Okinawa

We left the small port of Zamami this morning about 9:30, motoring out of the harbour in the crystal clear, turquoise and aquamarine-coloured waters. It was a nice little town with narrow streets and the usual small houses but a bit more colourful than Ikema, our last stop. We had used our time to do a bit of riding around on our bikes, visited a lovely beach with good snorkelling and ate out at one of the local restaurants. We felt like we were on holiday and could easily have stayed much longer as there seemed to be so many nearby islands and beaches to explore but we have a bit of a timetable which is already getting tight!

Today we had good sailing once again - nothing too strong as far as wind but a good breeze and some current to carry us the 25 NM to Ginowan Marina on Okinawa Island, 26 deg. 17.370 N, 127 deg. 41.573 E. Makes all those sails to windward seem so far in the past and sailing a pleasure once more.

We are now in the marina where our first chore will be to give Tweed a good wash down - she is covered in dust, sand and grit blown onto her from the wharf at Zamami. Then we can start on the inside which has a layer of gritty dust over everything as well! From our approach to Okinawa we could see that we were arriving in a place with a high population density - the built environment seeming to stretch from one end of the island to the other and a busy airport on the southern end. Countless aircraft could be seen arriving and departing as we came nearer, both civil and military aircraft using the same airport with not much separation between a lot of them! Jon was having a great time plane spotting.

Zamami

Our two days in Ikema extended to four days when strong winds associated with a low pressure system made us decide to stay a bit longer. Ikema is a tiny island north of Miyako Island with a bridge joining the two. The harbour had an unusually large amount of foreign yachts at the time - three 62-foot Nordhaven trawler-style vessels with American flags, two Dutch yachts, one South African plus us.

We used our bikes to ride around the small village, visit the beach for a snorkel, and also to visit a birdwatching hide at a wetland area. Here we saw quite a few Purple herons, egrets, assorted ducks, and other waterbirds. We had a small restaurant near the wharf which opened for lunch each day and we enjoyed several meals there. We found only one tiny shop which sold fresh produce, cold drinks and a few grocery lines. We were able to get fresh bread at the restaurant.

The houses were similar to those seen at previous Japanese islands - mostly small, concrete, boxy-style with small windows. We suspect that style is suitable to withstand the strong winds associated with typhoons which come through the area. There are still some older style, more traditional stone houses with terracotta tile roofs which seem to have withstood the test of time though.

We left Ikema yesterday morning for the 145 NM to Zamami, 26 deg. 13.466N, 127 deg. 18.141E, arriving about 10:30 after an overnight passage. We had good winds on the beam and apart from using the engine when we left and then when we arrived, we sailed all the way. The best sailing we have had since January!

Miyako Islands

After 12 days in beautiful Ishigaki, we sailed out late yesterday afternoon for Ikema Island in the Miyako group of islands. As it was a passage of just over 80 nautical miles (160 km) to the northeast, we opted to sail overnight to ensure arriving in daylight. We had the engine off in just 30 minutes, the moon was up and the waters flat while in the lee of the island. Once clear of the island the seas became a bit lumpy and slowly the wind dropped meaning we then had to motor the rest of the way to Ikema after six and a half hours of just the sound of the water going past. A long line of thunderstorms to our northwest flickered away all night with dawn revealing heavy rain beneath - it looked threatening but kept clear of us.

We motored into the harbour just before 9:00 a.m. and tied up alongside the wharf which was covered in the usual barnacles and oysters below the mid-tide level. We will stay here for two nights so hope to enjoy the sights of another tropical island and Japanese hospitality.

Position: 24 deg. 55.488N, 125 deg. 14.842E

Lost For Words

The excitement of a new country has been a bit frustrating! No problems with ATMs, a coin laundry and supermarket close by, etc. We are moored on a nice new floating dock but with no water or power available. Water has to be carted from a tap a few hundred metres away. Mobile phone and internet is proving a tad difficult as we can't just walk in and buy sim cards for our phones and modem - you need to be a Japanese resident! So at the moment we have decided no phone and no internet and only internet cafes. The wind has now turned south-westerly and with it the heat and humidity have soared! The northern summer is well and truly here. Plus, we have the language barrier to contend with.

However, the food is proving to be as exciting as we thought it would with lots of new taste experiences to be had almost every day! The supermarkets are filled with an amazing amount of pre-prepared and packaged foods (all labelled in Japanese) – it is so easy to put together a delicious meal without very much effort and local fishing boats have sashimi outlets along the main road. Apart from eating on board, the local yacht club hosted a Japanese-style barbecue on the dock with an interesting array of meat, seafood and vegetables, and a local Ryukyu-style restaurant served us ikasumi chahan (squid ink fried rice), goya-champura (stir-fried bitter gourd), tofu-champura and a sashimi platter with an assortment of raw fish, squid and octopus. We have some fun pictures of us with black teeth and lips!! Then, under Marijka's guidance, we had a wonderful meal here on the dock last night with papaya and smoked squid salad, fresh tofu, soba noodles on ice dipped in tobu soup with a raw egg, thick-sliced daikon simmered in odan stock, Japanese rice topped with mentai (fish eggs), raw squid with nato (fermented soy beans), steamed spinach with a sesame-based sauce, barbecued shisamon (sardine-size fish full of roe), nasu (grilled eggplant) spread with a miso-based paste. Hanna from Bannister, Marijke and I each did three dishes and met on the dock for a sumptuous feast!!

