for reading glasses I had gotten in Marmaris. I saw some nice but very expensive ones at a shop. I decided to “marinate” on it before spending a lot of money. I’m glad I did, as I found another little shop (not so upscale) which had some cute frames and would only cost 25 Euros with my own lenses. Done. Both clothing and glasses should be ready on Saturday. The rest of the day I just walked around the nice streets and alleys, browsed the artsy shops and enjoyed meandering.

Thursday 30th Jul
We headed back to town today to visit the Industrial museum, which would have been more interesting had they presented any of the information in English. Still, we enjoyed looking at the machinery and models of boats and diesel engines. We decided to sit and have a stevia-sweetened lemonade on the green in front of the town hall, then proceeded on to the Cyclades Art Gallery, which was having a special exhibition of boating and sea-related paintings on loan from the National Gallery (I presume in Athens). It was small, but nice to see. We went back to Belle Epoque for lunch, and enjoyed meze plates. We had cheeses, sausages, salads, dips and bread all for 9 euros… We thought Eric had tallied the bill wrong, but he said that was right. Good deal! One of the sausages was so good that we asked Eric where we could get it. He told us and we walked to the butcher on the other side of town. It turns out that it is the traditional sausage of Sýros and is delicious (though nothing can compare to the “Gamekeepers” sausage from the market at Manly AU). We walked back to catch the bus… It was hot… And even hotter on the bus. It was a whopping 44 degrees on the bus with the aircon going. We were melting and almost got off the bus before it even left. We didn’t though, and as soon as we got back to the boat and I put away our purchases we jumped into the water. Refreshing!

Saturday 1st Aug
I went into town to pick up my alterations and reading glasses and just explore again. I had a grand old time and when I got back at 3:30PM Roger said we were going back into town that evening with Dino, Ellie, Taxos (sp?) and Iros (sp?) for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant for falafels and then an open air concert in front of the town hall. We had such a lovely evening. The music was great, with a delightfully purple-clad opera singer performing traditional Greek songs.

Finikas Harbor full moon

Monday 3rd Aug
We were invited to join our new group of Greek friends, increased by two… Theodoro and Sophia on another boat, for fish dinner at a local restaurant here in Finikas. We sat at a table right on the harbor front and enjoyed many plates of veggies and fish. The weather was perfect and the company was lovely. One of the many plates was tiny little fish deep fried and the local kitties were happy to be hand-fed by us (but mostly by Roger). Everyone decided that the following night would be a group “pot luck” dinner of Greek specialties. Sophia is a cook and has written two cookbooks, and we were delighted to be the hosting boat for the gathering.

Tuesday 4th Aug

We had a leisurely day (they’re all delightfully that way these days!) and a swim, then a back-deck shower at 6PM, giving us enough time to prepare for our guests arriving at 8PM. We had a wonderful evening… four couples in the cockpit with Greek delights. I put out cheese and nuts as appetizers and each of the other boats brought a Greek dish… cheese pie, cheese, pepper and I’m not sure what else, and a lentil dish with onions.

Theodoro prepared a fabulous yogurt dessert with nuts and berries and honey. It was so rich! We found out he adds marscapone cheese to it… so that’s the trick!

We discussed plans for the following day and are going to rent scooters for two days, from 6PM tomorrow so we can drive into town and back for dinner and an outdoor quarry concert, then have the scooters to explore the following days before returning them at 6PM two days later. We are so enjoying the company of our new Greek cruising friends. Roger especially is developing a great friendship with Dino, the gentleman who is responsible for our complete change of plans! 🙂

Wednesday 5th Aug
We picked up the scooters at about 5pm and then headed into town for a bite of dinner at “Grill” a great little spot on the harborfront for Gyros and such. It really was very good. Then we headed up to the old quarry where we enjoyed a fantastic open-air concert. A famous composer and three other well-known singers were there to perform until very late. I couldn’t believe how late they played. The music was wonderful and traditional – very Greek. Each of the singers were great in their own way. One of them, a 71-year old woman had a powerful voice and belted out the tunes like you wouldn’t believe. We didn’t get back to the boat until 1AM. I think we’re shifting to “Greek time”… Getting to bed no earlier than midnight, sleeping late and taking a siesta in the afternoons.

Thursday 6th Aug
Our scooter had some sort of problem and kept cutting out, so we waited an hour in the morning before they came with another scooter for us. We then headed into town for a coffee and traditional Greek pastry… Fresh out of the oven. One with feta cheese and another with sweet cream filling (something much better than either Bavarian creme or the normal white fluffy stuff). We ran some errands in town and then grabbed a gyro at the same place we ate the previous evening. We (FINALLY) got to try an ice cream at Daidada, supposedly the best on the island, and it was! They even had my favorite: coconut. It had been made just one hour before and it tasted delicious.

After lunch we scootered up to Ano Syros, the medieval town up above Ermoúpolis and walked to the cathedral of St. George on top.

We met Dino and Ellie at 5pm and took a lovely scooter tour of the northern part of the island. It is barren and desolate, but beautiful in its own way. We worked our way back through town and then down to the southern coast where we met Sophia and Theodoro, Iro and Takis, at a beach-side restaurant. Sophia, being a chef, instinctively knew what to order and everything was marvelous. We’re going to need to get back to our normal eating routine before too long, as we’ve been eating out and plentifully these past days. We both felt though that taking advantage of going with this great group of Greek “locals” was the thing to do. We’ll have plenty of time on our own again eventually.

Sunday 9th Aug
We joined our friends for another concert. This one was even better than the others with a fine orchestra and a group of wonderful singers. The songs were all in Greek save one, in English. Some of them had almost a caberet sound while others were soulful. Each one was great. The venue was an old mansion on the opposite side of the bay from where we were moored and we walked about a half hour each way along the coast.

Monday 10th Aug
We headed into Ermoúpolis with the group to do some provisioning as we are finally going to attempt to tear ourselves away from Sýros and our marvelous mooring (at least for a little while… we might be back!) We went to a small art exhibit and visited the Church of the Dormition, where an early work of El Greco from the 1500’s is housed. After returning to the boat and enjoying a little swim-about, we went with Dinos and Ellie back to the other side of the bay for dinner at a local taverna. Garlic dip, Greek salad, grilled lamb chops, Greek beer… All good. Tomorrow we’re off to Delos, the center of the ancient world! 

Eastern Med 2015

Eastern Med 2015

Israel, Northern Cyprus, and Turkey

And then all of a sudden after a year of research and four months of travel across the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez, and the Canal… we were in the Mediterranean Sea!

