Nyepi

We arrived into Bali on the eve of Nyepi so that Adrien could get back to Jakarta ASAP.  Her tour of Europe showing off her film at numerous film festivals required her to be present for Visas and what not.  Satyavan, Jasmina and I were put in charge of shopping for fresh fruits and veggies for the weekend; everything is closed during Nyepi.  We ended up at a mart, reminded me of Sam’s Club, where they had EVERYTHING!  Instead of shopping carts, you had to pull around a trolley.  We loaded up on fruits and greens, many of which I have never seen before, relaxed with a coffee and ice cream (ice cream is always the first thing we get after arriving in a new port, after a week with nothing cold, it tastes SOO GOOD!), and haggled with cab drivers.  Luckily a couple from LA offered to give us a ride home!  They were very kind, and so we gave them a tour of Mir, very excited to see this part of Bali and get on a boat. 

A few of us walked into town to view the eve of Nyepi celebration.  Nyepi is a Hindu celebration, the start of a new year.  You remain at home, no work, no lights, just reflect on the past year and all the evil you have done.  During the day, as the evil spirits pass over, they do not see you because you are in a state of self reflection; they simply leave you to start a new year clean and pure.  The night before Nyepi, the communities make large statues, ogu ogus, to represent the evil spirits from the past year.  They are put on display in front of the hindu temples, and when darkness sets in they parade them around town.  Fireworks are launched from the streets, a procession of fire torches leads the way, followed by the ogu ogus, and announced by a crew beating on drums and gongs bringing up the rear.  The roads are closed, the cars and motor bikes are made to wait.  As the procession made its way down the street and out of sight, we decided to follow and be part of the action.  We ended up joining at the back of the parade, only to realize they were turning around a few kilometers down the road.  We walked back along side the dancing spirits hoisted high above the heads of the masses.  Now waiting at the original intersection, we spoke with many happy, friendly Balinese, learned that the spirits would travel down the streets in the 4 directions, and then be carried to the harbor and tossed into the sea or burned!  While we were waiting for the spectacle, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a tasty Warteg and saw spirits arrive from other parts of town.  Eventually, they completed their route, lined up and lit off a dozens of roman candles and flares, dancing each spirit through the smoke.  The drums picked up intensity, and one by one, the spirits ran into the middle of the intersection and the children jerked them from all sides, shaking and rattling them until they fell to pieces.  Many were made so their heads would fall off.  The pieces were thrown down the street leading to the harbor, and after each one was dismantled, they were kicked and beaten before the children would run off with souvenirs of heads or arms or serpents.  We then followed the remnants as they were carried towards the harbor.  We watched as they were piled up and the Styrofoam was lit on fire!  We continued down the road and stopped at our new friend Agus’s place for Indonesian coffee.  It was a spectacular evening!

The day of Nyepi was reserved for catching up on sleep, which we had all been depraved of the past couple of nights, meeting with each other, catching up on work/emails, and simply enjoying the peace of the day.  It was so quiet, no lights were turned on; I have never experienced anything like it in a city!

Half Way Around Bali

Woke up from a deep sleep to lukewarm coffee and a fresh squid drying on deck.  As the sun came up, we had a beautiful view of Bali.  In the morning hours, while we were off the north coast, we had a clear view of the islands most sacred volcano mountain and the sunrise.  It was a morning of natural beauty after the night’s company of surreal glowing dolphins.  Carol and I fried up homemade doughnuts for breakfast and we watched numerous outrigger sailing canoes motor close by to say hello on their way to the local fishing grounds.  All of this to the beautiful back drop of the Bali mountains, quite an amazing way to start a day!

We sailed around the North coast of Bali, full of beautiful mountains.  We then turned south down along the east coast.  Again, the land was very green, but flatter.  We saw lots of fires and smoke billowing up to the sky.  A massive storm system was building behind us; it seemed to be growing with each puff of smoke, which looked like demons being cast out of Bali.  As we neared our anchor sight in Sanur, the storm finally caught up with us.  We pulled into a gorgeous bay surrounded by white sand beaches, children playing soccer, and one high rise.  We anchored during sunset and as the storm was clearing.  With our rations of rum, we enjoyed the final glow of the day behind the lush island, caught glimpses of dolphins leaving the bay, and saw a possible dugong.  We saw a large animal breach the surface of the water three times along a line out of the bay, all near the boat.  The first was the closest, and right in front of us.  It appeared to have a face, very fleshy body, and no dorsal fin.  We are going with Dugong!  We spent a short, hot night off of the beautiful coast, protected from the sea by the bay, rotating through brief night watches.

