Sumbawa

Sumbawa is a very poor island, the only tourists that visit are surfers riding the remote breaks on the south of the island. We had a good sail in the morning then the wind died so we motor sailed the rest of the way to the anchorage arriving round four. We anchored next to the local squid boats near the village and watched the locals going about their business from our cockpit. Kids were out picking at something in the rocks at low tide, the beach was black volcanic sand and the older kids played soccer, then we saw goats and cattle walk along the foreshore. The Muslim call to pray  was loud and clear. 

A mixture of sailing and motor sailing for the next two days ending at Medang island where we stayed two nights. It is a low island with coconut palms white sand and reef and a village with 1000 people. We enjoyed sunset drinks on the beach with Southern Wing, Mokisha and Jackstar.
Beahan a local 20 year old offered to take us to his village so we went the next day. As we walked along the main road of the village everyone waved and said hello in their local dialect, Beahan could speak a little English and we got by with our phrase book.

Most of the houses were high off the ground and made of woven bamboo and palm fronds or rusty tin on the roof then others were low and built of concrete and tiles. Underneath the highest ones they had a bamboo platform that they sleep or sit on and talk. Each house had its own well out the front and as we walked by the woman were doing the laundry or bathing and the men were sitting around smoking.
As we walked past a school we were mobbed by 30 kids wanting to shake our hands, we felt very  special and they made us laugh. Most of the men and woman wore a sarong with a shirt, the school kids were all immaculately dressed in their school uniforms, it is always interesting to visit the villages and see how other people live.

We were up early to make our way to Lombok, as we crossed the strait between the island we got 20-30 knot winds on the beam and quite a few waves  broke over the bow and Bimini to give us an early morning shower, it was the roughest weather we have been in so far and the boat handled it well, we sailed along for four hours with those winds and then with in 30 minutes the wind dropped down to 10 knots on the nose so we had to turn on the motor, very unpredictable weather.
We anchored outside a small marina on Lombok Island with good protection then went ashore for dinner there were lots of boats in so caught up with some of the ones that we knew.
We caught the local ferry over to Gilli Air for the day cost us $1.00 for the ferry and $1.00 for the bemo, beaut island full of restaurants and bars on the beach, cheap bungalows, good beach and very clear water, lots of diving and snorkeling. There are no cars or motorbikes on the island the best mode of transport is horse and cart! We had a relaxing day swimming lunching and catching up with some other cruisers.
Six of us did a day trip on Lombok we visited temples, fed the wild monkeys on the side of the road, did some shopping and drove past the beaches and rice paddys, we had another good day sightseeing.
There are still lots of horse and carts transporting people around Lombok so Sandy and I caught one to the local markets for F&V cost us $1.00.
We ate dinner at the marina most nights $5.00 buys spring rolls and a curry or nasi goreng and it was delicious too.



PS I made a mistake with the numbers for the watermaker so for those who are interested we make 300 litres it lasts us just over two weeks. The watermaker makes 130 liters an hour.
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