Entertainment, Jepara Style

There is very little to do in Jepara.  So little, in fact, that the local population amuse themselves by watching strange people doing strange work on strange boats.  There are no cinemas, no malls, no parks, no nothing.  So why not wander down to the town harbour and watch two twits slaving away under the hot sun?  

Calypso's presence in the harbour is, undoubtedly, a novelty.  It seems that every weekend the good folks of Jepara, with all their kids in tow, traipse down to the harbour and stroll along the odoriferous dead fish-encrusted docks to stand in front of us in the hopes of seeing....what?!  What on earth is so fascinating about watching people work?  I can understand them passing by to look at a yacht; they don't see many (or any) visiting yachts here, but they'll sit or stand there for literally hours watching us.  

We're not sure whether to find all this attention flattering & amusing or just a tad annoying.  However, as they're always so very friendly and polite, we take no offense and enjoy practicing our paltry Bahasa while they show off their limited English.  It's fun.

Merry Christmas from Calypso

                    

                     

2014 was quite a year for us.   It saw us backpacking around Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, an absolutely fabulous experience that took us up and down the length of Vietnam, through the 1000 Island region of southern Laos and over to Siem Reap in Cambodia to the amazing Angkor Wat and many of its surrounding temples.

  

In March, we sailed up to Phuket in Thailand visiting the beautiful karsts in Phang Nga Bay up the eastern coast before returning back to Malaysia.  Next we headed over the South China Sea to Borneo where we rounded the entire northern coastline of Sarawak and Saba before venturing back into Indonesian waters, turning southwest back across the Java Sea to Central Java where we've now stopped to do a refit aboard Calypso and top up the cruising kitty a little.

Christmas will be a little different this year as Indonesia is primarily a Muslim country.  Despite this, there are sufficient Christians to justify a fair display of Christmas decorations and as the government here is very tolerant of all religions, it will be celebrated as a public holiday.  

We, the crew of the good ship Calypso, would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and everything of the best for the forthcoming New Year.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

Imagination has to come into play when living in a Muslim country at Christmas time.  What does one do when a tree isn't available?  Well, one simply makes a non tree Christmas tree!  Hence the above arrangement is our version for this coming season.  Don't laugh, it's better than nothing.

Despite me saying that there were no trees available, the other day I went into an Ace Hardware shop in Semarang, the town about a two and a half hour drive from here, and lo and behold, saw some of the most beautiful trees and decorations I've ever seen for sale.  Quite spectacular and quite a price - a mere Rp23,000,000 (yes million!).  That translates to about ZAR23,000 or about $2000.  Needless to say, I wasn't tempted to put them on my shopping list but they really were quite spectacular and such an unexpected sight here.

 

10 Years!

December 11th, 2004

We can't believe it but its been ten years since we said our fond farewells and sailed away from Cape Town leaving the beautiful Table Mountain behind us.

Over this time, we have travelled 36,304 nautical miles (65,347 kilometres) visited countless harbours, bays, islands and atolls in 39 countries and met literally hundreds upon hundreds of some of the most amazing people, both local and those who are our cruising counterparts.

Our life has been hectic at times but interlaced with some of the most incredibly idyllic and peaceful anchorages most people only see in those beautiful glossy calendars or coffee table books.  

We have experienced local culture, ceremonies, costumes, dance, music and food, the latter where we've tasted the good, the bad and the unimaginable.  We've been welcomed into homes palatial and humble and cannot start to fathom how we'd ever repay some of this kindness.

We appreciate that this lifestyle is not for everyone but for those following in our wake, we can only promise that life will not be mundane; far from it.  And for anyone who thinks that they'd get bored while cruising, ha, there's no time for that!  Between checking in and investigating our new anchorage, hunting for provisions, fuel and spare parts, tasting the local fare, meeting the local inhabitants,  socialising with other cruising boats and of course, looking after the ever present, on-going boat maintenance and repairs, we so often just simply run out of time.  That old adage, "cruising is just fixing boats in exotic ports" is ever so true.  Definitely no time to feel any lassitude but oh so worth it!

Calypso's new home for the rainy months

With the approach of the wet season and its prophesied seasonal storms, we'd finally been given the go ahead to move our girl into the Kartini Harbour in Jepara where she will be protected from the worst of the winds and given better holding than our one anchor can offer.

