Bali

We sailed with four boats for the trip to Bali, we started early in the morning with the wind 5-10 knots but it increased quickly to 15-20 and the current was very strong once you hit the strait between the two islands. We had a good sail for five hours then once we came close to the coastline the wind dropped and we turned on the motor for the rest of the day. When we arrived at the anchorage at Lovina Beach north Bali there were 30 boats, most from the Sail Indonesia Rally, the local fishing boats guided us in and we anchored in 7 m clear water with black sand, you can easily see the starfish and shells on the bottom because of the colour of the sand. 

We went ashore for dinner and caught up on the latest news of weather and anchorages ahead as some of the boats were already on their way west.
Beers at happy hour prices were $2.00 for large bintang and $1.40 for small, Ken was in heaven, the food was tasty and the whole time we were there we never had a bad meal,prices $2.50 - $4.00, the fresh fruit juices delicious at 40-60 cents. We ate out most nights and I had lunch with Sandy a couple of times while the men did boat jobs, another time five of us had massages ($10.00) and then lunch so we really felt spoilt.
The shopping was good too,shorts and cotton dresses 4-5 dollars.

The food lockers were getting low so we caught a taxi in to Singaraja the second biggest city in Bali to stock up for the next month.
We still had lots of tinned stuff on the boat but I was nearly out of flour,cheese,butter, chips and nuts. We also have some meat left and chocolate so I think I did a good job of provisioning as we have only had to get fresh fruit and vegetables and eggs at the markets. Western food is about the same price as it is at home but the Asian food is cheaper.
The local fisherman delivered fuel to the boat for 80 cents a litre so we topped up the tanks, October is transition month and the wind drops as we head towards Singapore so we will be motoring more. 
The weather has been hot during the day so we often jump over the side of the boat when we are anchored to cool off, the nights have been beautiful with a light breeze and much cooler for sleeping. 
I enjoyed the time in Bali, very relaxing, but Ken was keen to move on, oh well I guess he did more work on the boat while we were there than I did.
Next stop is Kumai on the island of Borneo to see the orangutans.

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