Time flies when you are having fun. We have now crossed the Makassar Strait to Sulawesi, enjoyed three nights in Toli Toli, and now at our second stop along the northern coastline.
The crossing went well. We had 150NM to travel and left Maratua about 0730 last Friday for a very easy exit through the channel and were quickly in water which plunged to over 3000 metres. Current was with us and we had about 12 knots of breeze. We were moving along at good speeds and when the wind picked up a bit more were travelling at high 7s, 8s, 9s and even hit 10.2 knots! But wait...this is too fast - we will arrive at midnight. We did our best to slow down but Tweed just hung in there. With a double-reefed main we managed to get the speed down to around 4 knots and arrived off Toli Toli Bay at dawn.
Toli Toli town is in another bay inside the big bay and we made our way into the hazy anchorage where there were a few other boats at anchor. We had travelled with another two yachts and soon we were all anchored in about 20 metres. Position: 01 02.773 N, 120 48.372 E.
No time for sleep though! It was the beginning of three very busy days enjoying the welcoming hospitality of local guides - all students of English at the local college and extremely keen to practice their English.
The town sits below a rugged hinterland which rises just inland. The hills are covered in clove trees which is the main industry in this town. Most of the cloves are exported to China for cigarettes. We found out later that the fallen leaves are now gathered and exported to India for burning at funerals. Nutmeg and mace are also produced. It seemed a lot hotter and more humid than Kalimantan which we thought may be caused by the hills trapping the heat in. Even the locals seemed to suffer.
Along the shoreline near us there were some very big outrigger fishing boats. They were on the mud in low tide but floated off later in the day to go squid fishing out in the bay. We have only seen this type of boat before in the Philippines.
The next three days passed in a bit of a whirl. Hendra must take responsibility for most of this. Not only does he teach English at college and secondary school, he also works for the Ministry of Tourism and is a an excellent photographer as well. He organised fuel for us, going miles away when the local man decided to double his price. If you are ever looking for somewhere different to visit come to Toli Toli, you won't be disappointed!
Our guides, Dina and Aresty, took us to the markets, a visit to a secondary school to meet students, lunch at a local warung where we had a traditional dish called Tinutuan or Manado rice porridge. A welcoming dinner the first night including the most delicious gado gado and smoked fish dish. A visit to a village of Toli Toli people, the traditional people of the area, was a highlight. We enjoyed a lunch of salt fish, sweet corn, boiled bananas, sweet potato and fresh young coconut juice.
Another excellent dinner followed with some local entertainment, including a bamboo 'brass' band. All the instruments were made by the musicians and it sounded just like a brass band. Then the fun of dancing the local 'two steps right, two steps left' dance that everyone, young and old joined in. We had also done this the night before but this night it continued on with many variations and had everyone dripping with perspiration! It was great fun.
We planned to leave Tuesday so Monday was spent at the markets topping up supplies. Pam needed chicken and ended up buying two live ones which were dressed for her. Or so she thought. When she got them home she still had the job of cleaning their insides! Another first for her. Jon had the job of getting the guides plus Dina's mother, Aresty's friend and Alfon, who had helped at the markets in the morning, into our dinghy and bringing them for a visit aboard but they didn't stay long. The anchorage was quite rolly and before long they were all feeling a bit queasy!
With some of our group we went ashore for dinner to eat at a nearby restaurant and enjoyed chilli crab and fried fish. Wow, the food here in Indonesia is great and much better than we remember from 2006. The people have been fantastic and we will long remember them.
We will now be travelling in a loose group of five or six yachts which are all headed back to Australia. On Tuesday we set off for Teluk Pinjan, about 39 NM away and around the corner to the northern coast of Sulawesi. Towards to top of the western side we struck the Makassar Strait current which slowed us down considerably and patches of turbulence made it a bit bumpy but the anchorage was very placid. The reefs at low tides were covered in local reef pickers and there were many small fishing boats out and about. Position: 01 18.670 N, 121 04.283 E.
Yesterday we did the 62 NM to Pulau Pelele inside a large bay. A light breeze allowed us to motor sail but with such a long way to go we kept the engine running. It is quite deep and we are anchored again in 20 metres. Very protected though. We plan to do some snorkelling and visit the village ashore before leaving tomorrow.