Saturday morning was moving day and we knew we'd have to clear two months worth of growth from our props and anchor chain.  Harry, a South African chap here on contract to the power plant, offered to help and help he surely did.  The poor chap sat out on the bowsprit, a most uncomfortable perch, and proceeded to scrape away more growth than we have ever seen attached to the chain.  We have, on several occasions, stayed in a single anchorage for many many months but have never experienced such heavy growth and this just after two months.

While Harry battled away with the chain, Paul dived down to clean the prop and water inlets and I had a much easier job just getting things ready to remove.  When it came time to lift the final few metres of chain, we tried to motor forward but simply did not move.  I was convinced we had grown to the bottom.  We were just about to drop anchor again when I noticed slight movement so, at full revs we tried again.  Well, with a bit of imagination, we could just see some progress so we persevered some more.  It was only 2.4nm to the harbour and it took us more than 3/4 of that distance to get up to a speed of 2 knots.  There's definitely advantages to having a clean bottom.

En route we managed to touch bottom (the charts aren't particularly accurate around this part of the world) but as we were moving so slowly, it wasn't serious and we simply backed up to take a wider route to the harbour.

A wonderful reception committee awaited us as we arrived; Rob, Peter, Harry and Rere and Fidoli from the factory, so there was no shortage of helping hands to bring us in.  They also had a pickup truck to help move some of the bigger items off as we want to remove anything and everything that we can.

Calypso is now safely tied up to the concrete pier and, if the huge ferry stays where it is, she'll be given protection from the winds during bad storms.  We hear the ferry doesn't go out in stormy weather so we're holding thumbs.  She's been a bit of a novelty since our arrival and now even more so tied up in the harbour.  Yachts aren't a common sight right here and we miss seeing her lying at anchor outside our little home.  The view is definitely missing something but we feel much relieved to have her finally tied up and safe.

Great news for yachties in Indonesia

Indonesia has a new president, Joko Widodo who, for the yachting fraternity, seems to be getting all his ducks In a row.  A newspaper article published the other day stated, quote "the government will expedite permitting for yachts wanting to enter the country's ports, from taking weeks to taking one day only, with an online one-stop service protocol ...... The government is also planning to lengthen the time yacht permits would remain valid from a period of six months to a whole year of multiple entries." unquote.

For any yacht planning to travel through Indonesia, this is excellent news.  Currently, the red tape is a nightmare, a costly frustrating series of bureaucracy that is a major deterrent when one compares the simplicity in entering neighbouring Malaysia.  No wonder Malaysia has abundant marinas whereas Indonesia has barely any.

So, yes, this is indeed very welcoming news.  We have been pulled through the mill and back again trying to extend both our personal visas and the CAIT form for our boat which must be done on a monthly basis.  Now, let's wait to see how long it takes prior to its implementation.  Knowing our luck, it'll probably only come into affect the moment we move on but it certainly augurs well for the future.

The weather she is a-changing

Looking out our front door

Australia is having record high temperatures for this time of the year, North America is having record lows and we're having our first rains in many many months.  Now that the rainy season has decided to come, it seems to be making up for lost time.  And this is just the beginning!

Needless to say, despite all the rain over the past couple of days, the old gardener here is still out there first thing in the morning, faithfully watering the already water logged plants and lawns.  I guess he's been doing this for so many years that a little (or even a lot) of rain isn't going to alter his routine.  His job is to water so he'll damn well water.

Our little house isn't without its water problems either.  We have a leaky roof.  No problem, we asked them to replace the corrugated fibre-glass sheeting in the roof of the kitchen as there was a tiny leak and it was so old and dirty that the kitchen was very very dark.  They addressed this most promptly.  Now we have a very bright kitchen with many leaks!  Besides that, a shower has been installed right inside our front door; no need to go into the bathroom.  The only proviso is that it has to be raining when one wants to use said shower.  However, when one considers that it's rarely under 30°C here, it's not exactly a discomfort when wet.

We've been waiting to put dear Calypso into the Jepara Harbour prior to this change of season as, when it gets fully into it there are, apparently, abundant storms which bring high winds and severe squalls.  When we finally thought we were ready with the necessary protective devices, the Harbour Master, who had said numerous times, "bring her in now" has just informed us that we can't move in yet as they're busy doing some repairs to the pier where the ferry lies right next to our allocated spot.  So again we wait and pray that the squalls hold off until we're settled.

