Welcome to the blog SV Bluestone and crew. Skipper and crew hope you enjoy reading about our journey.
Older posts are listed on the links at the bottom of the blog and on the right hand side column. There are also links on the right hand side that will take you to separate pages that cover some of the issues we have experienced. We also note a few people and companies (very few, most we have used have been great) that have let us down. If you have queries, would like waypoints or details on a destination, feel free to send a message, (link at the bottom of the page) .
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Lombok – 4 – 22 September.
Medana Bay Marina is not a real marina by Australian standards but it does have the most modern facilities we have come across yet and still retains the ‘Indonesian island’ feel. The marina has only been in operation for a short time and is very happy to have Sail Indonesia participants here. There are many swing moorings available and we are able to make use of them free of charge while the official Sail Indonesia festivities are underway. The charge for a mooring is normally 60,000 rupiah (approx. A$7.40) per day. They have toilets and showers, rubbish bins (amazing!), an alfresco restaurant/bar with WiFi capability (when the internet is working), ice creams (yay!) and the local village is absolutely next door. Here you can have your washing done (again, YAY), have a massage under a palm frond canopy overlooking the pond, buy shirts, local food and play with the children on the beach. Aaahh, paradise. But wait, the main town of Matarram is about an hour’s ride away by motorcycle or half an hour by car, both of which you have to hire.
Medan Bay Marina
So 5 of us decide to hire a car and a guide (they also supply a driver) and take a look at Lombok. Our start time is 0730 hrs as we need to get up into the mountains to see the monkeys who won’t come out in the heat of midday. Sensible monkeys. Clever monkeys too, as we stop the car with peanuts in hand, they just appear out of nowhere and put their hands out to get the peanuts. Mostly, they are gentle and well behaved but the bigger ones we are warned to watch. The bunch we meet this morning are ok, even big daddy when he arrives only screamed a few times at the younger ones before motioning for the peanuts. Don’t be fooled, they do NOT have any manners and the crew froze as one little fellow reached between her feet for a dropped peanut. Aaagh! In the car again and we wind down the mountain through a small town to the city of Matarram. Matarram is the largest town on Lombok with most every necessity readily available. A quick trip to the ATM for some cash and we travel onto the Pottery Factory. (We know why the guide took us to the ATM). We are shown the process for making the pottery from scratch and the skipper has a go at making his own pot while we watch. Very good.
Hungry monkeys
Hey Mrs, got one for me?
Well done
In the shop is wall to wall pottery – oh my! Can we ship this back home for when we get a house? Oh please? We decide on a few small pieces for the boat before departing and go onto a traditional village. (There are soooo many traditional villages). Again, we are shown the local weaving and I must say they are all different in their designs and colours and our guide is very sweet. We buy a table runner in their co-operative shop before leaving confident in the knowledge that the money goes back into the village – they all share and look after each other. The runner looks great with the pottery we bought. Next stop is Kuta Beach – not the original Kuta Beach in Bali but Kuta Beach, Lombok a real surfie-type area with small cafes and shops (huts) lining the beachfront. There are several up-market hotels and a very posh-looking Novotel also. After seeing the lunch prices in the hotels we are all happy to skip lunch and continue on our tour. (The driver and guide are observing Ramadan and also don’t eat between sunrise and sunset). We are due to visit yet another village but spy a Batik shop on the way and decide to stop there instead. I’m being spoilt today, the skipper negotiates a price on a lovely piece of material for the crew but it took him to put his hand on the car door before the sales woman would agree to his price. Bargain! There are many lovely Batik pictures in frames in the shop and again, we wish we had a bit more space for hanging them. From here we head to Matarram through another small town and many rice, tobacco, spice and corn fields, over a large river and stop at a park where a replica of the former kings Summer Palace has been built. The original Summer Palace is atop Mount Rinjani which you can also visit but it takes 3 days trekking. So the replica will do fine. It really is spectacular with ponds replicating lakes, beautiful gardens and the addition of a public swimming pool all open to the public for a small fee.
Weaving
Not weaving !
The King's summer palace
Entrance to the King's temple - we were not allowed in
We are taken then to Matarram Mall where we can visit a supermarket, buy some credit for our Indonesian phone number, and believe it or not, have some McDonalds that actually tasted like McDonalds – welcome in late afternoon after missing lunch. We have a quick wander around the Mall and spend an hour in the supermarket that is quite adequately stocked. Fresh bread! Yum. Our bread making attempts have not been very successful. Home via Senggigi and Nare Bay by which time it is quite late and too dark to see much. We are all tired and glad to return to our boats however, we did get our money’s worth.
As listed in our itinerary, the marina hosts the usual official dance, speech and dinner with a small fireworks display also and over the next couple of days with festivities finished, boats start leaving the anchorage for either the nearby Gili islands or the next scheduled stop in Bali. We stay on to enjoy a couple of nights in a nearby resort with visiting family members and take in another island tour with our previous guide. This tour includes a small trek to the Gangga waterfalls in a spectacularly pretty mountain area. The local village generates electricity from the falls and of course never runs out of fresh water. A few brave souls traverse the overflow to go on to the next level and another waterfall – the rest of us are happy to wait their return. We also visit a Buddhist temple, the daily market in Sengiggi, a wood carving shop (again, wall to wall goodies!), lunch at a local restaurant for a traditional meal (our guide translating) and a trip back to the supermarket in Matarram.
The luxurious resort
Our room
Inside the Buddhist temple
The Gangga Falls
A brave brother !
Eventually, we also move on to another bay on Lombok after conferring with our guide where we have a great view of the Gili islands and can take on fuel and a pearl and turquoise necklace – oh yes, our Lombok guide is a man of many talents – tour guide, fuel supplier, jewelry salesman and we also discover that he is a direct descendant of a royal bloodline. Gorgeous necklace by the way – acquired by negotiating/swapping some Australian opals we had with us.
Village life goes on amongst the rally
Our last day in Lombok is overcast, thundery and very humid and tidying up the boat makes one perspire profusely but we can always jump overboard for a dip in between jobs. The wind is very light in these parts and often non-existent so we must rely on our engine for a lot of the time. Thank goodness our visiting family members brought some necessary engine parts with them and we are happy to say, with the help of fellow cruisers, the engine sounds the best she has ever sounded. Skipper will tell me not to say this (superstitious sailor) - but it really does sound good.
So onward to Bali where we collect our passports with a visa extension to take us to Belitung to clear out of Indonesia late in October.