Ambon is probably not one of our favourite stops but it did have some highlights. The local Sail Indonesia organizers did their best to give us a good time. They have removed their entire fishing fleet from the port to give most of the yachts prime parking up against the dock. It seemed we had exclusive use of all the fishing port facilities ashore as well.
They put on a fantastic welcome, just a shame the invitation was in Indonesian and we read the function time of ‘12.00- finish’ as being 12.00 start in fact it meant it finished at 12.00. Never mind, we were in time for a great lunch. We have thrown caution to the wind regarding what food we eat. It is hard to refuse the hospitality we are receiving so….. you can remind me I should have been more cautious on the days I’m confined to the bathroom on the boat!!
View from the yacht.......................................................GO COOL BANANAS GO !!!!!!
On the passage out of Darwin we tore our mainsail. Lydia’s Dad was flying to Ambon so he brought us some sailcloth. After an ask around the boats we had enough glue to do the job. The lovely navy men of Ambon found us a shed to work in and helped us get the hefty sail to the shed. From there Daryl and Dave, with the constant offer of help from the nice navy men set about to glue and sew a patch onto the sail. Daryl is pleased with the outcome.
While they were confined to the shed I disappeared off on a day tour. Would you believe it, we were police escorted for the day. It was just like in the movies!!! The police on motorbikes drove in front of the tour buses and shooed all the traffic off the road. But the fact we were travelling quite fast and being close behind the bikes, plus me sitting in the front seat, added up to a hair raising ride. At times I just shut my eyes and hoped the traffic stopped in time with enough room for us to squeeze through. In the afternoon we gave up on a parade, given in our honour, apparently, that still hadn’t arrived after 2 ½ hours. It amazes me that, although there were so many officials running around with radios, no one could establish where the parade was and how long it would be. We heard that 50% of those employed are employed by the government.
Village welcome dance.
Petrol station - Indonesia style
Lydia represented Cool Bananas at the farewell dinner, while we were putting the sail back up. Each boat got given a beautiful hardcover book about the history and art of the area. They certainly tried their best to look after us.
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