The annual dragon boat racing was held right next door to where we are moored last Tuesday. Teams were entered and manned (some of the teams were women) by the local fishing boats and we had heard and seen them training since we had arrived. It was a very colourful affair with teams of women and children performing traditional dances in front of the gathered spectators prior to the races starting. The final race was over 2.4 km and was very exciting.

We have enjoyed a couple of excursions around the island - one to a local dam, where we had fun finding our way about without a map. We saw a Serpent eagle in one paddy field which had taken a dead frog from a crow and then stayed there for quite a while being photographed while it tore at the flesh. Then, on Thursday, a trip right to the northern tip of Ishigaki Island. It is a lovely island with lush vegetation in places which have not been converted to agriculture - we saw fields of sugar cane, paddy fields, pasture with the famous Ishigaki beef grazing, as well as fruit such as pineapples and dragon fruit. The island is fringed with coral reefs, making it a dangerous place to get caught in the wrong winds but is great for snorkelling and swimming.

A cruising plan has been submitted to the Ministry of Lands which we should have back by Monday. All going well and if the weather is right we will leave early Tuesday morning for Ikema Island in the Miyako group of islands, about 80 NM (160km) to the north-east of Ishigaki.

Apart from a few inconveniences all is good in Ishigaki and it is easy to get around on our bikes... must keep that phrase book handy though and learn a few more words!

Landfall Japan

We arrived in Ishigaki yesterday just before midday to a reception committee of the Japanese Coast Guard. We had a good passage with favourable winds but only strong enough to allow for 5 hours without the engine running. The timing was right as today is rainy. We were checked in by Coast Guard, Customs and Quarantine (please eat all fruit on veg only on the boat). Immigration were busy processing the passengers on the cruise ship Superstar Libra and came to pick us up at 3.30 to take us back to their office. Here we had our passports stamped and our photos and fingerprints taken.

After an early night and a good sleep we are now ready to find a bank, buy a phone, sort out internet, etc. All the excitement of another new country!

Present position: 24 deg 20.613N, 124 deg 08.885N

Farewell Taiwan

It is three and a half weeks since we arrived in Hua Lien. Using hire cars on several occasions and our bikes we have been out and about and seen quite a bit of the place. Rain, or more correctly drizzle, has been a bit of a dampener on some days while we have waited for the winds to turn from north to south. It looks like that day will be tomorrow and check-out formalities have almost been completed for our departure to Japan.

While here, people here have been very friendly and on several occasions we have received gifts of fresh fruit - the hire car people dropped off a delicious 15 kg watermelon, mangoes, guavas, bananas, and passionfruit; the Customs crew have given bananas; the pilot boat crew bananas, lychees and now mountain tea from Mt Alishan. The local chandler/fishing tackle owner came by to check out our fishing tackle and gave it all the thumbs down with an invitation to visit him the next day. He then made up several fishing lures and weighted lines and gave them to us!! We have spent some money with him though - including spare longer mooring lines for tying up to wharves and more fishing tackle. Cassie from the local birding club has taken us on outings for bird walks - and we have seen lots of interesting new birds and insects.

We will miss the traditional fresh markets abounding in tropical and temperate fruits from mangoes, pineapples, papayas and bananas to plums and peaches. Delicious fresh tofu, seafood, poultry, rice cakes, steam buns, etc. Some of these will be available in Japan although the tropical fruits will be imported so more expensive but no more traditional markets as such.

We won't miss the musical garbage truck - usually Fur Elise is the favoured tune to herald the rubbish pickup - we will hear more of the same in Japan!

Included in the food we've eaten are African land snails, hundred year old eggs, freshly made dumplings, fresh sashimi, and triangles of sushi rice which unwrap in such a way that the nori is freshly unfolded around it!

We've watched many ships coming and going into this busy port - the big three exports from Hua Lien are marble, gravel and cement. The Coast Guard have a big fleet here as well and always seem to be on the move as is the fishing fleet. All fishing boats have to stop off at the Coast Guard dock both before leaving and when arriving back in port to have their holds checked - maybe for illegal goods but we are not sure.

The national parks, nature trails and bike paths are all well maintained and what's more the national parks don't charge! The public toilets are almost always clean.

Riding our bikes on busy roads has not been as daunting as we thought. They are used to cyclists and motorcyclists and everyone seems to obey the road rules - no road rage. Turning across the traffic at an intersection they give way to you - you just take off and the oncoming traffic yields to you. Some intersections have flashing orange lights in one direction and flashing red in the other - orange has right of way over red. At unlit intersections the vehicle to arrive first has right of way - and it all seems to work.

So, it's farewell to Taiwan. It has been an interesting side trip to Japan which we have thoroughly enjoyed - the people, the places and the food.

We are without internet at the moment but hope to be connected once we arrive in Japan. Our Sierra Wireless modem battery cooked itself! So, keep a look out for new pictures to be loaded in the next week or so.