On the positive side, all this rain clears the murky, sawdust laden air and brings relief from the oppressive heat and fortunately we're not in the typhoon zone which is a blessing.

Party Time

Wow, what a shindig!  

Rob* & Alia

It was Alia's (Welsh Rob's wife) birthday bash.  It was held at their home with a theme of black and silver (or gold as was the case with our hostess) and their entire garden was laid out with at least 20 round tables and chairs decorated with black and silver table cloths.  Additional long tables were laden with a huge variety of food and drink, and a live band played under the arbour which, in turn, was festooned with coloured fairy lights and balloons.  All the palm trees had uplighting and the side hedges were full of blinking LED lights.  Alia had certainly gone to town to make it festive.

The ladies, particularly the younger ones, were dressed to the nines wearing glittery dresses, tons of jewellery and stiletto heels (wonderful on the soft sandy lawn).  Verdict:  social life in little Jepara does not have to take a back seat to the likes of Hollywood.

Peter* and his wife, Setta

There appear to be some interesting traditions when an ex-pat holds a party of this nature.  It is necessary to pay a certain amount of money to the local principals as compensation for the noise (unfortunately, this doesn't apply to the muezzins and their loudspeakers which we have to endure five times a day starting at four in the morning) and the extra traffic created.  It's also customary to supply lunch boxes to the local residents who haven't been invited.  It seems like a win-win situation as everything runs smoothly and you can be sure that there are dozens of curious eyes viewing the proceeding through the gates the entire evening.

A very enjoyable night. 

*Peter and Rob are the two chaps Paul is working with

And us, trying not to look like typical cruisers for a change

Never too old to learn new tricks

Here I am, at the ripe old age of....... well never mind, donning my helmet and riding on the back of a motorcycle through chaotic traffic and complete madness.

This is not something that I've experienced in my life before except for a brief few hours during a trip to Pattaya, Thailand over a decade ago.  I wasn't a happy camper then and I'm not so sure I am now but I'll get over it (I hope).

Paul's still a bit wary on the bike; not with riding it but with the way the traffic scurries around here from every which way obeying no rules and seemingly no logic, so I've only ridden pillion with him a couple of times so far and then for VERY short distances.  Today, a friend's domestic worker took me into town on her bike to try to sort out an ongoing internet problem I've been experiencing.  It involved several trips to several places and I actually managed to stay cool, calm and collected the entire time despite feeling as though we were a target in some silly arcade game.

I've thought about getting a bicycle but not sure it would allow me to get to my next birthday if I ventured beyond the gate of this complex.  Everyone here has grown up on a scooter or motorbike.  You see kids who can't be more than 12 years old collecting their younger siblings (and I mean that in the plural) from school and they're so young that their feet can hardly reach the ground.  But they all drive around, weaving their way in and out, with no concerns whatsoever.

Once Calypso is safely in the harbour, I'm going to have to work out how I'll get back and forth to supervise the work aboard.  It's a good five kilometres away across the bay and there are no buses:  I'll probably have to hire someone to fetch and carry me.   Everything here is a learning curve.

Jepara's wildlife

Living on the land has its challenges and the first of those was a midnight visit of a rat!  NO NO NO!  

 

I frantically went in search for traps that Paul then laid out with tempting peanut butter.  Rats apparently don't know what cheese is in this part of the world (neither do the Indonsians for that matter).   And we've caught one already.  THIS IS NOT FUNNY! 

We've taken down our sails and removed all the soft furnishings from Calypso which are currently stored in a little room beside the house and I have visions (no, make that nightmares) of putting up the sails in nine months time to find them all chomped and shredded.  Got to get more traps and pellets!  Then there are the cockroaches, geckos (cute but messy) large iguanas, frogs and, I'm told, snakes.  And I musn't forget the mosquitoes, ants and spiders.

Living on the land is not all its cracked up to be.  My perfume of choice is Eau de mosquito spray, the air freshener is Essence of Doom, and the aroma of lavender Baygon mats burn gently beside our bed at night which is still not rocking me to sleep.  