Israel 2015

Israel 2015

Road trip through Israel

From Herzliya up the coast then inland to Nazareth then Jerusalem. Israel is a magical land and the trip filled the senses with history and beauty.

Good Galley Cornbread

Good Galley Cornbread

Scrumptious Sweet Cornbread

Who doesn't love corn bread? It's the perfect side dish for many cruising one-pot meals like chili, or delightful on its own. Delicious and easy-to-make sweet cornbread every time!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Calories 190 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • cup white granulated sugar
  • cup dark brown sugar
  • tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk add 2 tbsp butter if nonfat
  • cup olive oil

Instructions
 

  • preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
  • grease 9" cake pan (do not use glass pans)
  • In large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, white sugar, dark brown sugar, salt, and baking powder.
  • Stir in egg, milk and olive oil until well combined.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan.
  • Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cairo Egypt 2015: Pyramids

Cairo Egypt 2015: Pyramids

Pyramids of Giza, Dashur, and Sakkara

There’s lots of sand, dust, haze, and some pollution, making it hard on the allergies. The hawkers are another story… Completely relentless and skilled, each with their own spiel and hard sell to get you into their shop. Still, it was great to be in Cairo (wow!!! We’re in Cairo, Egypt!)

Head to the Med 2015: Arabian and Red Seas

Head to the Med 2015: Arabian and Red Seas

The Maldives to the Suez Canal

Piracy along the coast of Somalia prompted us to form a convoy of boats and hire a security team armed with big guns to protect us. It was an adventure for sure, but luckily a safe one!

Luxor Egypt 2015

Luxor Egypt 2015

Luxor, Karnak, and the Nile River

LUXOR!!!! WOW!!!… an amazing experience. This short but wonderful trip absolutely ranks among the top highlights of our cruising journey thus far. Standing amid the ancient ruins, temples and tombs, paintings and hieroglyphics, is dazzling and breathtaking.

We should have had a tourist police permit to travel to Luxor and we should have taken a different (though longer) route, but we didn’t. Abrahem, our new Egyptian friend from Luxor and the driver both tried getting the permit for us. They didn’t have our passport information and didn’t have enough time to complete the process. That cost us about a half hour at the first police checkpoint in El Quesir. After a few phone calls, some baksheesh paid and a lot of yelling, arm waving, and cigarette smoking, we got permission to continue on our way. As we neared Luxor, we took a detour through the back streets and behind the airport the long way to avoid the final police checkpoint. We eventually made it into town and to Abrahem’s home to meet his family and enjoy a nice meal.

Abrahem’s brother-in-law Mohamed, an Egyptologist and freelance tour guide, was to spend the next two days with us. He picked us up and we headed to the Luxor Temple. It was dusk and the lights were on at the temple. It was magical seeing the obelisk out front, the huge statues and columns, and the “Avenue of Sphinxes”, which leads north to Karnak Temple. 

Luxor Temple at dusk

A mosque is built on top of a portion of the Luxor Temple, and we toured it as well. It was interesting to have this opportunity to peek inside a mosque. Mohamed told us so much about the history of the gods and the kings and queens. He told us about many of the words that had been changed from the ancient Egyptian language by the Greeks, leading to our current-day terminology, including the word Pharaoh for one of power or leader.

After Luxor Temple and the mosque, we checked into our hotel, the Jolly Vive on Kings Island, located on a small island in the Nile River. Breakfast was included and we enjoyed a vast array of delectable treats on the terrace overlooking the Nile… you simply cannot beat that! 🙂

Luxor along the Nile River

The next morning, we started out early and spent the entire day at the tombs and temples of the necropolis on the west bank of the Nile. Our first stop was to the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs are buried. In ancient times there were also female pharaohs who ruled in Egypt. The carvings and the paintings in these tombs are both elaborate and exquisite. Because the tombs are located in such a dry climate and dug deeply into the mountainsides, the paint is intact to a large degree. The walls and ceilings are covered in pictures and hieroglyphics telling of the battles and life of the times. The pharaohs actually had their tombs constructed during their lifetimes. Each tomb consists of an entrance hall, several chambers and then the final chamber where the mummified body was placed in sarcophagi.  The sarcophagus was an outer stone structure into which was placed several inner caskets. The tomb contained riches and tools for the deceased to travel through the underworlds (there were two of them – good and evil). The locations of the tombs were chosen to be placed under pyramid-shaped rock formations in Thebes (ancient Egyptian name for Luxor), so they didn’t have to build the pyramids themselves, like they did in Giza.

After the Valley of the Kings, we went to Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. It was designed and implemented by Senenmut, royal architect of Hatshepsut, believed to be her lover. Hatshepsut’s son came to power when he was young but Hatshepsut sent him off and she took the crown herself. When she eventually died and her son became king, he unfortunately had the images of Hatshepsut scratched out from the walls here in revenge. This temple is where they performed the process of mummification, a 70-day process before the final burial.

Our next stop was to R’Mose, or temple of Ramose, in Sheikh abd Al-Querna, or the Valley of the Nobles. The carving here is incredible. So delicate with perfectly carved ears and thumbs, intricately carved jewelry and wigs, styled differently for each individual. There were the most beautifully carved hieroglyphics… perfect little owls, horses and faces. Just beautiful!

Following the Valley of the Nobles, we visited Deir al-Madina, which is the place the workers had lived and where they were buried. The tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles were all built and decorated by workers who were paid… not by slaves. Although the two tombs we visited were not nearly as large or as elaborately decorated as those of nobility, they were lovely and impressive none-the-less.

We continued on to the Valley of the Queens and visited the tombs of one of the wives of King Ramses II, Queen Titi and prince Amonherkhepshef. Princes under the age of 13 were buried in the Valley of the Queens. Our last stop on the west bank was to Habu Temple. This temple was built by Ramses III at the time where the Egyptian empire was already in decline. King Ramses III was able-bodied and proficient in hunting. Many of the carvings at this temple depicted him on his chariot hunting.

The next morning, we started off in a horse carriage to visit the local markets. We weren’t sure we wanted to do this, both because it seemed very touristy and because of Sher’s allergy to horses, but Mohamed assured us that this was the best way to travel into the markets. Unfortunately, we were right on both accounts… touristy and a seriously runny nose. We walked around, then decided on a car for further transportation to the live animal market (we resisted the temptation to buy a goat) and then the Luxor Museum, which was splendid. We spent hours gazing at statues and learning more about early Egyptian history. There were also two mummies in residence at the museum, one of which was thought to be King Ramses I.

