Year 2- 26 July 2025 – Kei Kecil -Ngiar Varat Island

We woke to a slightly grey morning but we were going ashore for a tour. We took a gas tank with us as they said they could fill it in town. William & Nicola were leaving the boat today as they have to fly home leaving Adam and I only until about 7 August. We therefore piled the dinghy up after breakfast and headed ashore.

There was to be a farewell dinner this evening with various local dignitaries coming so Adam and I signed up for that. We headed out on our tour and went to Langgur town where we tried 3 gas stations but to no avail. They would exchange but not fill. The town was busy with people and lots of cars, minibuses and mopeds all going about their business. The town was bussly with loud music being played from a number of shops and areas. The pavement edges are painted and it felt like quite a lot of activity going on. The shops had stuff piled on the pavements and the buildings were colourful and painted in all sorts of colours with no co-ordination. It was a sort of organised chaos.   

After the town we went in search of the one coffee plantation here. We went to a village and the guide had to ask where it was which took a little time, The village was a mixture of very poor – in terms of some houses being shacks and there was quite a lot of detritus everywhere. There were also some quite smart houses – all one story but some ornately painted and with gold and black railings. There were quite a lot of children playing and a few adults doing a little gardening or cutting down of foliage.

They eventually found someone who knew where the planation was and we were directed to it. This was a few miles outside the village and we stopped on the road and walked down a track and down some steps into a clearing with small shrubs. The guide explained that the coffee plant was brought to the island in 1957 and planted and there are now about 5 hectares of it. We only saw a small area and they take the beans and dry them, then roast them and then grind them and it is sold in the town. Unfortunately, the farmer was not there so we could not taste any but Nicola bought some in town. It was called Letuvan Coffee. It was interesting to see but a shame not to be able to taste it.

We went from the coffee planation to an old Japanese World War 2 bunker nearby which was in the middle of nowhere. The Japanese occupied this area for about 5 years and the bunker was made so that they could hide and store weapons. It was essentially a concrete bunker now overgrown with foliage.  

We then went to the Wakana Caves which you approached down a number of steps. There were lots of stalactites and stalagmites and the water was blue and clear. It was a freshwater cave and we got our trunks on and went in. It was lovely and fresh, not too cold and about 2-3m deep. You could swim back into the cave and we could see bats flying about in the dark as we must have disturbed them. The picture of the day is the cave.

We then headed back to the Restaurant Forganza where we had eaten the day before. We had a good lunch and after dropped William and Nicola off at their hotel. They have been great crew members and I shall miss them. They head back to Edinburgh.

Adam and I returned, collected the laundry and took it and the gas cylinder back to Stormbird. It had rained in our absence and we had to empty the dinghy of water. Nautilus – another boat had invited us for drinks at 5.00pm. We had actually met Crawford & Elaine in the Caribbean in 2019 when I did the Arc so it was good to see them again. We enjoyed catching up and then headed ashore to the farewell dinner which had been organised on the beach. I hoped it would not rain.

The programme started off with a number of Indonesian singers singing International music. There were then some dancers who did various routines. There were speeches from various individuals including from the rally and then the President of the Area came and shook our hands. It was very jovial but went on a bit long and eventually supper arrived. By this time, we were rather hungry. Then there was more music and dancing and eventually Adam and I had had enough and we headed back to the dinghy. It was a long way up the beach as the tide had gone out a long way. We had to drag the dinghy some way to get into it and we headed back in the dark. When we got back to Stormbird the anchor dragging alarm was on. In fact, we had turned 180 degrees  and the wind was now coming from the North. I checked our Lat/Long and we were not moving it was just the length of the 180 degrees which has set it off as I had only set it at 60m.

We turned in for a good night’s sleep and we should head off to Banda tomorrow – part of the Spice Islands.  

Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.  I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com