Position: 01 02.444 N, 121 57.873 E
The crossing went well. We had 150NM to travel and left Maratua about 0730 last Friday for a very easy exit through the channel and were quickly in water which plunged to over 3000 metres. Current was with us and we had about 12 knots of breeze. We were moving along at good speeds and when the wind picked up a bit more were travelling at high 7s, 8s, 9s and even hit 10.2 knots! But wait...this is too fast - we will arrive at midnight. We did our best to slow down but Tweed just hung in there. With a double-reefed main we managed to get the speed down to around 4 knots and arrived off Toli Toli Bay at dawn.
Toli Toli town is in another bay inside the big bay and we made our way into the hazy anchorage where there were a few other boats at anchor. We had travelled with another two yachts and soon we were all anchored in about 20 metres. Position: 01 02.773 N, 120 48.372 E.
No time for sleep though! It was the beginning of three very busy days enjoying the welcoming hospitality of local guides - all students of English at the local college and extremely keen to practice their English.
The town sits below a rugged hinterland which rises just inland. The hills are covered in clove trees which is the main industry in this town. Most of the cloves are exported to China for cigarettes. We found out later that the fallen leaves are now gathered and exported to India for burning at funerals. Nutmeg and mace are also produced. It seemed a lot hotter and more humid than Kalimantan which we thought may be caused by the hills trapping the heat in. Even the locals seemed to suffer.
Along the shoreline near us there were some very big outrigger fishing boats. They were on the mud in low tide but floated off later in the day to go squid fishing out in the bay. We have only seen this type of boat before in the Philippines.
The next three days passed in a bit of a whirl. Hendra must take responsibility for most of this. Not only does he teach English at college and secondary school, he also works for the Ministry of Tourism and is a an excellent photographer as well. He organised fuel for us, going miles away when the local man decided to double his price. If you are ever looking for somewhere different to visit come to Toli Toli, you won't be disappointed!
Our guides, Dina and Aresty, took us to the markets, a visit to a secondary school to meet students, lunch at a local warung where we had a traditional dish called Tinutuan or Manado rice porridge. A welcoming dinner the first night including the most delicious gado gado and smoked fish dish. A visit to a village of Toli Toli people, the traditional people of the area, was a highlight. We enjoyed a lunch of salt fish, sweet corn, boiled bananas, sweet potato and fresh young coconut juice.
Another excellent dinner followed with some local entertainment, including a bamboo 'brass' band. All the instruments were made by the musicians and it sounded just like a brass band. Then the fun of dancing the local 'two steps right, two steps left' dance that everyone, young and old joined in. We had also done this the night before but this night it continued on with many variations and had everyone dripping with perspiration! It was great fun.
We planned to leave Tuesday so Monday was spent at the markets topping up supplies. Pam needed chicken and ended up buying two live ones which were dressed for her. Or so she thought. When she got them home she still had the job of cleaning their insides! Another first for her. Jon had the job of getting the guides plus Dina's mother, Aresty's friend and Alfon, who had helped at the markets in the morning, into our dinghy and bringing them for a visit aboard but they didn't stay long. The anchorage was quite rolly and before long they were all feeling a bit queasy!
With some of our group we went ashore for dinner to eat at a nearby restaurant and enjoyed chilli crab and fried fish. Wow, the food here in Indonesia is great and much better than we remember from 2006. The people have been fantastic and we will long remember them.
We will now be travelling in a loose group of five or six yachts which are all headed back to Australia. On Tuesday we set off for Teluk Pinjan, about 39 NM away and around the corner to the northern coast of Sulawesi. Towards to top of the western side we struck the Makassar Strait current which slowed us down considerably and patches of turbulence made it a bit bumpy but the anchorage was very placid. The reefs at low tides were covered in local reef pickers and there were many small fishing boats out and about. Position: 01 18.670 N, 121 04.283 E.
Yesterday we did the 62 NM to Pulau Pelele inside a large bay. A light breeze allowed us to motor sail but with such a long way to go we kept the engine running. It is quite deep and we are anchored again in 20 metres. Very protected though. We plan to do some snorkelling and visit the village ashore before leaving tomorrow.
Position: 01 02.444 N, 121 57.873 E
1 comment:
So stoked you're having such a great time!! love ej xoxo
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