Our final destination was Karnak Temple. We spent hours there and we were dazzled by the enormity and detail of the columns, obelisks, and the carved and painted walls of the temples housed within the complex. We learned why all offerings to the temple were allowed except humans (somewhat obvious) and fish, a complex story of love, hate, infidelity, deception, revenge and forgiveness. Hmmm, we thought it was because of the fishy smell.

We headed back to Port Ghalib the following morning and enjoyed a shorter and less controversial ride, with official papers, but still somewhat hidden in the back of the van (with curtains drawn) to prevent any potential issues at checkpoints.

Kochi India 2015

Kochi India 2015

The Kerala Region of Southern India

The city of Kochi and surrounds plus an excursion up into the Munar tea plantations were about all we were able to see during our time in India. Must definitely travel back to see more!

Sri Lanka 2015

Sri Lanka 2015

Galle, Colombo, and Kandy

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and we had the good fortune to be able to tour some of the southern regions. I definitely want to return at a later date to see more!

Bay of Bengal 2015: Eastern Indian Ocean

Bay of Bengal 2015: Eastern Indian Ocean

Phuket to the Maldives via Sri Lanka and India

We decided back in March that we would remain in Thailand for the SW monsoon season to rest, work on boat projects, and travel, which we did. Still, it was a longer stay than we would have liked and we couldn’t have done it without the A/C. But we needed to time our next passage with the NE Monsoon so we stayed put on the north side of Phuket Island for 10 months. Roger spent much of this time working on a plan that would get us up to the Med with a convoy and security on board at a reasonable cost. Shipping the boat by sea was way too expensive, shipping by land was wrought with problems, with Saudi Arabian customs, and neither of us really wanted to sail around South Africa… notoriously and accurately called the “Cape of Storms”. Our “Plan B”, if we couldn’t sail up through the Red Sea, was to head back around Singapore and up through the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and then Japan. We’d spend a season there and then sail to Alaska, down the west coast of the US, Mexico and then cross the South Pacific bound for New Zealand. Plan B eliminated the possibility of our completing a circumnavigation, which we’d both like to do. It also eliminated our dreams of sailing the Turkish coast for Roger, and in Greece, Malta and Italy for me. When it looked as if our “Head to the Med through the Red 2015” convoy wasn’t coming together cost-effectively, we were faced with making a choice… South Africa, Japan, or possibly head to Singapore to find work for a year or two and fill up the cruising kitty. 

We discussed the pros and cons of each option… weighing costs, timelines, highlights and low lights of each. We just could not come to a decision. I was leaning towards heading west to complete our circumnavigation and was trying to work up a hearty enthusiasm for the lemurs of Madagascar and the ellies and wildlife parks of South Africa, but Roger wasn’t leaning at all… or would lean one way and then another. We missed two deadlines we set for our decision making and just when it really, REALLY came down to the wire, we had a breakthrough… 

Roger found a website for an association of maritime security companies. They listed contact info and summaries for all their members (about 150 in all) and he painstakingly went through almost all (at least up to the P’s or S’s) and sent dozens of emails off in hopes of finding a workable solution. It paid off! We had 6 or 7 companies that were very interested in working with us, at more reasonable prices below our pain threshold. One of these turned out to be just the right solution. The company owners made a trip to Phuket to visit with us for a few days and to discuss the plans. The energy was great, the price was fair (relatively speaking) and the contract and details just needed to be sorted out. All of that still took another two months, but the Universe was telling us to hang in there and not give up. 🙂 We’ll be documenting our trip and post details for others who might be interested once we complete the journey and are up in the Med.

The NE monsoon this year was very late in coming. Roger was diligently watching the weather forecasts for a good window to leave Phuket and start our passage over to Sri Lanka. We had hoped to leave the Yacht Haven Marina by mid-December, but cyclones pounded through the Philippines one after another and kept the weather unsettled. WOW, are we glad we decided not to head up that way to Japan. We would have been smack in the middle of those cyclones and would have gotten hammered!

Phuket was bound and determined to hold us in its vortex, but we finally pulled ourselves out of the marina and sailed around to Ao Chalong to check out and then Nai Harn for a few last-minute tasks and provisions (Nai Harn grilled chicken… yeah baby!) We sold our A/C to a yacht spending another year in SE Asia and delivered it to them in the bay by dinghy. Then off we went, finally, destined for points west… new cultures, new cuisine, new landscape, and who knows what else! 

Day 610 – 618 –  29 Dec – 6 Jan 2015 – Nai Harn bay, Phuket to Galle, Sri Lanka

We had decided to stay another week or so until the weather settled down a bit more, but as soon as we decided that, the next morning Roger was at the computer checking weather and thinking we should be on our way. So, as we often do, we changed our minds and within an hour we we pulling up the anchor and heading west.

Day 1 – we had everything from no wind at the outset to 40 knots late in the afternoon. We had a dolphin escort for a bit and I took that as a good sign for our journey. We had a squall that stirred up the seas in the afternoon and left us both on the queasy side. We skipped dinner and simply had a few crackers with our Dramamine.

Day 2 – we are crossing the Andaman Sea and should reach the Nicobar islands in the morning. Although these islands are only two days off the coast of Thailand, and even closer to Indonesia, they belong to India. No foreign visitors are allowed to stop there without visas and permits, so we cruised on through.

Day 3 – we arrived at the Nicobars in the morning and enjoyed a nice sail through the passage with wind and current behind us. As we entered the channel between the islands we saw a beautiful rainbow and I knew my grandma and especially grandpa were smiling down at us. We continued on, dodging a few rainstorms, and the wind was mostly enough for sailing.

Day 4 – the winds lightened up and are almost on the nose… Unfortunately. So we are motoring with nice flat seas. We aren’t able to get the GRIBS (basic weather forecast chart over radio) as the Indian Ocean is lacking close-enough substations to transmit to/from. So we will deal with whatever we get.

Day 5 – we are about half way to Sri Lanka and continue motoring in a glassy calm ocean. Roger thinks the wind will switch to the NE later today…. And sure enough it has. We are still motor-sailing though as winds are light. Just before lunch we had a huge group of dolphins join us and give us a friendly escort for a while. They were riding the bow, frolicking and jumping for joy. Such beautiful creatures. I always think it is good luck when the dolphins come to play with us.

