The staff at the marina welcomed us back warmly. A really lovely group of people.
We were delighted to see Pegasos looking much the same as when we left it on the hard stand at the marina. We got to work immediately, hosing the dust and sand off the deck and opening hatches, unpacking, putting up the cockpit tent and sails and washing dusty surfaces and cupboards. Luckily there was no mould. Robert got busy installing fuel filters and reconnecting engine bits, etc. We arranged for the hydraulic lift to lift the boat even higher to paint the dropdown keel and bits that were under the supports. A team effort!
We have had so many nerve-wracking experiences in Indonesian waters of getting fishing nets and ropes and other plastic rubbish caught in our propeller that as an emergency backup we now have a small outboard engine hanging off the side. We hope that we will never have to use it.
After a few days Pegasos was ready to go back into the water.
We crossed our fingers and did a test sail out to sea and back. All went well.
We filled the water tanks, hoisted the flags and were ready to go!
Passing through the marina heavily loaded local boats carry garbage back from the tourist resorts on the Gili Islands.
An unexpected strong northerly wind started blowing with big swells and we decided to do our first short hop to the nearby Gili islands. It was a good move as we later heard a boat broke free from its mooring and a few other boats dragged on anchor at Medana Bay.
We passed a fisherman in a typical spider boat whose sail seemed to be made from advertising posters.
We’ve been to the Gilis a few times and always found a mooring buoy. This time we first went to Gili Trawangan, picked up an unmarked buoy and half hour later a glass bottom boat operator came along and insisted it was his buoy. We motored among all the buoys but didn’t see another free buoy and the wind was picking up. We moved off to Gili Air and picked up an unmarked buoy in gusts of 25 knots. Along came a dive boat and said no, and pointed out another buoy. We picked up the indicated buoy and waited half hour and along came another glass bottom boat to claim it. Sod it – we moved off and anchored instead close to the reef. This meant keeping the anchor watch on all night in case the wind direction changed.
We got up at 4.30 am and motored off in the dark following our tracks around the reef and out to the Lombok Strait, moving along the moonlight path on the sea. The Lombok Strait is notorious for strong currents and choppy waves and it was a rollier than we would have preferred but not as bad as anticipated.
We reached Ambat Bay on the east coast of Bali by mid morning. The bay is littered with FAD’s and we picked our way closer in to the town of Amed.
Amed is a small sleepy town with black volcanic beach sand and warm water.
The sea shelf rises steeply and the swells roll in to thump right on the shoreline making it tricky to get in and out on a dinghy. We anchored on the narrow shelf. It was very rolly. We braved the dinghy dump onto the beach and went ashore and found a restaurant with good food for lunch. Ricotta and spinach cannelloni - ‘tis good to be back on Bali! We swam off the boat, caught up on some sleep and went back to shore for dinner lounging on bean bags close to the water.
We were up at sunrise the next morning.
The active volcano of Mount Agung is the highest point in Bali and a dominant feature on Amed’s landscape. It was quite a sight to see the rosy sunrise lighting up the volcano.
After the strong wind on the Gilis we had no wind at all for the next leg and ended up motoring all the way to Lovina – 10 hours of motoring! As always we saw a few tiny local fishing boats out at sea.
Lovina was a welcome sight and we found it to be a pleasant laid-back town with colourful warungs and restaurants.
Lovina is famous for its dolphins which are often spotted just out of the bay and every morning little motorised outriggers take tourists out to see the dolphins.
Lovina has a mix of Hindu and Muslim inhabitants (we didn’t escape the mosque loudspeakers).
Mostly the Hindu influence is more noticeable.
On the day the Springboks played the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup in Japan, we found a tiny pub showing the game with a motley collection of French, Kiwi and Brit patrons and one more South African on holiday. It’s a bit surreal watching rugby amongst Hindu statues, flower garlands and incense.
We provisioned at a nearby supermarket which was very well stocked with mostly pricey imported items – so happy to find butter and cheese again! Dairy products are very difficult to find on other islands, especially those off the tourist paths. Meat is generally not good quality and the fish is scarce – thanks to over-fishing by the locals. It’s mainly on heavily touristed Bali that meat and fish is available of decent quality. Lamb almost non existent. It’s easier for us to go a bit vegetarian out at sea – all good for my cholesterol and of course the planet...
Among the Lavina tourists were the passengers of the Star Clipper, a huge sailing cruise ship.
There were several other boats anchored nearby and most evenings we met up ashore for drinks and dinner. The best part is meeting other sailors from all over the world (ok, mostly Aussies) and making new acquaintances who we may or may not see again. Interesting people with wonderful stories and experiences add to the pleasure of our cruising adventure.
