Bali to Kalimantan (Borneo)

We are ten miles up the Kumai river on the southern edge of Borneo.  What a different world it is here, but luckily, the internet is working albeit slowly.  I'm having a little technical problem with my computer so will have to post photos later...maybe tomorrow I can work it out.

Lovina, Bali was really nice...well worth including in a Balinese itinerary.  We then sailed a few hours over to the north west end of Bali and had a fairly rolly anchorage for the night before leaving Bali and sailing to the main island of Java for another overnight stop.  Strong winds there and it took a few attempts before our anchor set properly.  A third day of sailing brought us to Gilivang, a tiny island just off the eastern coast of Madura (still part of Java).   Decided to stay here a day and try and get a few fresh items at the market in the village and this proved to be more challenging than expected.

Bright and early (6 am) Phil and I took the dinghy around to Tigress Too and picked Jean up.  Headed to shore and asked a few locals for some directions to the markets.  Very little English was spoken here and after traipsing around the village for a while we eventually were taken back to the beach where some women were sorting through the fish.  I should mention that this is a real fishing community...so many fishing boats were coming and going all the time!  So we got them to clean the fish and got one each, plus a bag of tomatoes.  We understood that the market was at 3:00 in the afternoon.

Phil and I returned to the island at 3 to find the market...we really wanted some onions, garlic, potatos, eggs and bananas.  A local led us from the beach to his friend's house, and this fellow spoke a little English.  We explained that we wished to go to the market and eventually 2 motorbikes appeared.  We each climbed on the back of our respective motorbikes and the fellows drove us over to the markets...a few kilometres.  Not so much there, one of the smaller village markets we've come across, but managed to get the eggs, bananas, cucumbers and garlic.  There were a lot of fish there, but we already had some for dinner from the morning's effort.  After our market visit they took us out to see the wind generators and then to see a school where the English speaking fellow is a teacher.  Back at his home we were invited to stay overnight.  We explained that we like to be on our boat to make sure the anchor holds when the tide changes.  We were just amazed at the friendliness and graciousness of these people.

 

Next morning we commenced our 45 hr sail to Kalimantan.  We had more wind than really expected and rolling seas...a far cry from the gentle breezes and flat water we expect up here.  We also had loads of local fishing vessels to dodge as well as ships. The fishermen are remarkably friendly, often coming close to have a look and everyone waves and shouts greetings.  At one time Chris counted 39 fishing boats in sight (during the night).  The adrenalin flows, but you do get used to it.  Phil made some soup for the trip, and Chris made a peach pie for our morning teas...the crew on Basanti always eat well.

 

Yesterday at 4:00 am we anchored just off the beach around a headland and got some sleep.  Later in the day we motored nearer to the mouth of the Kumai River and this afternoon we, and Tigress Too, motored up the river to our anchorage here.  We've booked an overnight river trip up into the jungle to see Orang-utans and other wildlife...looking forward to that.  This is a really unique and interesting place...hoping I can sort out my latest difficulty with the technology and get some photos loaded tomorrow.