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Misto - September 6-15, 2018: Exploring Lombok



We finally arrived at Gili Gede on September 10, having motored for 600 nm out of 940 nm. The new marina here is still in a state of construction but already boasts new floating docks and shower/toilet facilities. The club house and swimming pool still await completion. Gili Gedi is a small island just off the main island of Lombok (Gili = little island and Gede = biggest!). The people are very welcoming even if slightly disorganized.

We took a day to complete refueling and repair the Genoa, yet again! That evening we treated ourselves to a lovely Indonesian meal at a local restaurant run by a Frenchman. With jobs out of the way we decided on doing the WARC tour followed by an additional night and day on a tour that would take us up to the north of the island and within sight of Mount Rinjani.

On the first tour we visited the local market at Pelangan, the pottery village of Banyumulek where the famous Indonesian pottery is made, and the Hindu temple which is unique in that it also welcomes Muslims to worship there. The overwhelming majority of people here are Muslim with most of the women modestly attired and veiled, however they all happily ride the motorbikes that are the major form of transport here. While visiting the pottery village we purchased a traditional smugglers teapot and a beautiful vase.

Our additional tour, with our guide and driver, took us up to Sembalun close to the imposing amount Rinjani. On the way we saw the devastation that the recent earthquake has had on this country, with most buildings damaged and many completely collapsed. Even our hotel had suffered cracks and workmen were hard at work to restore it. We had not realized how high we would be and the evening wind was quite cold but the helpful hotel manager gave us sweaters on loan. The next morning we proceeded to the Sendang Gili waterfall. The walk started in the village that was the base for all the trekking on amount Rinjani. Regrettably every building has been flattened in the earthquake and the restaurants, hotels and home stays are now all out of business. As the mountain has been closed by the government, the people here have no source of income right now. Tents fill the gaps between the buildings and tent villages have sprung up on soccer fields, schools are continuing under open sided tents - it is really heartbreaking.

After lunch we negotiated a tour extension and visited the weaving village at Penujak. Here the traditional weaving results in intricately woven materials, with girls learning this craft at age 10. A complex sari cloth will take a month to make and costs only about $100. I could not resist the beautiful fabrics and purchased a pashmina type of shawl.

The prize giving was held in the partially completed club house and Misto won first prize in the catamaran division for the last leg. Our perseverance to sail whenever possible clearly paid off.

Today we returned to the local market to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables for our next leg to Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling.

What are my thoughts about Indonesia? It is clearly Asian in influence, way of life and culture. The people are friendly, and many younger people speak a little English. It is very inexpensive to eat and live here. Sadly the north of the island has been badly hit by the recent earthquake and the tourist industry, that was building, has dropped to nothing, meaning many now have no income - we were our guide and driver’s first customers in 5 weeks. We hope that the government is able to bring the country back from this disaster. It has kindled my desire to see more and perhaps we will be back one day with the Sail Indonesia Rally.

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