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← Bali to Bawean

Kalimantan to BelitungPosted on 18 October 2018

Kumai, Kalimantan, and Belitung

6th to 17th October

A fashion show!

The sail from Bawean to Kumai in Central Kalimantan was marred by running agroundnear high tide on a lee shore near the river’s bar. Even with very capable help from fellowsailors and an Indonesian tug, we were unable to float free for many hours. After midnighta wind shift thankfully helped ease us off. (In case you’re interested, Navionics charts arehopelessly inaccurate in this area!)

Welcome dance for Central Kalimantan

Then followed a few wonderful and especially memorable days. First, an action-packedday that left us dizzy with new experiences: in the space of 15 hours on that one day we hadwelcome dances, lessons in blowpipe use (the Dayak weapon of choice, though we did notuse poisoned darts), drinks of rice wine in Dayak longhouse, a colourful children’s fashionshow (in torrential rain), a ‘getek’ race on local river (‘getek’ is local open narrowmotorboat), two palaces, gala dinner with speeches and dances (lest you think thesedances are all the same, they’re not – Kalimantan’s being much less formalised withlivelier rhythm (and apparently happier participants) than Bali’s, for example, buteverywhere the costumes are fabulous). It was a supremely well-organised and fascinatingintroduction to Kalimantan. Here are a few photos….

Next day, we’re collected by our ‘klotok’ (local boat, colourful double-decker) for ‘theorangutan trip’; three days and two nights when we are spoiled and guided by the localcrew – four of them for the four of us.

A busy spot for ‘klotoks’

These trips are the prime reason for tourists to visit Kumai, and in peak months as manyas a hundred of these boats are navigating the narrow waterways to and from the variousorangutan feeding stations, and allied jungle walks, and viewing – and hearing – thevaried local wildlife (which includes kingfishers, proboscis monkeys, fireflies and theamazing cacophony of creatures whose loud orchestra fills the night).

More comfortable than ‘Henrietta’

Crew, Ati, Sabri, Faqih and Oji, happy with t-shirts

With need to move briskly from Kalimantan to the next rally stop on the island of Belitung, nearly 300 miles away, we leave as soon as our orangutan cruise is over. It’s a tiresometrip with motoring and motor-sailing most of the way, adverse currents and a shippinglane, plus many tugs that pull big loads of coal or oil or goodness-knows-what across theJava Sea.

Small island Belitung boasts white sandy beaches and crystal clear water, and seemspopular with Indonesians from Java and Sumatra. We have an organised coach trip to thetown, our unflappable and smiling guide, Kiki, keen to show us the local sights (school,traditional house, market, dancing, snacks, meals, boat building et al.) and is only a littleput out that no-one was up for karaoke on the return journey.

And then we’ve had a day of leisure on a gorgeous little islet decorated with huge roundedgranite boulders, and the happy spectacle of young Indonesian girls learning to swim (orfloat at least) which they do with headscarfs and full dress, and lots of giggling…..but I hadno camera…

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Older PostsKalimantan to Belitung 18October 2018Bali to Bawean 15 October2018Nusa Tenggara 22 Sep-tember 2018Southeast Sulawesi 4 Sep-tember 2018Central Molucca 11 August2018Indonesia – SE Mollucca 6August 2018Australia 16 July 2018Chesterfield Reef 26 June2018New Caledonia 7 June 2018Vanuatu 17 May 2018New Zealand – last phase 30April 2018New Zealand – end of sum-mer 12 April 2018New Zealand 3 12 March2018New Zealand 2 3 February2018New Zealand – Northland 16December 2017Tonga to New Zealand 11 No-vember 2017Tonga, Ha’apai 24 October2017Tonga, Vava’u 7 October2017Suwarrow, Cook Islands 25September 2017Society Islands 2 September2017Moorea 19 August 2017Tahiti 31 July 2017Tuamotus 15 July 2017Gambier Islands 23 June2017Pacific Ocean 10 June 2017Panama Canal 2 May 2017San Blas Islands to Colon 28April 2017San Blas Islands 25 April2017Waiting in Panama 11 April2017Bonaire to Panama 5 April2017Martinique and Bonaire 22March 2017Vegetarian at Sea 13 March2017Atlantic Crossing 2017 22February 2017La Palma, La Gomera 26January 2017Western Canary Islands 16January 2017Some Canary Islands 23 De-cember 2016Madeira 4 December 2016Porto Santo 20 November2016Portugal – 2016 1 November2016Leaving England – Oct 201611 October 2016Still in England – July, Au-gust, September 9 Sep-tember 2016England 5 July 2016Azores to England 19 June2016Azores 6 June 2016Bermuda to Azores 24 May2016North to Bermuda 5 May2016Some Virgin Islands 22 April2016North from Dominica 9 April20169th April 9 April 2016North from Martinique 24March 2016North from Trinidad 15March 2016Trinidad 29 February 2016Some Windward Islands 21February 2016South from Antigua 10 Feb-ruary 2016Some Leeward Islands 27January 2016Atlantic Crossing 6 January2016Cape Verde 18 December2015…On to Cape Verde 13 De-cember 2015Still here in La Gomera 30November 2015Waiting in La Gomera 24November 2015Two more Canary Islands 13November 2015South to a Canary Island 3November 2015Portugal – going backwards!19 October 2015Still in Portugal 14 October2015….and Portugal….early Octo-ber 6 October 2015….on to Spain – late Sep-tember 25 September 2015Leaving England – Sep-tember 2015 12 September2015Setting forth – August 2015 1September 2015Ashore for a spell 26 August2015Learning how it all works 8August 2015A New Boat 8 June 2015

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