A Brit and Mexican Walk into a Pub: Adventure in Alor Part 2

August 15, 2013

So long Alor! It was a sad morning yesterday leaving our new home of Alor and all our new friends. We truly can't walk through the town without running into people we know at this point… both locals and new sailing friends. We arrived at the next island, Lembata, where we anchored next to a smoking volcano… certainly less appealing after the volcanic eruption near Flores Island two days ago that killed 6 people! But it was the best night watch I have had so far . . . moonlight reflecting off the water, stars in the sky unlike anything you have seen in America, and lava running down the sides of volcanoes all as we sailed past.

We spent a day on a local boat snorkeling at the best sites I have ever laid my eyes on!!! Now you just have to get off the boat without falling to ask the local chief for permission before snorkeling.

The locals weave their own fish baskets out of pond fronds and sink them in the reefs. Fish swim in, but they don't swim out. :( I thought about freeing them while snorkeling… but wasn't so sure the chief would look kindly upon that.

The women weave baskets which are used in the community and traded with other villages.

And what about the rest of the palm? Fear not! The fruit gets used to make alcohol - sopi. We had to drink some with the chief whether we wanted to or not!!!

Life on the snorkel boat - eating rice and vegis with our hands like the locals already!

All the local children swam out to an empty boat near us to say hi! Not one parent in site - this is the opposite of the helicopter parent phenomen.

Jealous yet? Here's where we went for our picnic with our new friends!

No beach experience is complete without a small child using a large machete to open a coconut for me!

It was a picnic feast!!!

I don't think words convey what I mean by the fact that we are celebrities here.

Omar opted to ride back from the beach picnic like a local. Our new friend Peter, directly above Omar, sang with the band Taj Mahalo. He has the most amazing voice ever!

No trip is complete without renting scooters to tour the island. Where is my go GoPro when I need it?

We explored the northern part of Alor and found beaches to swim in along the way.

And no scooter trip is complete without a break down. Orla had to ride her flat through dirt/gravel pits aka roads for more than 20 mins before we stumbled upon a village in the middle of nowhere with a man sent from God himself, who not only had an air compressor, but an extra tube and fixed the tire single handedly in a jiffy!!!!