The house is air conditioned and I don't mean the electrical AC variety.  The entire back kitchen window is open, no glass, no shutters, no netting.  This has the great feature of letting the air circulate but the not so great feature of allowing every creepy crawly in the neighbourhood to pay us a visit.  However, even if this were closed up, where the walls meet the roof, there are huge gaps; the roofing just sits upon the walls.  And then the walls themselves are made up of vertical slabs of old teak, charming in their own way but a bit like louvred doors; there are air gaps between them and the same goes for the floor.  Heaven only knows what this will be like during the rainy season but I guess we'll find out soon enough.  I'm not complaining as it certainly has its charm: it'll just take a bit of getting used to.

If we were going to be here permanently, I'd go out tomorrow and find a new litter of kittens and take the whole lot!  In the meanwhile, there's a cute little black and white kitty who I'm encouraging to visit - perhaps rodent kebabs are right up his alley.

 

Life on the land

Our new little abode

The ground is solid, there are no swells to rock me to sleep, I could swing a cat (just) inside and I'm not living 24/7 with my husband.  All this is definitely going to take time to fathom.

Calypso before losing her friend

Myra and Paraic aboard Saol Eile left us to head up north. They stayed long enough to have a new fibreglass spray dodger fitted to their boat which was made up by the factory in which Paul is involved.   

We were sad to see them go but I think they were equally sad to leave the friends behind that they've made here.  Calypso now looks somewhat lonely out there by herself.

We've been here for just over two weeks and have been involved in non-stop socialising with the group of expats who have made Jepara their home.  In reality, it's quite a limited group of people from many parts of the world (Wales, Germany, Belgium, Holland, India, South Africa, France and Finland) but they all seem to have the Jepara Yacht Club as their common denominator even though it's really only a gathering spot where the guys can enjoy a beer in this outwardly Muslim (read that as liquor-free) country.

Shopping is a bit of a problem as there are no shops near our house and, until Paul has mastered the chaos of the motorcycle traffic around these parts, I'm not overly keen to ride pillion after he gets home from work by which time it's getting dark; the sun sets at 5:30. So, right now, I'm relying on others to take me places but with all our invitations, we haven't needed to eat at home anyway.

That also brings up the issue of driving a car in Indonesia.  No can do.  Most of the foreigners have drivers for the very reason that, were they themselves to be involved in an accident, even if the car is not moving, it would be deemed their fault and they would have to pay compensation.  The logic is, if you weren't in Indonesia in the first place, that accident would never have happened.  You see?  Well, I guess it makes sense to them.

There are two other South African couples living in this same complex.  Both work at the Jepara power station and they've been here for several years and will remain for a few more.  The difference is, they fly home every three months - I'm getting my shopping list ready!

As I mentioned, Indonesia is primarily a Muslim country and we have just endured the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha which commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim to follow Allah's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.  The myriad of loudspeakers around town hailing their followers to worship start at four in the morning (EVERY MORNING) but on this occasion, they didn't stop for a full 24 hours right through the night until the next morning.  It sounded as though the International meeting of banshees was in top gear.

On this occasion, they slaughter hundreds of goats to be fed to the poor and, for some strange reason, all the meat has to be consumed in the one day.  No leftover doggie bags for them.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink nor, by the sounds of it, did anyone else in Jepara.

Another social occasion was the 40th birthday party for Riaz, an Indian chap we met here.  It was held at the home of an Australian friend of his who has got, by far, the most grandiose private home I have ever seen.  What we saw of it looked like a 5-star hotel lobby, not a home.  There was enough food to feed the five thousand and plenty of booze as well.  Beer isn't particularly expensive but wine! - a minimum of $20 a bottle and heaven only knows what a bottle of whiskey would cost here.  Guess we're really going to miss that trip back to duty-free Langkawi.

In the next few weeks, we have two more birthday parties coming up as well as a Halloween party (I think I'll go as a beach bum) so I think that life in Jepara could prove to be somewhat hectic.  All this for a couple who are used to being in bed before 'cruiser's midnight' (9 o'clock) and having nice quiet dinners aboard one boat or the other.

PHOTO ALBUM:

The house name, pronounced "Choomee Choomee"

Looking out from our front door

The swimming pool & Thai restaurant

Carving around a nearby door

The beach looking towards the yacht club

The breadwinner on his way to work

A funny thing happened on our way back to Malaysia

We didn't go!!!

We're still in Jepara and it looks as though we'll be here a tad longer.  Well, maybe a little longer than a tad.