Just as I was heading down to the galley to start preparing a proper dinner meal, with the conditions so calm, we heard an awful banging of propeller and shaft. OMG! We immediately put the transmission in neutral and then shut off the engine. Roger checked the engine and the drive shaft but couldn’t find anything there, so thought the problem had to be in the prop. That meant getting in the water and under the boat for a look. We had to “heave to” to stop the boat as much as possible. The sun was setting and the thought of Roger off the boat and in the water in 12,000 feet in the middle of the Indian Ocean, even wearing a harness and tied on, made me queasy. Needless to say that whatever might be wrong with the prop would necessitate leaving the engine off and using sails only… problematic with the anticipated lack of wind forecast for days to come. We also had no way to contact anyone as no boats were within radio range. I was concerned, but felt so confident in Roger’s experience and capabilities as well as the sturdiness of the boat, that it didn’t escalate into real fear. I am so appreciative to have a solid partner and boat I can rely on. Everything looked fine with the prop and Roger was back on board within a few minutes. He checked the engine again and everything was okay, so we started it up and it was fine. The best we can speculate is that a bag or something underwater got tangled in the prop and took it out of balance for a few minutes and then it cleared when we took it out of gear. Everything has been fine since and we continue motor-sailing happily along.

Day 6 – the conditions have been benign, not much wind, very calm seas. It looks like we will have to continue to motor as there isn’t enough wind to keep the sails full. Roger hasn’t been sleeping much/well and is exhausted to the point of feeling a bit queasy. We had brekky early and he went into our cabin to sleep since the conditions are calm. With the help of a dramamine and his own comfy bed, hopefully he will be able to sleep until noon.

Day 7 – Finally we are able to sail. In fact we had to slow down a bit so we don’t arrive in the shipping lanes off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the middle of the night. There are so many boats heading around that way, coming or going between the Malaca Straits and around Sri Lanka. Many are heading through the Red Sea, but others will head down and around South Africa. The wind picked up in the afternoon and the seas got a bit unsettled, but we were able to take showers on the back deck in sunshine, which is always a delight. No matter how luxurious a resort might be, it can’t compare with an outdoor shower on the back deck in the sunshine or under the moon and stars. Unfortunately, while Roger was showering he somehow tweaked his back and is not a very happy camper tonight.

Day 8 – Our last full day of this passage. This is my first ocean crossing, although we’ve only come across half of it so far. We ran into some very surprising contrary current off the coast of Sri Lanka. We were getting set south with about 4 knots of current while the wind was coming from the northwest… When it should have come from the northeast. We were crabbing along trying not to get pushed south into the shipping lanes, which were a major thoroughfare of cargo ships, freighters and tankers. It was very tense for a while and Roger was stressed with concern and exhaustion. Luckily we were able to motor-sail a few hours through it, making slow progress, then the wind began to shift to the beam and we eased off the engine, eventually able to sail.

Day 618 – 631 –  6 – 19 Jan 2015 – Galle, Sri Lanka

Arriving in Galle Harbor – We arrived at Galle at 5am and anchored just outside the harbor, behind a point of land, sleeping a few hours and waiting until daylight to call our agent and enter the harbor for check-in. Two navy officers motored out to meet us, checking passports and boat papers. We then motored in and tied up to what amounted to a floating plastic Lego pier… not the best conditions for tying up the boat, and no electricity available, which means we won’t be able to leave the boat for more than a day or two to travel inland. The check-in procedure involved many forms and signatures and stamps, immigration, customs, and port clearance. Good we had had an agent, Windsor Reef, to assist us. After finishing the process, we got a tuk-tuk into town, changed money, got a SIM card and then enjoyed our first Sri Lankan lunch, which we ate with our hands. Chicken curry, Dal, jack fruit baked with turmeric and other stuff, soy something-or-other, poppadom, coconut, salad and rice. It was spicy for us even though we ordered it “not spicy”. I am feeling happy, uplifted energy here and am looking forward to exploring the country, as best we can. Tomorrow or the following day we will head to Colombo so Roger can apply for his Indian tourist visa. I was curious as to whether the famous Indian head “waggling” would also be present in Sri Lanka and was delighted to find that there was, indeed, some waggling here. I’m sure it isn’t quite as prevalent as in India, but we got a chance to practice and it is a delightful part of the culture. 🙂 (smile, waggle waggle, repeat)

Southern Thailand 2014: Phuket

Southern Thailand 2014: Phuket

Phuket and surrounds

Sailing north and out of the Malacca Straits of Malaysia into Thailand, we encounter two sides of Phuket and surrounds… a full-on hectic international tourist destination as well as spectacular and dramatic islands and beaches.

Bangkok 2014

Bangkok 2014

The Bustling City of Bangkok

On the way back to Phuket from Chiang Mai in the north, a short stop in Bangkok provided a wonderful opportunity to see more of Thailand.

Northern Thailand 2014: Mae Hong Son Loop

Northern Thailand 2014: Mae Hong Son Loop

Mae Hong Son Loop road trip

We borrowed a big black pick-me-up truck from our hosts at the guest house in Chiang Mai and set off for a week-long journey… exploring the Mae Hong Son Loop, which covers the northern and northwestern parts of Thailand, bordering up to the Myanmar (Burma) border.

Road Trip Day 1Chiang Mai to Pai
We stopped at the Morkfa Waterfall along the way to Pai. The road was very curvy as we entered into the jungle and hills. We were below the trees mostly so we only caught glimpses of valleys and hills. Our hosts from Chiang Mai have friends with a guesthouse in Pai, so we followed instructions to find (eventually) the Piranha Fish Camp. Yep, it’s a catch and release place with ponds that have piranhas and other fish in there. We are told that this variety of piranha is vegetarian, but we weren’t going to test out that theory. We had a wonderful dinner there of homemade spinach and mushroom lasagna, a nice treat from the endless Thai meals.

Road Trip Day 2 Pai
Our host Dave drew out a map for us showing where to drive and what to see in Pai. We meandered through some lovely places, had lunch in town and then continued on our trail. I was sad to see some elephants at riding camps chained up under shelters, suspecting that even when they weren’t working they couldn’t enjoy just roaming outside freely. We got to the hot springs just as it began to pour, so between that, the crowd and the entrance fee, we decided to skip it and continue on our drive. We headed up the back loop towards the piranhas and our lodging, but stopped at a great viewpoint along the way and just beyond the Chinese village. For our 20 baht/pp entrance fee, we were served Chinese tea and a banana. The views were breathtaking and we met two young women there, teachers from near Hangzhou China on holiday. Despite language challenges, we managed to share our tea and take some photos for (and of, and with) each other. We continued along and visited the Muang waterfall, only 2km up the hill past the piranhas. It was picturesque, but not particularly impressive as waterfalls go.