At 4 AM we had a wake up call, loaded up on coffee, then raised the anchor…which really gets your heart pumping early in the morning!  We began sailing towards Benoa in the dark, eagerly awaiting the rising sun to light our way into the narrow straight to the harbor.  We discovered that the sand in the harbor shifts rather easily; the first clue was the dredger that sat just outside the docks, the green triangle markers sitting above the water just outside the dredger, and finally the sand bar we slid into on our first approach.  After expert orchestrating, the entire crew running back and forth across the deck trying to rock an 80 ton steel ship, we were clear for a second approach.  We got to the dock and found our agent.  Cleared into Bali by noon, very simple compared to Jakarta!!

Dolphins Made of Light

After a very calm sleep, I found my self standing upright on a flat deck.  The squalls seemed to be behind us, finally we had entered the waters which were predicted!  The sea was completely calm, most likely because we had rounded Madura and entered a protected bay.  The sky was lit shortly after 5, and we had consistent wind, steady and favorable to drive our sails.  The days seem to last forever when you begin them at 4 Am, and as this one dragged on, it became calmer and calmer, hotter and HOTTER.  The sea was completely flat, the air stagnant and humid.  We were barely moving forward, at the steady pace of just over 2 knots.  We stopped for a much needed swim.  The ocean was clear and full of fleets of purple jellyfish, but we were all so hot that we were jumping off the bow carefree.  The water was cool and extremely refreshing!  It was a much needed break from our arduous bobbing under the baking sun.

During both my morning and evening shift, I saw several dolphins.  They only stayed around for several breaches, but we think they were small spinners; they were tiny, I thought maybe babies, but they could have been a particularly small breed.  The evening was calm, but we entered a downpour!  The rain was thick, producing a slight mist above the sea and deck and forming an impenetrable curtain around the entire ship.  Visibility instantly dropped to 10 feet onboard, and when you shined a light off the side, you could only see 5 feet away from the hull.  It was very treacherous sailing because you couldn’t see anything other than the helm, and the compass, it felt like sitting on a movie set waiting for them to say action and turn on the lights.  During a deck check, I noticed the sea was glowing from time to time.  Fluorescent plankton were illuminating where ever there was a disturbance in the water.  The waves created by the bow of the ship and the white caps in the sea were turned into glowing clouds beneath us full of individual specks of light, and the rain drops striking the water lit up upon impact.  It was an amazing sight to see a living light show created by the interaction of animals and nature.  The reefing team was called upon again…I am proud to say that we are now very efficient and methodical, ready at an instants notice.

Back in my bunk, again everyone was ready to sleep, we heard Satyavan running around on deck clapping and making a strange noise.  We knew it had to be dolphins!  4 dolphins were surfing on the bow of the ship and we could see them jumping under the light of a flashlight.  When the light went out, we sat in amazement and watched the sea light up.  The sky and the sea were pitch black, but illuminations in the shape of dolphins were clearly visible under the water.  We sat in awe as 3 dimensional glowing dolphins cut through the water, jumping back and forth from port to starboard, swimming in streamline unison and making loops off of the bow.  Their paths continued to glow, showing their playful patterns in the sea.  For 20 minutes we watched a spectacular show, applauding and whistling; it was unreal seeing dolphins encased by light playing with each other in the surf and interacting with us as we were hanging over the side of Mir!

Ying and Yang: the Balance of Darkness and Brilliance

The shifts were adjusted and the new crew were placed on watches for the next leg; Jakarta to Benoa.  I was put with Carol on the 4-8 shift; this shift is in charge of breakfast and dinner, but it has the benefit of being up for sunsets and sunrises!  Yasmina and Satyavan were given overlapping shifts so we would have more hands to help with dinner.  Since I slept through every sunrise on the first leg, I was excited to finally see a Southern Hemisphere sunrise from sea!

