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Indonesia is split into two pages because I couldn't possibly do it justice on one page. There are also lots more photos in the photogallery
We had nine days in Darwin to prepare ourselves for Indonesia where we would spend three months. It was all very chaotic. At the time of leaving it was not clear if the Sail Indonesia rally organisers had any idea of what we should expect. No doubt we would learn as the rally progresses!
The rally is very big and there are at least 130 boats on it. We crossed the start line it in third place, but were soon overtaken by lots of faster boats. The forecasted light winds didn't last long and they soon increased to 20 knots from the NE which was less than ideal. We made faster progress than we expected which left us in a quandary as we approached Saumlaki in the dark. We knew entry at night would be difficult. Fortunately a friend was able to radio us with waypoints which he had used for entry. He then kindly waited up until midnight to talk us into the anchorage by VHF.
It was a mammoth task to clear such a large number of boats into Indonesia. The officials tried very hard but it still took the best part of two days to clear all the boats in. We were welcomed royally as Tanimbar island is not really a tourist island and the locals don't often see Europeans .
The start boat Sunset on the first night Transport to the shore
We were taken to visit two villages where a very traditional welcome awaited us
We sailed to a remote village where we also received a tumultuous welcome. Everybody wanted their photograph taken.
We then sailed up to historic Banda in the Spice Islands which was eventually ruled by Holland after defeating first Portugal and then England. During the 16-17th centuries the islands were very valuable because they were the only source of nutmegs and mace which were thought to cure the plague. At that time nutmegs were more valuable than gold.
Picking nutmegs Enjoying a beer at the colonial style hotel
And then on to Ambon which was the scene of fighting between the Christians and Muslims from 1999 until as recently as 2006. Relationships between them appear settled now but the army and police still keep a very high profile. There have been very few western visitors recently and we had a wonderful welcome there. We couldn't have been entertained better if we had been royalty.
Lesley met Lesli who showed us the area Enjoying the hot springs Traditional fishermens' dance
The Wakatobi Islands are very inaccessible and Europeans are also rarely seen there. We were very privileged to have the chance to meet the locals who were very keen to meet us and to photograph us or be photographed.
We were present for the Indonesian Independence Day celebrations and were invited to take part as honoured guests.
Our welcome on the marine national park of Hoga Island was different! When we landed we were immediately berated by the British manager of the Wallasea research centre for all the perceived (real or imaginary) misdeeds of previous visitors. This was the first time we haven't been welcome and it was in marked contrast to the welcome given to us by the Dutch owner of the small island beach resort who was much more pleased to see us. We were delighted to be able to get excellent food and cold beers as well as watching a film at her open air cinema. She also arranged a couple of diving trips for us. The waters have been previously overfished, often by using explosives. There have been recent initiatives to educate the local fishermen into sounder ecological practices. At present the fish numbers are still less than in other places that we have visited but the coral was spectacular. We also visited an unusual "stilted" village built over the sea by a community who do not own any land.
After the Wakatobi Islands we headed south west towards Nusa Tennggara stopping off at Bone Rate Island on the way. On this small island we found large numbers of traditional Indonesian wooden ships being built by methods not seen in Europe for several hundred years. Unfortunately the life of these boats is only 15-20 years, so even though you can buy an unfitted 100 foot boat for only £30000 we will keep Tapestry!
