Selamat Jalan Indonesia

This is the end of the Sail Indonesia Rally 2013. The rally ended at the beautiful resort Nirwana Gardens located in Bintan Island. It’s hard to believe it has been three months already in Indonesia, but we loved every minute of it. 

 

 On our way to Bintan we crossed the equator. Good old sailor lore dictates that a celebration be made for our first crossing and that a toast toTriton be made, so we obliged.

 

Upon arrival at Nirwana Gardens we were received with a feast to the eyes as well as our tummies. Some of the best food we have had in Indonesia.

 

There were dances for our entertainment as well.

 

 The dances are tightly weaved into Indonesian culture and tell stories such as wives waiting for their fisherman husbands to arrive back safely and bountiful.

 

With some free time I decided to try the slack line. It was fun, but I am going to have to put in a lot of time to get good at it.

 

Monitor lizards roamed the grounds and were found swimming in the pools. This fellow was confined though.

 

Ali enjoying paradise on earth.

 

One of the bars at the resort was located over the water. Too bad we couldn’t afford to buy any drinks, the resort amenities were beyond our budget :(

 

The resort had elephants so we went to say hi to them.

 

This is what an elephant in your face feels like. This one just wanted bananas.

 

So I gave her some. She was very sweet and gentle.

 

Goodbye friends. I leave you with an artsy photo from the beautiful gardens in the resort. See you in Malaysia.

 

Dinner with the Prez

We decided to stay in Labuan Bajo to have dinner with the president of Indonesia and participate in the boat parade.

Here are the whip dancers again. They hit each other with the whip and attempt to protect themselves using their shield. If they are not quick they get lashed and draw blood - a sign of a strength. Notice the lack of eye protection.

A local dancer at the gala dinner.

The dancing troop selected to entertain the president.

A lineup of dancers at the door received the president.

My buddy Susilo. You might know him as the democratically elected president of Indonesia.

Lots of ships from many countries showed at the harbor. This is a Chinese hospital boat.

Here is Vincent on the bow of Tenacious. Vincent is an Sail Indonesia representative and guide has been very helpful in our trip.

The big ships of the parade.

The little sailboats at the parade and Ali in the VIP viewing deck.

Powered paragliders participated as well. The president, government dignitaries, and the residents of the Island were enjoying the parade from the beach.

What is a blog post without a beautiful sunset picture. This one is for Madi since it actually is an active volcano and you can see the fumarole at the top of it.