Road Trip Day 3 Pai to Mae Hong Son
We decided that Pai was sufficiently explored in a day and pushed on towards Mae Hong Son. Our first point of interest was the Tam Lod Caves. Not well signed, or at least not in English, we wound our way through a small village and narrowing roads into the bush. At the point when we were sure we were lost and needed to turn back, a sign appeared and we found ourselves near the caves. Once we paid our guide (with gas lamp) fee, our raft (through the cave) fee, and our small bag of fish food fee, we were off. The fish were big and hungry, the caves were big and dark, and we enjoyed the rafting, which included plentiful bat sightings. After the tour, we dined in the nearby town of Sappong where I had a local Shan dish of vegetable fried noodles. We didn’t care for it as it had a strange and sweet/spicy taste. We arrived in Mae Hong Son and tried to find one of Lonely Planet’s recommended guesthouses, though unsuccessfully. Their directions said to take a left at the northern-most traffic light and the follow the signs… what signs? We continued through town and found a place with little bungalows that looked nice. They were Thai style with a slightly modern twist and done very nicely with concrete and lots of teak. There was nothing positive to say about the bed, except that it was beautifully adorned with Thai silk elephant motif runner and pillows. It was as hard as the concrete floors, if not harder! We would have liked to stay another night to explore the town and surrounds, but we simply couldn’t spend another night on that bed. We did manage to locate a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant in town and enjoyed an adequate homemade pizza dinner.

Road Trip Day 4 Mae Hong Son to Khun Yuam
We tried to find that Lonely Planet guesthouse again, as the reviews said the beds were comfy, and again were unsuccessful. We then tried another, top-rated place. Top-rated though it may be, and twice the price of other places, the bed was only fractionally less concrete hard than the previous night’s and we decided to push on and try our luck further down the road. We somehow missed the hot springs along the way and eventually pulled into Khun Yuam about midday. The town wasn’t a destination spot, by any means, but we found a guesthouse at a reasonable rate and lucked out with a luxuriously fluffy bed… um, no, not really, but it was somewhat softer and sleepable. We had a lackluster lunch at the guesthouse and then rested through the daily 2 – 5pm rains. We ventured out for a walk and dinner, then an early evening and long thorough snooze.

Road Trip Day 5 Khun Yuam to Mae Sariang
Although the bed was better than the previous night, Roger still didn’t sleep well. We made brekky and headed out to continue our journey south. We arrived at Mae Sariang at lunchtime and enjoyed a very good meal at Inthira, Lonely Planet’s top restaurant choice for Mae Sariang, which was indeed excellent. It is a larger town than we anticipated and there are a number of hotels and guesthouses along the riverside to choose from. We decided on the Riverhouse Hotel, a lovely place full of teak and character. We have a balcony overlooking the river, and air-con for about $16 per night. We called a local tour guide who got rave reviews in Trip Advisor to see whether we might organize a day trip or an overnight trip walking in the area and visiting local hill tribes. So much of that is touristy and focused on getting you to buy souvenir stuff that we wanted to make sure we could have a less intrusive and more authentic experience. We met with Piak at 6pm in his little tour office around the corner and after speaking with him for a bit, decided on a 2-day overnight trip. He was evaluating us as much as we were evaluating him, which we liked. He speaks enough English that we might ask all the questions we have had in our minds but were unable to convey to people thus far. So off we go in the morning. First, we meet Piak at the local morning market, and then we’re on our way… driving about 18km to where we begin our hike. I am so excited about this opportunity to meet some local folks and spend time in an environment as these hill tribes live!

Road Trip Day 6 Piak Private Tour day 1
We woke early, excited about our tour with Piak, and walked down to the morning market. We met and followed him around as he bought veggies, spices, fruits and treats for our two days. He explained what things were and how they were prepared. For the time we have spent in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, much of the produce we purchased and ate remained a mystery. Some of it still is, but we have learned a few things and enjoyed our market visit immensely. We tasted little things wrapped in leaves that had coconut or some other sweet inside, and took some along with us. Piak guided us in a few gifts we should purchase to bring to the villagers because we were going to be guests there. These consisted of edible treats and dried fruits for medicinal tea, as well as round discs of soy that would be toasted on the fire for additional protein with meals. We loaded up the car with our supplies and with a hill tribe woman and her son who needed a ride back to the village. We drove 18km on the road toward Chiang Mai and then stopped at a little roadside store/stand where we bought some additional gifts for the village folks and water. It started drizzling and since it is the rainy season, everything was wet and muddy. Roger and I had good sneakers, but hiking boots would have been much better as we were wet and muddy immediately and consistently for the entire two days. Up the side of the hill, we began with a brief stop at the regional administrative building that supports several hill tribes. We took photos together with the administrators on hand then continued on our way climbing up through the cabbage patches, sliding a bit on the steep incline and mud. We walked by one lone house with several water buffalo grazing and after a few words with Piak, the farmer led us to a gate and we threaded our way through his property. We hiked for a bit, admiring the beauty of the rain forest and the hills and valleys in the distance. We reached a narrow road and made our way further up hill. We reached a group of people who were carrying big heavy baskets of lettuce, weighing each basket and then loading them onto a pick-up truck. The baskets weigh 50kg full and we learned that they carry them over 1km up and down the hills. We later found out that these folks are of the Mong tribe. They are very independent, even with other tribes, and keep mostly to themselves. We continued on our way to the waterfalls and passed a tour group coming back the other direction. They go to the first fall and then return, where we visited all three falls and then continued farther onto a farm owned by the local shaman/farmer.

We were to have lunch at the shaman’s house. It is hard to describe my first impressions, which were a mixture of surprise at how small and primitive it was. I had anticipated rustic and basic, but this was much more primitive than that. The house was built raised up off the ground so that animals can be kept below, and consists of only one small room with an open fire cooking area off to one side. To enter, one climbs up a small ladder to reach the room after removing shoes, and I quickly noticed that there were no windows and hardly any light. Smoke from the fire just made its way through the room and out the open ends. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light and smoke, the thing I noticed was how beautiful this older couple was. They greeted us with huge warm smiles and welcomed us to sit down. Piak translated as we asked questions about them and they asked about us. They wanted to know how old we were, what our jobs were and whether we had children. We asked about their ages, about their children and grandchildren. Ba Soo Vee (Ba means father) demonstrated his ingenious mousetrap on Roger’s finger, which we all enjoyed. Then he showed us two mice/rats he had drying above the cooking area… luckily, they were not on the menu for lunch! Piak brought chicken and sticky rice, we also had plain rice and a dish with a mixture of fish, chilies and some other stuff… very spicy… just a bit of that on a dab of rice. We had picked some green leafy stuff along the way, sautéed with fresh garlic, it was very yummy!