The first morning, I saw 3 more shooting stars cut across the Southern Cross.  As twilight broke the darkness, the Milky Way faded out, and we were left with a few constellations, the moon, and Venus glowing bright.  As light filled the sky, we were hit by a squall; not huge waves, but lots of rain.  It also brought favorable winds, strong and in the right direction! We were finally able to turn off our Lugger engine and SAIL!  The day became more peaceful without the constant humming of the engine, but the squalls continued to batter Mir with rocking waves and wind.  After sunrise, in the morning hours, I saw a sea snake swimming on the surface and a few schools of fish jumping out of the water.  The squalls continued into the evening and night, persistently rocking our boat.  Again the sky was very dark with windows in the clouds showing glimpses of the Milky Way and beautiful starry sky.  The water was very rough, tossing us back and forth all night.  Most of the night I could hear the sound of waves crashing into the hull, the howling of the wind, and the pounding of rain on the deck.  I was kept awake by the loud elements of the sea, the forceful motion of the ship, and at one point, my hatch was opened providing me with a night shower directly over my pillow.  At 2 AM I was asked to join the crew on deck, “Im terribly sorry to wake you, but we need your help bringing in the fore sail.  And put on foul weather gear”.  On deck, we had to cling to a safety line to avoid being tossed overboard by the high winds and large crashing waves.  We quickly reefed the sail and were sent back to bed.  Everyone on the morning shift was very tired and moving rather slowly.  We sailed past a cluster of islands, one of which Rick (the man who made ‘the Cove’) was staying and preparing a facility to release 5 dolphins back into the wild.  We were planning on stopping to visit with Rick and swim for the day, but the squalls were unrelenting. We remained under the power of our motor and constantly hit by squalls.  As dusk was again upon us, I was helming in extremely low visibility and swinging steering.  We had less than 20 feet of visibility, the only thing we could make out were the lights of nearby ships; one of which was putting out nets and passed very close to us!  There were huge waves towering over our heads when we were in the troughs and winds toying with our masts.  It was quite fun surfing the enormous waves in a huge ship in complete darkness only able to make out navigation lights on the horizon and whitecaps crashing all around.  I was forced to quickly develop my helming skills based on feeling the presence of the waves and knowing what was coming next, which direction and how many, instead of simply seeing what was out there.  We were isolated by a completely dark sky, not a single star, only able to seek comfort in the few small lights scattered across the horizon.

First Day of March and I saw my first real sunrise at sea aboard Mir!!  It was a picturesque morning, beautiful lighting and coloring across the many clouds.  Schools of fish were again swarming to the surface off our bow.  I pulled the fishing line in and baited it with flying fish that had flown on deck during the night; no luck.  I later realized I hadn’t let enough line out and we were moving too fast.  While I was baiting, I saw another sea snake, a huge one, float by the stern of the ship; Indonesia is supposed to be heavily populated by sea snakes, hopefully I’ll see some while diving.  In the rough seas I navigated towards an oil rig and steered clear of a wreck.  Even off the coast there are many hazards to be aware of, which makes the pitch black nights a bit scary!  We were now away from Java and sailing across the northern coast of Madura.  Next sail south back towards Java and cut across to Bali.  All day long we continued to be bombarded by squall after squall.  Huge winds, waves, and extreme rocking continued into the evening.  Again, the night was very dark, no stars, and very poor visibility.  After dinner as the next shift took watch, the rest of the crew was in their bunks.  We heard the winds pick up, the captain rushing around on deck, and the engine come on.  We all instinctively hurried on deck in our sleepwear and were asked to help reef the fore sail.  We have all developed a sense of urgency after living on alert since the middle of February and now understanding the movement and sounds of the ship.

Order Out of Chaos

Spent the day on the boat.  Getting ready for our departure I helped tune the mast, ship shape Boson’s Locker, prepare the anchor system, and ready the deck.  Dhany arrived dressed in nice shirt and slacks, looking like a true business man.  His hair was cut and gelled, freshly shaved; he looked like a new man, not the same guy I spent a week with sailing the South China Sea.  A group went to customs to clear us for our morning departure to Bali, and the rest of us enjoyed a slow paced day, mixing work with leisure time.  I was put in charge of dinner, my first fried chicken meal!  Dhany, Nina, and Adrien joined us for dinner; we were sad to learn that Dhany would not be joining us on the next leg, but excited to have Adrien and Orla.  Carol’s birthday celebration was the finale to our last meal with great new friends; a delicious cake and singing in English, then Indonesian.  We got to go on shore one last time to send out last minute emails and get our last hot shower.  Before going back to Mir, Nina, Dhany, and Adril found us to say the final goodbyes and present us each with rice patty hats.  They are truly a genuinely nice family, very humble and immensely generous. 

