Waiting for the other shoe to drop...

Bananas!

Conrad's latest obsession is 3D modeling and he could easily spend all day on the computer. This has us all vying for computer time on our sole laptop (we have another one that we keep as a spare). That time has become even more precious with the recent demise of our battery charger.

Safe but sad

We missed the earthquakes and tsunami in Donggala and Palu by about five days. We had already moved on to Kumai when we heard the news. Although the resort area where we were moored escaped with relatively minor damage, the surrounding areas were devastated. It is awful to see images of the destruction and to read about the deaths.

We are currently in Belitung, having covered many miles since Donggala. Updates coming...

Indonesia: Land of Friendly Folks and Official Officialdom

Mark riding with one of our guides, Bang Rhul'Badrul.

We enjoyed the couple of months we spent on the Sail to Malaysia rally but by the end were ready to get back to our own schedule (or lack thereof) and a more relaxed calendar. We were able to do and see things with the rally that we would not otherwise, but the pace was a bit exhausting for us.

Back to Indonesia

Jellyfish Lake at Kakaban Island

When Indonesians ask us whether we have ever been to Indonesia before, we now say we have been here twice before. It wasn't necessarily the plan, what with hitting a log and all, but it's all good, man.

Tun Sakaran and Sipadan

Big school of jacks (tuna)

One of the highlights of the Sail Malaysia Rally is the trip to the Tun Sakaran and Sipadan Marine Parks. I had been looking forward Sipidan Island for so long that, in hindsight, it would have to be pretty incredible to live up to my expectations. Sipidan is touted as one of the top dive destinations in the world and visitors are limited to 120 a day.

Kinabatangan River

This little guy was spotted at the Rainforest Discovery Centre

Perry is a wildlife-loving group (it makes sense because we're practically wildlife ourselves). And the last few days on the Kinabatangan River has been the best wildlife viewing we have experienced since the Galapagos. Not only have we seen many creatures that we have never seen before, there are just so many animals.

Rallying

Dragon Boat racing in the Kudat Festival

We joined the Sail Malaysia rally to cruise Eastern Borneo, which has experienced security issues in past years, including a high-profile kidnapping by Abu-Sayaff terrorists. The main draw of the rally for us was the safety-in-numbers strategy, as well as ESSCOM escorts throughout the risky areas.