Did I mention that it was wet?… rainy and muddy and mucky and slippery?

We left the doctor’s house and continued along our trek. We eventually came to a small cluster of houses, which were owned by the White Karen people, a gentle and beautiful folk. We were invited to come in to several houses, each time needing to remove wet, muddy, hard-to-get-on-and-off sneakers and socks before climbing up to the living area. All the houses had a similar layout with the cooking area on the wall of one side, leaving access to three sides around it. People would gather around either side of the cooking area to stay warm and dry from the damp climate during the rainy season. We were treated to some delicious pineapple and bananas at one home and tea at another. Many of the women were chewing a combination of beetle nut, which is some sort of intoxicant, mixed with a whitening compound, since the juice is a deep reddish brown color and seriously stains the teeth. By the looks of many mouths, the whitening compound wasn’t quite doing the trick.

We made our way up a hill and encountered a group of folks planting tiny chili pepper plants on a steep incline. We each grabbed a tray and started to help them plant a few rows. They wondered why we would want to help them in such a dirty uncomfortable location when our homes were so comfortable. We just smiled and wished them and their chili plants well. Finally, we trekked our way back up to the top of the hill and then down through the cabbages to reach our car and head off to the village where we would spend the night and our second day.

When we arrived, we were immediately whisked off to Piak’s sister’s home where we enjoyed roasted corn on the cob and mini meatball appetizers. The brother-in-law insisted we try some of the neighbor’s rice whiskey, which we did. It was strong enough that Roger didn’t realize when I slowly transferred the entire contents of my cup into his! Piak and his sister fixed a great meal of soup, green curry with chicken and another with pork, rice and sautéed veggies of some wonderful green variety.

Road Trip Day 7 Piak Private Tour day 2
We awoke at 4AM to the shrill sounds of the rooster. Loud though he was, he did seem to come equipped with a snooze button, because we were able to sleep on and off until morning. We had tea and brekky, which consisted of rice, fish mashed with unknown substances, boiled green veggies of some green and stalky variety, and hard boiled eggs. It was rainy and the trek would have been slippery and dangerous, so we opted to stay inside and visit. Piak made coffee from his own home-grown beans, which was delicious. Several people came over to visit and when the rain stopped, Roger brought out his computer to show pictures of the boat and our travels. It was lovely being able to share both ways… each of us curious about the other.

Piak took us on a short walk around the property, introducing us to various fruits and plants, some of which were edible, some used for medicinal purposes and some for dyes. We munched on star fruit, saw avocados, ate more bananas and marveled at the huge bamboo groves. Did I mention that it was wet and muddy and mucky and slippery?

We made a few more visits and had lunch at the home of the village chief, recently retired. While there, an old man who had lost his wife over nine years ago asked whether we would be interested in looking at (buying) some woven items. We said we would, and he came back with a traditional cotton woven White Karen style shoulder bag and a man’s top. He could use the money, but the offer was really made because he thought that we were genuinely interested in their culture, and would appreciate having these items. They were lovely and made from start to finish by his wife over a decade ago. They grew the cotton, spun it, dyed it, created the pattern, wove it and then sewed it together. The work was clearly hand done, unique and beautiful. Unfortunately, the armholes of the shirt were too tight for Roger and because of the way it was made; there was no possibility to enlarge them without ruining the beautiful work. So we bought the bag and sadly had to leave the shirt behind.

By late afternoon, we started on our way back, but managed to make a few last stops and visits, purchasing one more wonderful bag at the last home. Piak asked the woman if she had anything she’d be willing to sell, because knew I would be interested in having another bag or shirt. How wonderful that these lovely folks are happy to offer their few pieces of handiwork (outside what the make and wear for themselves) not just for the money, although that always helps, but because they are happy that we are there and are interested and appreciative.

We got back into town and organized a room at the Good View hotel, which like the Riverhouse was situated right along the river. Piak invited us to his home for dinner so after peeling off the muddy footwear and clothing and scrubbing off the majority of dirt from head to toe, we followed him out of town a ways to his home. He and his wife are wonderful cooks. We started with pumpkin ginger soup with chicken, followed by tempura veggies, fish fried with garlic and then BBQ chicken from the market. We had local passion fruit juice to drink and fresh mango for dessert… simply wonderful! We met Piak’s wife, Phon (sp?) and his two adorable children, Teresa who is 8 and Rita who is 2 and just as cute as she could possibly be. I taught Rita to blow kisses then throw up her arms and say, “yippee!” The evening was a delight as was the entire tour. Roger has already created a stellar review for Piak on Trip Advisor. We will surely stay in touch with him and might make a trip back for some more trekking in better weather and another stay in the village.

Road Trip Day 8 Mae Sariang to Chom Thong
We got a late morning start out of town and made our way towards Chiang Mai along route 106. We passed the turn-off to the White Karen village and smiled with the memories of our recent visit. The road wasn’t as full of hair-pin turns as the stretch from Pai to Mae Hong Son, but it was still very pretty. We thought we would stay at Chom Thong overnight to visit a wat there, which was supposed to be quite serene and beautiful. We cruised into town and wanted to find accommodations first, before touring around. We lucked out and saw a sign on the main road for the Riverside Resort (in English, which was a good sign) and followed the signs a few km down a side road then off to the right just prior to the river. For 500 baht, we had a private little space with front porch facing the river and views to the hills beyond. The fact that there was a big step down and low wall into the bathroom that Roger kept whacking his head on, and that the water heater for the shower didn’t work (we showered in the room next door), didn’t detract from a lovely stay there. The manager, Ekk, was delighted and inspired to hear about our sailing adventures and encouraged us to stay in touch with him. We asked for a recommendation for dinner and Ekk directed us to the food court in front of the wat, which wasn’t very interesting at all with most options full of fat and greasy.

