sv evi

In January we enjoyed more fabulous snorkeling in Yanggelo, Naffi-Nokor, and Dayang.

Packhorse Riki heading into Waisai to fill diesel jugs and swap out the propane bottle.

We got to eat out at a resort and a diving homestay.

Tomu learned to play bridge! Bridge is my favorite card game, so I was thrilled to get to play on board with the family.

Jade and Luz made all the stuffies attend school on the cabintop.

Mom made Chinese roast chicken and jook one day. The kids loved it so much she made it again the next day!

We took Ma to Balbulol, one of our favorite spots in Raja Ampat. It was an overnight sail there and back again.

We celebrated Tomu’s 11th birthday twice, once at an arcade with my mom, and once on a beach with our friends on SV Motu.

Birthday boy with all of his Rubix-type cubes…the only presents he wanted from Mr. DIY.

We said bye to Po Po on January 19th. This time it wasn’t so sad because we know that we will see her in the summer. The same day that she left, we cleaned the boat for 6 hours, and I took 25 kilos of laundry to be washed, dried, and folded. The express service (24 hour turn around) cost $30. Most of that laundry was our temperate weather clothes that have just been getting moldy in our drawers since we left New Zealand last May.

We checked out of Indonesia, going to the Quarantine office, the Immigration office, the Customs office, and finally the Harbormaster’s office. It took us 7 hours in all! Whew, it was a lot of waiting. Jade gave some jewelry that she made to some of the officials.

I spoke a little Bahasa Indonesia with the immigration official. He asked me in Bahasa, what motivated me to learn it? I replied in Bahasa that I can get to know the people better if I speak their language. Then he said in English, “speak in English and you can communicate with us, speak in Bahasa and you touch our hearts.” I certainly found that to be true with the kindness and generosity I received from the Indonesian people.

We plan to return to Indonesia after hauling out our boat in the Philippines. We had a glorious four months here!