After a very hectic week in Jakarta, referring to the politics which I wasn’t involved in, we had a smooth departure.  We thought we might try to sail along the Southern coast of Java and spend a day at Kracatoa, but after reading about the rough seas and constant squalls we decided to take the safer course along the North coast.  It took a while to escape Jakarta waters navigating oil rigs and fishing boats, but eventually we found ourselves distanced from other boats, surrounded by darkness, and cruising under a spectacular sky.  The night was so dark that we had an amazing view of the Milky Way.  The regular constellations were out, but they were joined by thousands of stars.  Finally a peaceful night under the stars, out on deck in the cool sea breeze, and FAR away from mosquitoes!  I saw 2 shooting stars before slipping into a tranquil sleep.

Terima Kasih: A Crash Course in Jakarta

Sleeping on deck, I was woken up at 1 by strong winds.  Satyavan, Carol and I prepared the ship for imminent squall.  Sleeping inside my bunk covered head to toe (socks, pants, long sleeves, a hat, a scarf around neck and face, and a blanket), it was the second night I woke up not drenched in sweat.  I also managed to deter the mosquitoes, but now my hands were swollen from all the fresh bites!  First thing in the morning, I hoisted Laser up the mast to fix the starboard shroud.  Now time to relax!

Dhany’s driver brought us to his house on the opposite side of Jakarta.  He lives in South Jakarta, in an expat neighborhood.  His cook had prepared an amazing traditional Indonesian spread for lunch; young jackfruit soup, cabbage fritters, spicy chicken, and rice.  We took a tour of the house, the main entry is an art gallery, beautiful local paintings!  We lounged in the daybeds by the pool and enjoyed a nap and a swim.  Adrien came home, she is 22 and will be joining us on the next leg of our voyage.  We talked with her for a while, getting to know her and prepare her for life aboard Mir.  We also had a chance to talk with Nina, Dhany’s wife.  The whole family is very social, friendly, and immensely generous.  Dhany threw some ribs on the Barby, Australian style cooking, and we talked and laughed into the night.  It was refreshing to not have anything to worry about, our minds were at ease!  When Nina arrived back from Mir, we watched a video of Gaie and others who were releasing two dolphins from Flipper, Roxy and another.  Finally retired to a real bed, and a private room, both of which I shared with Satyavan.

I woke up at 6:15 with the sun in my face and sweaty as usual, but a bit more comfortable (I was not restricted by the hull at my feet).  Out on a day bed, I enjoyed the morning sounds of land, much different than the ocean!  I woke up from a nap to Casey licking my hand, Adrien drinking tea on another day bed, and Satyavan meditating in the garden.  Their cook prepared crepes with fresh bananas and maple syrup for breakfast, then we all headed to the Indonesian Park; we learned about the different cultures of the many islands by viewing traditional homes and watching an IMAX movie (the narration was in Indonesian so we didn’t get many details, but the imagery was spectacular).  Adrien took us to one of her hangouts for lunch, a very artsy tea house.  The food was quite cheap and delicious.  The menu was in Indonesian, but I could understand ‘burger’, ‘chicken wings’, and ‘french fries’; I let Dhany order for me.  We finished our meal with bread pudding and fried bananas with ice cream.

We met Adril, Nina’s son, when he got home from school.  He is 17, very funny kid.  His interests remind me a lot of my brother (plays the guitar in a band, loves video games, designs websites, interested in computer programming); I guess its their generation’s thing!  Tuti (their cook) prepared another amazing meal for us.  A lot of the same elements, but different preparation; I ate a chicken neck by accident.  Dhany and Nina wanted to take us out so we could have some fun and enjoy Jakarta.  We ended up at a very posh mall.  There was security checking each car before it was allowed to enter the perimeter (the trunk and mirrors to check the under carriage), we pulled into valet and discovered that there was a new store launch.  There were models dressed in high fashion outside of the mall and an exclusive party inside the mall.  People were dressed up very nicely and all carrying drinks.  The mall itself was huge, 7 stories tall, full of all the high-end shops from around the world.  We wandered through the broad walkways until we found ourselves in front of a karaoke bar.  Karaoke works a little differently in Jakarta.  We entered a very futuristic lounge with a bar, then were led through a maze of dark corridors.  The halls contained many doors, mirrors, and a low glow of blue light.  They finally stopped at a door and inside we found a private lounge with a  couch, table with snacks, and a large screen with speakers and karaoke machine; we had a great time singing and dancing.  Back at home we tried Jakarta’s signature J CO donuts and Satyavan and I slept with the AC on; the best night of sleep I’ve had in 4 weeks!!