Road Trip Day 9 Chom Thing to Chiang Mai
On the final day of our Mae Hong Son Loop road trip, we made our way back to Chiang Mai and stopped in Lamphun for a tour of the historic Wat and old city. Driving the last leg, we traveled a road with towering 100 ft trees all along the side of the road, forming a shady and attractive canopy. The roads started to get busier and traffic more congested, and before we knew it we were back in the bustling city of Chiang Mai and trying to navigate back to our guesthouse. What a wonderful adventure!

Northern Thailand 2014: Chiang Mai and Ellies!

Northern Thailand 2014: Chiang Mai and Ellies!

Chiang Mai and Elephant Nature Park

Off we fly to northern Thailand, leaving the boat safe and secure at the marina in Phuket. We’re hoping to experience a less touristic and more authentic part of Thailand along with a different landscape.

Indonesia/Malaysia 2013: Orangutans

Indonesia/Malaysia 2013: Orangutans

Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore

We make our way through Western Indonesia and north to Singapore. Then up the Malacca Straits of Malaysia to Penang.

Indonesia 2013: Komodo Dragons

Indonesia 2013: Komodo Dragons

Labuan Bajo to Bali, Indonesia

Day 129 – 130 – 8 – 9 Sept, 2013 – Labuan Bajo to Rinca Island and the dragons
We set out for Rinca Island and our much-anticipated dragon encounter. We anchored mid-afternoon and walked to the ranger station with a guide (you most definitely need to have a guide – one carrying a big dragon stick) to see about booking a dragon trek the following morning. We were told that they are active in the morning and then find a place to snooze in the shade when it gets hot later in the day (the dragons, not the rangers! 🙂 ). Still, I couldn’t wait another day before seeing a dragon, so the guide took us to see what I now call the “kitchen dragons”. These are the ones that smell the food in the kitchen building for the rangers and hang out below the building in the shade. The rangers say they don’t feed them, so you think that eventually they would get the hint and give up on the kitchen, but there they were in all their glory. The following day at 7am we made our way to the ranger station and started our long trek (only 5km). On the way to the ranger station we saw our first dragon, and then many more followed. We saw one walking through the compound, flicking his tongue along the way. They have good sense of smell through their noses, but even better sense of smell using their tongues. Their noses are particularly sensitive, so the sticks the rangers carry are forked at the end. If a dragon starts getting too close, they poke it in the nose and apparently that diverts them. We walked by the dragon nest where one female was sitting. Dragons mate in July and August then lay eggs in September. It takes 8 – 9 months for a baby dragon to hatch out of its egg, and then the hatchlings go immediately up into the trees. The reason is that the adult dragons, and even the parents themselves, will eat the baby dragons… how’s that for poor parenting skills?

We continued along the way and saw other dragons walking around. Then we headed back to the riverbed and saw one of the wild water buffalo of the island in a pool. Later on in the trek we saw another one, likely injured, sitting in a mud pool. We watched as a dragon slid over to the area and perched on the side of the mud hole above the buffalo… waiting for his opportunity. Dragon bites are filled with 65 types of bacteria and so the large animals, once bitten, will become infected and/or bleed to death. Then it’s feast time for the dragons. Glad we didn’t actually see the dragon any more active in his pursuit of the water buffalo. The rest of the hike was uneventful, but wonderfully enjoyable if a tad hot.

Back on board the boat, we decided not to spend another night in the small anchorage with all the other dragon-fanciers and headed out towards the west coast of Rinca and Komodo Island.

Day 131 – 132 – 10 – 11 Sept, 2013 – Komodo Island and more dragons
Although we thought we’d spend the night on the west side of Rinca Island, we decided to head straight for Komodo and another day of dragon viewing. The currents were unbelievable and at one point, although we were motoring hard, we were only doing less than half a knot. It took two hours longer than expected to make it around and into the bay we anchored in. We were tucked behind a small island which gave us some protection from the currents, but it was still pretty strong. Across from where we were anchored was the “pink beach” with sand that truly is pink. This is thanks to a combination of red and white corals that are offshore in this particular location. We headed out the next day to the Komodo ranger station, though because of the strong currents we didn’t want to leave the boat when the water was moving so strongly. This meant that we didn’t get to the dragons until 11-ish and they were already hiding and snoozing. Luckily, Komodo also had a good number of “kitchen dragons” so we got to enjoy a few here. The dragons on Komodo are larger than their Rinca cousins because the island has more food for them… deer, water buffalo, and wild hogs.

Once back at the boat, we had lunch and then took Joy (our dinghy) over to pink beach to snorkel in the beautiful waters and see the coral and the fish. It was a great snorkel spot and we cooled off after sizzling on the hike in the morning. We feasted on a huge lobster for dinner that we bought from a local fishing canoe. They wanted 500,000 Rupia (about $48 USD), but we bargained with them and ended up at $18 plus two t-shirts. The lobster was EXCELLENT… totally worth the price!

Day 133 – 134 – 11 – 12 Sept, 2013 – Komodo Island to Banta Island and then Sumbawa, Sangar Bay
We thought we had calculated the tides and the currents correctly, based on the info we had and our experiences over the past two days, but somehow, we were sadly mistaken. We headed out at 8am (low tide should have been at 8:30am) and thought we’d get around the island and catch the changing tide to ride up and around Komodo. That so did not happen. In fact, the current was so strong that at one point we were traveling a half a knot in the opposite direction to where we were pointing and wanting to go. Yikes! We slogged through the strong current for a few hours until it eased and we started making some forward headway. There was a set of three rocks off one point that we somehow couldn’t get past either coming to or going near Komodo. Finally, we were out of their grip and we put them behind us. We traveled across the top of Komodo and went to the island of Banta, where we tucked behind the northwestern hook in a beautiful location filled with coral and clear water. We snorkeled a bit and checked on the anchor. Unfortunately, the tides, winds, and currents, all changed during the night and the anchor alarm went off. We thought the anchor had reset itself, but eventually the anchor alarm went off again and Roger saw the depths increase from 20 to 40 to 50+ feet, so we knew the anchor was just dangling off the bow of the boat and we were headed out to sea. As it seemed we were already on our way, we decided to continue and get an exceptionally early start at 3am for points west.

Day 135 – 13 Sept, 2013 – Sumbawa, Sangar Bay to Medang Island
We had a nice trip over the top of Sumbawa and to a small island on the way to Lombok. We anchored and were immediately hailed by one of the two other boats anchored there. It was an invitation to a pot luck on their boat and despite being tired, we decided to join for a while. We had a lovely time and spent longer than anticipated. When we returned to our boat, we found it had dragged quite a distance. That and the very rolly motion that kept Roger awake, decided us on leaving at 2am to head for Lombok. So Medang was more of a rest stop… Dinner and a nap, before continuing on.

