ONWARDS TO BALI

After four days in Medana Bay there is no sign of the snake.  I didn’t see it leave the boat, but I have to assume it’s gone back to where it came from and carry on with my life.  Truce is full of fuel with some extra on deck, we have full cooking gas cylinders and a good stock of noodles and beer.  Time to move on.

I have had a great stay at Medana Bay, so good to have an air-conditioned room for a few nights.  The treat is over, I am on my way again, departing in the morning after breakfast and heading out through the outlaying reef into clear deep water, Bali visible ahead.  The sky was overcast with rainstorms away to the north.  Once in clear water a light breeze drifted in, we sailed slowly in occasional light rain showers. 

We crept across the shipping lanes and by early afternoon were still ten miles from our anchorage for the night off Ambat.  Eventually I started the engine and motored into the anchoragebefore sunset to make use of a sundowner.  There was a swell coming into the anchorage which fortunately died down later in the evening to make for a good night’s rest.  It had been a slow day taking about ten hours to cover thirty miles.  But we have now moved on and have made it to Bali. 

The next day we were underway again, this time headed for Lovina.  The wind was soft, we made headway slowly towards Lovina, anchoring just after five in the afternoon in time for sundowners again.

 Lovina turned out to be a good run ashore with a super supermarket.  Here I found Weet-Bix which I had been on the lookout for since arriving in Indonesia.  Weet-Bix is an excellent sailing food and my existing stock from Australia had almost run out, in fact I had been rationing it. 

At the supermarket I stocked up on a few other items.  As usual whether I needed it or not, it’s the sailors squirrel syndrome, we always need additional stores ‘just in case’. 

Lovina was a nice place, very chill, I enjoyed my time there.  It has all the facilities of Bali but without the frantic hustle, bustle and crazy traffic of the south.  After three days in Lovina, I moved on again further west.  I had a couple of possible anchorages marked out along the way but a swell from the Northeast didn’t make them too inviting.  I pressed on towards Teluk Banyuwedang that looked to be protected from the swell.

On the way there was some coastal shipping, fishermen and FAD’s to dodge around.  There was a tug and tow going the same way as me and it took a few hours for us to overhaul him.  For the final hour into Banyuwedang a strong wind headed us and a current sprang up.  It was slow going for a while until we entered the reef fringed channel into the inner bay. 

Teluk Banyuwedang is a nice protected anchorage fringed on one side by the national park.  There are some moorings in the bay for visitors to use but they looked a bit sketchy.  I opted to anchor and found a clear spot in seventeen meters of water just off an expensive looking resort.

The place is a bit touristy and they even have hot pools.  Well, I love hot pools but not in this climate, could be a route to a heart attack.  The tourists are a mix of local and foreign, good for keeping the prices in check. 

The anchorage turned out to be a windy place during the day.  Not super windy, maybe about twenty knots maximum and giving a nice cooling breeze before dying away at night.  I took a walk into the town where there is a good fruit and veggie market.  Interestingly, in the market, fruit and vegetables seem to seen as different commodities.   Stalls don’t generally sell both, you need to visit different stalls to get both fruit and vegetables.  Fortunately, after arriving late I was able to pick up some good vegetables, the fruit was all gone.

I cut myself with a Stanley knife, nothing serious but it sliced through my fingernail.  Its just the small type of finger injury that could turn nasty in this climate if not treated properly from day one.  I did the first aid stuff and will have to keep it protected for a few days.  Very inconvenient as its my right hand and good arm.

My stay in Teluk Banyuwedang lasted three days, a nice place and a good anchorage.  But time to go again, tomorrow Bali will be astern, my next stop will be on Java. 

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