Anchored at Kroko Island

Hi everyone,
We had a very nice sail from Lewoleba to Kroko Island this morning. It was only a 10nm passage but it took us to a different world. Absolutely clean water, beautiful sand cay, great reef, at least 4 volcanos in sight, and no noise from any nearby town. Marvellous. We are anchored at 08 14.63S 123 19.56E in 16m over a sandy bottom. I watched the anchor descend all the way, then watched it as we paid out our chain. I only lost it when it was about 20-25m away.

Zen Again Track

Chart of Kroko Island

GoogleEarth image of Kroko Island

We managed to time the tides through Selat Boling correctly and had 1 to 2 knots of current with us. We were in loose company with Jolie Brise (a Magpie 34) and Sostene (a 33 footer). We had a nice 10-12 SW breeze to get us out of the bay, then a light 5-6 knot S breeze up the strait. Jolie Brise put up their asymetric to catch us, and then followed us through the narrow channel between the main island (Adonara) and the offlying islets to the anchorage. This anchorage is #10 in the "101 Anchorages in Indonesia" book. It's not surprising it made it into the book since it is very scenic.

Sostene

Jolie Brise

Zen Again

We anchored with a group of 5 Canadian and US yachts who have been here for several days. We met them on the cay during the afternoon while preparing to go snorkelling. We all went ashore to the cay for sundowners which was very pleasant. They are departing tomorrow but I'm sure we'll see them again "down the track".

Anchored at Kroko Island

Lovely sand beach

The boats from the beach

The snorkeling was very good, with clown fish amoungst the many types seen. Lots of soft corals. We'll certainly be staying for another day to see more of the sights.

Lewoleba Tour

Hi everyone,
On Wednesday we went on a tour from Lewoleba to the whaling village of Lamalera on the south coast of Lembata Island.  It was a long drive over very rough roads but was interesting.  Always fun to see the hinterland rather than only the coast.

The scenery along the way was spectacular, and the variety of vegetation remarkable.  We saw coffee, cocoa, rice, tapioca, breadfruit, yams, beans, tomatoes, cashews and other crops.  We also saw teak and kapok trees.  The landscape varied from rainforest to dry, scrubby country.

Approaching the south coast

From the hills we drove down to the town.  Lamalera is a traditional village which continues to hunt whales using traditional methods.

Curing the whale meat

Lots of whale meat!

Whaler

The village foreshore

From the village we went to the guide's family home where we had lunch.  The guide's father prepared coconuts for us all and her mother was busy weaving ikat.

Ikat weaving

The tour was character-building due to the long drive over very poor roads.  It's a pity the organisers didn't provide snacks and water, and toilet stops, along the way.  With a little better organisation it could be much less trying.  We enjoyed the day nonetheless.

Lewoleba Welcome and Dinner

Hi everyone,
We're having a great time here in Lewoleba on Lembata Island (aka Tawula Island).  On Tuesday we had the formal welcoming ceremony and dinner.

The welcoming ceremony started at 1400 and went to 1700.  It involved traditional music and dance on the open area near the dinghy pontoon in the harbour, followed by a procession into the town centre about 2km away.  Many different dance groups were involved in the procession, which also featured several ponies and a vehicle dressed up as a whale.

Welcoming Ceremony

Procession into town

The lads

The ladies

All in all it was a very colourful welcome with minimal speeches and maximum action.  Good fun.

After a break of a few hours we all reassembled in the harbour for dinner.  There were a few more speeches, and story-telling dances before and during dinner.  After dinner we were all invited to join in with the dancing.  No photos since this time we both took part.  Great fun.