Day 136 – 140 – 14 – 17 Sept, 2013 – Medang to Lomok and anchored at Medana Marina
When we started at 2am and cleared the island, we were in some rough seas and high winds. We were able to sail for a while and then the wind died. We were beating into the current with the wind on our nose yet again. At least it wasn’t as bad as in the Komodo National Park… We only slowed to about 4 knots and we were still heading in the right direction. Still, we needed to motor quite a bit of the way. We arrived at the Medana Marina on the northwest side of Lombok and anchored. It is a lovely little spot and we made ourselves at home, booked a city tour, brought laundry in to be done (very inexpensive and much easier than trying to hand wash and line dry sheets, towels and everything else that gets dirty and salty under way. The city tour was fun… A long day with many stops including temples, ATM, monkeys, supermarket at the mall (provisioning at a “real” supermarket is a highlight for sure!), beach resort, hand-made pottery shop, traditional weaving village, and pearl shop. We were taken by bus all over and it was a little like a grade-school field trip including box lunch sammies and soda.

The evening before we left to head to Bali, there was a buffet dinner and blues band. This local group from Lombok did a wonderful job with blues and then all the classic rock and roll tunes. The lead singer did a great Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) imitation. We danced every dance and had a great time. The band played until about 11pm and then we headed back to the boat, showered and danced some more, then slept for 4 hours before getting up at 3:30am to catch the tide to Bali.

Day 141 – 155 – 18 Sept – 1 Oct, 2013 – Bali!

We had a good crossing from Lombok to Bali and arrived at 4:30pm. We got situated and went ashore with our friends Ruthie and Neal and had a lovely and very upscale dinner on the beach at a resort called “Spice”. They had tables with linen set up on their beach, right by the waterfront and we watched the sun set and had a full moon to dine by.  The next morning, we brought our passports and photos in to have our visas for Indonesia extended one month. We got some information on touring the area and then did a little shopping in one of the local Lovina beach stalls, where you can get local batik and handwoven fabrics made up into Balinese clothing for $8 – $10. Roger got meditation pants and I got some wonderful sun-dresses as well as some meditation pants. That evening we enjoyed the welcome ceremony and dancing in Lovina on the beach. “Lovina with Love” was the theme (along with the dolphins, which are plentiful here).

We got a recommendation for a place to get a Balinese massage and scheduled for that same afternoon… Only $5.50 for an hour massage. I also did the hair creme bath, that helped my hair which has gotten dry with all the salt water/air soaking and wind. The massages were good, not the best we’ve had, but how can you complain at that price. In any event, they were very relaxing and I really enjoyed it. Later that evening, we joined some folks on other yachts at a Thai restaurant for dinner, which was excellent! After traveling in the more remote areas of Indonesia, even this small resort community on the north shore of Bali seems upscale and affluent. Most of the tourists head for South Bali and the beaches, parties and shopping, but this is more relaxed.

On Friday, we did a tour to the beautiful waterfalls. We walked in and climbed down (then up) 300 steps, but it was totally worth it. We swam in the pools under the falls, which was lovely and refreshing. Afterwards we visited a Buddhist monastery where they also hold Vipassana meditation courses.

We are enchanted with Bali… the architecture, the landscape, the many temples, the warm smiling people, contributing to a wonderful energy. We think we might want to stay here for quite some time. Maybe even spend summers in New Zealand and winters in Bali?

On Sunday we hired a car and driver to take us to the town of Ubud, which started as an artist community and has grown to be the cultural center (and a tourist center) of Bali.

(see post for “Beautiful Bali 2013” in “Destinations”)

Back in Lovina Beach, Roger helped Neal fix a problem on his boat and we planned what to do with our final days in Bali. We had Pablo, our driver, take us for provisioning to the Carrfour supermarket and our expectations of what we would find there (think French supermarket) were dashed. It wasn’t even as good a supermarket as we went to in Lombok. Still, there were a few good finds like some awesome zucchini and wonderful apples… Staples while under way. We also had Pablo take us to some nearby holy hot springs, early in the morning before the crowds arrived and before it was so hot that the thought of soaking in warm water lost its appeal. After our morning soak, we headed up to some waterfalls which were absolutely lovely and very refreshing. It felt icy cold when we first got in because we were so hot, but then it felt just lovely and the swimming hole we found was perfect. We had lunch at a fantastic resort called “Shanti” with a beautiful view over to the mountains and the waterfalls we just visited. On the way back, we stopped at the other supermarket in the big town of Sinjaraja, called Hardys and were even more disappointed with that one (if that’s possible). That evening, a big group of cruisers met for dinner at a little restaurant in Lovina to celebrate Neal’s birthday. Ruthie and I wore our new little “croppers” (as Jackie on another yacht called them) and matching tops… We looked like splendid bookends! 🙂

Tuesday, the day before we left, Ruthie and I had Pablo take us to Ubud and back to pick up our tops and dresses from Bamboo Batik. Good that we got there early, because both needed just a few minor alterations to make a perfect fit. They were beautiful though and the only disappointment was that they hadn’t sewn the “Bamboo” label into these custom garments… Not sure why, as they are amazingly beautiful and excellent quality tailoring. Where the little sundresses are perfect for casual wear, this dress and the tops would be the thing to wear for more important occasions, and although a simple cotton shift, it would be great for anything from high tea to a summer wedding. Corrie and Kyle met us in Ubud for the trip back, having been in the south of Lombok and Bali surfing, and we returned to Lovina to celebrate Neal’s actual birthday with a pizza dinner on shore.

3:30AM on Wednesday the alarm went off and off we went leaving Bali behind us in our wake and heading north for Kalimantan… Orangutans or bust! Bali was an amazing place. I will definitely be going back there to explore more of the island and maybe even spend some extended time there… In the meantime, “sambay jumpah” (see you later) Bali!

Bali 2013: Monkeys and More!

Bali 2013: Monkeys and More!

Ubud and the Sacred Monkey Forest

While anchored on the north shore of Bali in Lovina Beach, we made a trip down to the center of the island and spent a few days in Ubud, the art and cultural center of Bali.

Indonesia 2013: SE Sulawesi

Indonesia 2013: SE Sulawesi

Wakatobi to Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

Continuing on our Sail Indonesia rally adventures along the northern route with 13 other boats, we head west towards Southeast Sulawesi and surrounds…