In the morning, Adrien was the only one home, and she was still asleep, so we asked the gardener for directions to the large Monument in the center of the city.  He spoke no English, but was very helpful.  We began walking down the narrow streets, not much room for foot traffic, and were able to jump on a Trans Mini 77 to Block M.  The people were very friendly and eager to give directions even though nobody really understood each other.  We spent hours walking around Block M (many clothes stores with loud music coming from each one), we ate lunch at an underground vendor, and met lots of friendly people.  Some people just watched us trying to order and laughed, but those who spoke English immediately became our best friends (Eddie from Jakarta wanted to get me whatever I wanted and recommended I try almost everything because it is all so good).  We bought tickets for the TransJakarta and headed to Ancol Marina (which we later learned was the wrong place).  On the bus, we met some guys who had been educated in Zimbabwe, the older brother had spent 8 years and the younger 10 years; they spoke very good English and they took a picture with us.  The bus took us to a Ancol, which is a huge theme park area, many types of water parks (Atlantis and Sea World) and other entertainment.  People kept trying to send us to the Ancol Marina, apparently they don’t know where Batavia is!  I finally pulled out my camera and showed them a picture of the crest…as soon as they saw Batavia Sudan Kelapa Marina, they tried to take us to Sunda Kelapa.  We opted to walk because they were asking for too much money, $4 a person.  After finally getting out of Ancol, the polisi pointed us in the right direction and told us what bus to take.  While we were walking, Jasmina was able to wave down a blue bus, who gave us a lift to Batavia (20 cents each).  We walked back to the marina and decided to take the final opportunity to relax before rejoining the crew.  We all showered and enjoyed a beer and some wafers sitting on the marina patio in the cool breeze.

We had an amazing journey from South Jakarta to North Jakarta, through an expat area, private wealth, parts of the city, an expansive/cheap mall, street food, tourist areas, and the very poor harbor area.  We saw the great contrast of Jakarta, tried out all kinds of public transportation, discovered that English is very rare, and experienced difficulty communicating with the locals.  Jakartans are not always the most helpful (mainly due to miscommunication), but they are very very friendly!

Hati-Hati

I was attacked by bugs all night.  In the evening I felt a few mosquitoes biting me, and I woke to a buzzing in my ear.  It wasn’t until I looked in a mirror that I realized had been FEASTED upon.  I looked like I had Chicken Pox again, my entire body was covered!  I was relieved, however, to later learn that denge is carried by mosquitoes that bite during the day.

Satyavan and I went into ‘town’ to find a laundry service.  We wandered around a few streets, which he said were similar to India, but much cleaner.  It was very nice to get out of the marina and wander around Northern Jakarta.  We then headed over to a harbor containing very old, very large, wooden boats.  They have been sailing these waters the longest, and now are used as large transports; amazingly everything is still hand loaded.

Ice cream and COLD water taste sooo good after a week of nothing colder than room temperature, which is rather warm when you are at the equator.  We both got local money (500000 rupiah) and we were unable to find a single person who spoke English.

Back on the ship, we prepared for a dinner with guests by completing little tasks and tidying up Mir’s appearance (mainly the deck and the navigation room).  Satyavan and I set up a kayak system to facilitate easy access to the shore without the use of the small boat; Carol and Jasmina had a few laughs watching the two of us paddle around squatting down in the bright blue kayak.

Dhany and Nina came back to the ship with shopping bags; they brought huge Mangosteens, which are delicious!!

Tonight I plan to sleep on deck fully clothed to prevent more mosquito bites.

Pelan Pelan: Trouble on the Horizon

I took over the helm at the beginning of my last night shift.  The stars began disappearing, the sky was getting darker.  All of a sudden a squall hit bringing with it 5 force winds, 15 minutes of complete darkness, and a down pour.  In a matter of minutes, the bow of the boat was out of sight and I was soaked to the bone.  As soon as it had passed, I was brought a rain coat…so thoughtful.  The remaining two and half hours the sky began clearing up and I was again able to set my course to the Southern Cross.  I sat at the helm watching a huge lightening storm move from stern to bow a few miles off our starboard side.  As we continued onward, the stars again disappeared and we were submerged in darkness.  We prepared on deck waiting for the storm and another squall; there were blankets of rain falling all around us, but we managed to remain dry.  Visibility continued to get worse and worse, then the winds picked up and the rain finally hit.  My shift had ended, so I got to relax to the sound of the rain, the rocking waves from the squall, and the gentle hum of the engine.

