Indonesia

We sailed into Indonesia and were instantly overcome with sensory overload: dhows powered by us with sails modeled from sugarsacks and large kites. They crisscrossed our rhumbline, as we sailed through the archipelago, west towards Bali. Our fast three day easy passage from Australia launched us into azure waters, sun-baked beaches, looming volcanos and verdant rain forests. Now to choose which of the 17,000 islands to explore! Only two-thirds of those are inhabited, which leaves of lot of adventure in our path.

Indonesia stretches from east to west along the equator. To the west lies the more popular metropolitan trade areas of Jakarta, Java and Bali. To the east along the archipelago, lies magical remote islands, seldom visited by tourists - our kind of place!

The dazzling arc of the eastern islands are referred to as Nusa Tenggara. This region became our most rewarding part of Indonesia to explore. The island of Flores with its Portuguese heritage, became our favorite. Sheer diversity kept us alert and curious, as animist rituals and tribal traditions continue right alongside the minarets, temples and chapels, particularly in rural areas. Though we had picked up a bit of Bahasa Indonesia, each main island had at least one native language that was subdivided into dialects.

Sumbawa is the poorest of all the Nusa Tenggara islands. It was our first introduction into cruising amongst Islamic communities, though we had traveled in Morocco years before.

Here, villages supported glistening mosques that awakened us at dawn with their call to prayer. Soon, men passed by in their dug-outs for a day of fishing or to cart the village children to school. We always exchanged eager waves and wide grins. It was our favorite way of beginning our day over morning coffee. In the afternoons, we strolled through the village to give away used clothing and school supplies. Their warm and welcoming spirit was a delightful surprise.

The island of Rica is one of the few remaining areas inhabited by the Komodo dragons, which are listed as endangered. Komodo dragons are giant monitor lizards that can measure up to 3 m (up to 10 ft) long, weigh up to 135 kg (up to 300 lb), and can live 100 years. They roam freely and unfenced on the island, which makes for an excellent day safari, since over 1,000 have been given sanctuary here. Now, instead of terrorizing villagers, the fierce some dragons draw wildlife enthusiasts.

We hiked the grassy hills with a guide for three morning and afternoon sessions. Other than seeing a number of dragons on our safari, we encountered hordes of monkeys, a few wild boars and deer, and one very grumpy buffalo.

Excaptive orangutans roam freely in Tanjung Putting National Park (4150 sq km tropical rainforest), created to release orphaned orangutans into the wild, formerly rescued from ecological logging and gold mining abuses. I journeyed upriver to visit Camp Leakey, named after famed anthropologist Louis Leakey and Dr. Jane Goodall, to get up-close to these impressive apes. Care must be taken, however, as it took eight men to release Julia Roberts from the grasp of an alpha male during her recent visit.

A fishing village of 100 Muslims lived upriver, where we were welcome to stroll through banana fields and mangrove swamps during our morning ventures. The beach was a living highway of villagers coming and going, en route to fields and gardens. Often, the women and children waited for me, simply wanting a chat, curious of my oddity. I treated the sores and small wounds of the men and children with medical supplies onboard, pleased I could return their hospitality in some brief, heartfelt way.

Political discontent had erupted in East Timor during their horrific struggle for independence, but further down the island in West Timor, time had stood still and Indonesians went about their business, unaffected by political hardships. Beautiful women donned in exquisite gowns and high heels to slide onto the back of the family motorbike to attend religious gatherings. When we were stranded with overflowing baskets of produce, an affable merchant tossed us onto two of his bikes to cart us back to the boat, but first - a stop off for sweets from the local street cart. Grocery shopping back home will never be the same again!

We found Kupang, the main city, to be very Indonesian, with its buzzing bemos (kitted out with an outrageous sound system) and honking horns. Though the commercial city was bereft of cultural or architectural attractions, we still found our daily long walks full of interesting people to watch and exotic foods to sample. It was here that Captain William Bligh, English naval officer of the "Bounty", once waited for a rescue boat after being cast adrift by his mutinous crew in 1789.

Bali is one of the most important islands of Indonesia, economically and culturally. Alongside the roads, in the distance, we could see a continuous pattern of rice fields, grown on irrigated, terraced hillside. Occasionally, we saw cattle and hogs grazing nearby, as we walked the narrow, busy roads into the hills, which straddle the small island from east to west. Once during our walks, a large Hindu procession passed by, en route to their neighborhood temple to celebrate a wedding or birth. Uproarious laughter filled the air with singing accompanied by the loud clanging of cymbals.

We rented scooters to tour the countryside and visit the Hindu temples that dotted the neighborhoods. In the mountains, a Buddhist monastery held me in rapture for long moments of peaceful reflection. Late afternoon, when we wheeled back to the boat in the anchorage, villagers donned in big hats were harvesting red peppers in the fields, as young children played beside them in the dirt.

When Pete grew ill, a man who had been coming by our boat every morning to greet us, grew concerned. He insisted on bringing Pete into his home, so his wife could heal him. We never took him up on his offer, but we did later visit for tea. We found the local hospital to be staffed with good nurses. The facilities were very clean and we were able to find a doctor who spoke English. Under his good care, Pete's condition was easily diagnosed and he was well within two weeks, after using the prescribed medicine.

When languishing along sandy footpaths, woven amongst a warren of bamboo and thatch huts during our morning walks, the villagers quit work in their gardens to offer us sweet tea, hand us green coconuts for thirst quenching satisfaction, or simply to linger for a brief chat in Indonesian with such greetings as: "Hi Mister! Where are you going? Where are you from?" We were a mystery to them - rarely seen. One day, the local priest told me the villagers across the mountain had rarely, if ever, met a white Western woman, so off I went to meet them, taking the local headmaster in tow. The climb was so long, Peter and I were forced back, to start out again the next morning. Once arriving on the other side, school was in session, and I was invited in for tea and a chat with the teachers.