Sailing from a remote atoll into a bustling city
Our last anchorage was in a remote atoll called Maratua Island. Sure, we could rent a scooter for 200,000 rupiah and zoom around the newly-paved road (singular), but there was not one produce stand to be found, and our rations quickly dwindled. No grocery store, no central market, not even a woman selling bananas from a stall in front of her house. I guessed that private gardens provided just enough food for the family, with none left to sell. Finally, though, I was relieved to find a woman with a shop set up beside her home selling mostly packaged goods. Here, I spotted a stack of eggs in cardboard trays on the floor in the corner. Eggs! Breakfast was saved!
In the end, we had plenty of produce to last us during our ten days there, but the lack of any fresh market or even streetside stall had me counting my carrots carefully and checking my tomatoes daily for any sign of decay. Cucumbers were turned to pickles and put in the fridge before they shriveled, and meals were planned around what few veggies remained.
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| Our exhausted little winged passenger |
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| Sailing shenanigans - boredom breeds creativity! |
A four day sail later (spent feeding mostly on bean burritos and spaghetti), and we find ourselves anchored just in front of a bustling city. The shoreline buzzes with traffic, a row of restaurants and four storied malls crowding the street. KFC and McDonalds can literally be seen from our stern, and the kids and I joke about how funny it would be if they had a dinghy drive-thru! One Big Mac and an order of fries, please!
I spot the flashing glow of an LED screen the size of a movie screen, no doubt running a spool of advertisements or tour packages. Cell towers stand like monuments, erected to commemorate the progression of this civilization. My phone chirps with sudden notifications after four days of disconnected silence. I’m thrilled to reconnect and chat with friends and family again. I quickly scroll through the latest FB posts and Instagram updates, desperate to feel connected again, but at the same time sorry to be back in digitized connectivity. I miss the quiet and solidarity in some ways, but am glad to get back in the loop with the latest and greatest, too.
This sailing life continues to challenge me with extremes. Plenty and want. Isolation and sensory overload. Calm and chaos. Simplicity and struggle.
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| A peaceful view overlooking the city |
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| Back to the land of the thousand selfies! |
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| No safety lines or harnesses. Just he and the Colonel... |
A four day sail later (spent feeding mostly on bean burritos and spaghetti), and we find ourselves anchored just in front of a bustling city. The shoreline buzzes with traffic, a row of restaurants and four storied malls crowding the street. KFC and McDonalds can literally be seen from our stern, and the kids and I joke about how funny it would be if they had a dinghy drive-thru! One Big Mac and an order of fries, please!
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