BELITUNG ISLAND INDONESIA

Officials in Belitung have inspected our papers.

We are still at Belitung and will stay until our visa expires. Unfortunately we didn't get the tourist visa before we came to Indonesia  so cannot extend the Visa on Arrival. 

We have had a fabulous week here with Harun as our guide, translator, driver and friend. Almost every day he picks us and takes us to another awesome place or places. Bali village where Balinese were encouraged to move to Belitung to live and have built Bali style village and temple. 

Dutch colonial buildings from last century,  preserved and in great condition. We visited the Bugis village  of the Madurese descendants  bought to Belitung  by the Dutch as mine workers.

A highlight was lunch as guests of the Belitung Regent, Ir. H. Darmansyah Husein, and the head of the local Tourism authority. We were invited to contribute ideas and feedback to these officials to help promote and improve facilities for visiting yachts. We hope they will build a marina here in the future and thus encourage yachts to extend their stay. It is a short 45 min flight to Jakarta and therefore easily accessible. There is some potentially lovely cruising grounds around here too.

 All the restaurants we have been to have been outstanding. Not one failure! Chinese and Indonesian cuisine. There are also some pretty good supermarkets and lovely fresh market so we are not wanting for anything. 

L to R. Harun Dave Jan (Baraka) Bill Amy (Estrellita) me David.

Jetties at the Bugis Village. Lots of salting fish.

The snorkeling is excellent, and  in clear water with very unspoiled coral, right off the back of the boat here in the anchorage.  Sunday we had  a BBQ on a nearby beach on an island with Harun and the crews off Estrellita and Baraka, It was a relaxing afternoon on an idyllic little secluded beach. We haven't  done much of that in Asia because it's hard to find a deserted beach.  The other two boats Baraka and Estrellita have had to check out because their visas expired and they left today for Cocos Keeling.

One night out with Harun, Amy and Bill 
we visited Haruns Workshop .

We waved them off in pretty boisterous weather and wish them well on their next leg of about 800+NM.  This afternoon another ketch has arrived and anchored about 3 miles out. Maybe they don't have charts or maybe they are keeping a low profile and going to sail right on by. Their loss to be sure! .
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