In the morning, I emerged from the cabin to find the sea a dark color, almost brown…Welcome to Jakarta!!  At 10:15 we caught our first glimpse of the city on the horizon, many sky scrappers.  As we moved closer the entire coast line became visible, many tall buildings (urbanized) and dark water (pollution); very different side of Indonesia, not at all like the islands we passed on our voyage.  Dhany saw dolphins.

We neared the shore and tried to figure out where Batavia Marina was located.  There are many shipwrecks off the coast, it is very shallow, so navigation was rather treacherous.  We finally were able to make contact with the marina over the walky-talkies and they sent a boat to lead us in.  As we got closer and closer, it seemed more and more unlikely that we could make it into the marina.  The water was getting shallower, reading only 5 feet on our depth sound, and the current and wind were strong; we tried to abort, and while we turned around we got stuck in the mud and began drifting towards the rocky wharf.  The marina boat had to assist us in safely getting out, but there was a period that we were all on high alert and a bit nervous.  We anchored off of the coast and were eventually met by customs and immigration.  For the time being, we were quarantined to our ship.  We later learned that Batavia Marina decorates their club house with bits and scraps from shipwrecks!

We spent the evening on alert, at one point a squall hit beating us with rain, wind, and waves.  Carol, Satyavan, Jasmina, and I were the only ones onboard; we had to deal with the dragging anchor, maneuvering the ship, and staying calm.  We were scrambling to ship shape the galley, start the engine and keep in line with our anchor.  I was at the helm and Carol was orchestrating our successful bout of excitement.  Gaie and Laser arrived back onboard as the squall was dying down.  Exhausted, we all sat down to meet to go over shifts.  Each person was responsible for a 1:15 shift during the night to keep an eye on the anchor and be sure we weren’t raided by looters.  We were all eagerly anticipating the 6:30 wake up call, meaning we would get into the marina and have access to homemade ice cream, the fish market, massage parlors, and be able to see an admiral party containing 500 members of various Asian navies.

Woke up to the smell of Crepes with Mister Choc, oatmeal, and REAL coffee (first time in a week!).  The first step was getting the small boat in the water, but we discovered that rig setup had been dismantled and the largest shackle had been used on the anchor.  We were forced to adapt and now had to rely on the main halyard to raise the boat.  It was a lot of work to lift it high enough to clear the side rail.  I was warned to back away as I slowly-slowly released the break; after a gentle nudge on the break, the boat dropped to the water.  We were frantically rushing around, and in all of the confusion, the safety boat had gotten untied.  We caught it before it could get away, and decided to take a breather; we also then realized our clocks were still on Singapore time, and we were actually right on schedule.  Mir was finally able to make it past the break water and into the marina.  There was a strong current and substantial wind (and poor communication with the people on the dock), so after 3 attempts, we executed an emergency docking at a very small dock.  We decided to take the opportunity to make the repairs we needed, since we were still unsure of our stay in Jakarta due to all of the politics and whether or not we could continue our trip.  I hoisted Laser up the mast and we discovered that a steel eye had snapped open; the hazards of old rigging! 

The Batavia marina has beautiful décor, it looks like an industrial mill on the outside, with an external glass elevator connecting the 4 or 5 floors.  All of the windows are multicolored, and the entire building façade is composed with great symmetry.  The interior is decorated with elements from old ships and drift wood statues.  The bathroom had a sky mural, and HOT showers!

We were invited out to lunch by a local family, friends of Dhany, and they took us to a restaurant with traditional North Sumatra cuisine.  We sat around a large table which the staff proceeded to cover in two layers of little plates.  Each plate contained a different dish; Large fish eggs, many different beef and chicken dishes, a ganja pepper sauce, whole small birds, dragon balls, and a cool cucumber drink.  Although I had no idea what I was trying, the majority of it was delicious!  After 3 servings of the ganja pepper dish we were all feeling a full body high, very relaxed, and giggly.  Fortunately, we were able to rest before moving the ship to a special mooring they set up inside the marina.  A coral reef specialist, Phil Dustin, arrived from the University of Charleston.  We had a quiet evening, learning about our new shipmate, and enjoying Rum and Cake.  We had finally arrived in Jarkata!