Mum in July 2011

After hearing the sad news about Mum we sat for a day wondering what to do.  I had already told my sisters if Mum passed away while I was in Indonesia I wouldn’t be able to get home but now it had actually happened I wasn’t sure it was the right decision. Our only options were motor to Bali and I could fly home from there, but I wouldn’t be able to get back into the country for a month and it would probably take quite a few days to get there, or continue with our cruise and go home end of October as planned.  After a long struggle I decided on the latter.  I had flown home for a short visit while we were in Darwin when Mum first became ill and we all feared the worse but she had seemed to be recovering so I returned to Aus but the infection in her heart was too much for her body to cope with.  I console myself with knowing I had seen her one last time.  I think she would have liked me to continue; she always enjoyed getting our postcards to see where we were.  This photo was taken when I went home briefly in 2011 before her heart troubles started.

Bill on the back of the motorbike

Tuesday 6^th August we left Kupang with our friends Norman and Sara to head south to the island of Roti.  We had a couple of lovely overnight stops before arriving in the town of Ba’a.  We landed in the dinghy and were met on shore by a bunch of lads from Sail Indonesia on motorbikes offering us a lift into town.  Our first thought was no but life is very slow here and the roads are so bad you can’t go fast if you wanted to so we jumped on.  I’m sure our boys would be horrified after I’ve told them so many times not to do the same thing.

Shopping in the market

They took us to the local market where we were able to buy some fresh veggies.  The fascination continued with us and everyone wanted their photos taken with us.

Sara with our interpreter

It was useful having an interpreter although I’m sure the prices went up but when you’re only paying a dollar or two we certainly didn’t question them.

The turtle was gone so fast

While walking through the market we noticed a turtle laying on the ground in the sun, at first we thought it was dead but then we realised it was alive.  Norman asked what they were going to do with it to which they replied ‘Eat it’.  They keep animals alive so they remain fresh but this poor turtle was clearly suffering so Norman asked them how much did they want for it.  After some bartering rp200,000 about £14 was agreed.  It was carried to the beach and put down onto the sand, as soon as it realised it was free it was scrabbling to get into the sea.  A wave picked it up and it was gone so quickly I could only get this photo with it’s little shell just showing in the middle of the picture.  Hopefully it will remain free.

Back on the bikes

We jumped back on the bikes and were taken back to the dinghy further down the beach.

Delicious bananas

These are the bananas I bought in the market for rp20,000 about £1.40, they taste so sweet here having only been picked a few days ago.  I also managed to get some beans, carrots, spring onions and tomatoes, but no other salad and no apples.  I don’t think we’ll see apples for a while.

Norsa being ‘rescued’

Saturday 10^th we decided to leave Ba’a and sail around the corner of the island to Nemberala.  Unfortunately Norman’s anchor got hooked around a bommie (coral head) and was jammed.  We asked our motorbike friends if there were any divers that could come and help.  They sent out the local dive rescue, which consisted of a couple of guys in a canoe with a snorkel mask between them!   With a lot of shouting forwards and backing after several hours Norsa was free although Bill thinks Norman probably freed her himself but the boys were trying to be very helpful.  We arrived at Nemberala just as it was getting dark, which was a bit tricky as we had to pass through a reef but all were safely in by 6.30.

Lots of boats in anchorage

Pretty church

There were quite a few rally boats in the anchorage and the next day we all headed into the village to look around.  I found this pretty little church tucked away and this…..

Local petrol station

…is the local petrol station.  All of these bottles hold a litre of petrol, just enough for a motorbike tank.  It’s decanted from a large drum of petrol usually with the use of funnels and tubes and sometimes while the guy is puffing on a cigarette!  I kid you not.  These ones have proper lids but we’ve seen them with little bits of rags stuffed into the top.  Words like cocktail and Molotov come to mind!

Hut on the beach

We walked along the beach and saw several huts like this that have people living in them.  Can’t imagine what it’s like in the rainy season, maybe they live somewhere else then.

Sue having a pedicure

We walked right to the end of the beach and found a lovely resort with a spa, Sara and I treated ourselves to Pedicures.

Happy Hour

We found it was serving cold beers, something of a rarity in these parts as many people don’t have fridges let alone the electricity to power them.  As you might expect the other cruisers had also found the place and it became our favourite spot for Happy Hour.

Cheers!