Our plans (you know those solid ideas in the cruising world that are cast in Jello) were to head back up to Malaysia, haul out to do the bottom paint and travel the west coast of Malaysia and perhaps go back to Phuket, until it was time to safely cross the Indian Ocean taking the southern route back through Indonesia to Cocos Keeling, Mauritius, Madagascar etc.

But something very unexpected happened.

Within a day of our arrival here, Rob & Peter talked at length about the enormous workload on their plates and how desperately they needed some help for the manufacturing of the fibreglass water slides they'd been contracted to make.  Paul had previously mentioned that he'd once run a fibreglass factory and then his own stainless steel business (another part of Peter's business) and, before we knew it, they'd put a proposal together to hire Paul for a period to help project manage these and well....... Paul accepted.

They would put us up in a rented house, give him a motor bike for transport, fly us to Singapore every two months to renew our visas, pay him a salary plus bonus and a host of other things.  All this plus a golden opportunity to do some serious work aboard the boat while we lived ashore; not something to be sneezed at.  Calypso would, however, be our main concern as she can't stay at anchor where she is right now due to oncoming weather conditions and we still have to haul her before making the crossing. Having no haul out facilities here, we've investigated numerous options and have now agreed to put her in the nearby harbour where we'll be able to work on her top deck, cockpit and internal woodwork, giving her some of the TLC she so desperately needs.  The factory will "lend" us a couple of labourers who can work on her full time and prior to leaving, we can take her down to the next town to do the bottom paint where they do have haul out facilities.

We've discussed this at length and, apart from Calypso, can't see any negatives.  Paul, at 73, is thrilled to be employable and from the time of meeting these chaps last year, had envied them running such a business.  Labour is incredibly cheap, the cost of living is cheap and we very much need some infusion of funds as our meagre resources are at rock bottom.  

It would be my job to supervise the work aboard Calypso so I certainly won't get bored.  A major overhaul is something we've worried that we'd never be able to afford but it would be so necessary if we're to obtain a decent price for her back in South Africa.  The thought of sailing back to port with a "pretty" boat rather than a well-worn model is very appealing. 

So, all in less than two weeks from the time we dropped anchor here, I have a working husband again, we have moved ashore (that'll take some getting used to), preparations for the safety of Calypso in the harbour are in progress and Indonesia will be our home for the next six to nine months.   We'll also concentrate on learning a bit more of the language as, unlike Malaysia, very little English is understood here.

Sadly, we'll say farewell to Saol Eile in a couple of days as they head northwards.  They will start to cross the Indian early next year but will take the northern route via Sri Lanka, India and Chagos.  For various reasons, we can't do the same (passport issues, finances, insurance, etc.) but we should still be in time to cross after the contract is complete.  If this plan works out, we'll probably  meet up again, most likely Mauritius or Madagascar but, if not there, certainly SA.  

Yup, we blinked and things just changed!

Meeting up with old friends

Calypso in the setting sun

06° 32.398' S

110° 39.615' E

Rob's house

We've arrived back in Jepara, a town on the north coast of Central Java where, this time last year we anchored in order to travel inland to visit the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan.  Back then, we just happened to drop anchor right outside the house of a Welsh chap, Rob, who works at the nearby power plant.  We met him and he, in turn, introduced us to other expats living and working in the area, all of whom were members of the small local yacht club.  

Most of the chaps were either involved in the power plant or in the manufacturing of export quality teak furniture and one, Peter a German, was also building fibreglass boats on a small scale.

The factory

A year later, this part of his business has escalated tenfold with Rob involved as well, and they're now producing much larger vessels for the dive and pleasure industry.  

They've also obtained a huge contract to manufacture fibreglass water slides for the massive water park that is going up nearby and have all sorts of ideas for expanding.  We just happened to arrive for the opening of their small marina where they will be building a new factory and showcasing their products.  All very exciting for them.

They were so pleased to have us visit again, so it became a whirlwind of activities from the moment we got there.  This time we won't be trekking off to see temples but simply to catch up with friends and do a lot of socialising.

Peter's house

Paul and Paraic were taken on a grand tour of the power station which impressed them no end while Myra and I enjoyed a morning of relaxation around their swimming pool followed by a fabulous dinner with Peter and his wife.

Rob and his wife, Alia, and Peter and his wife, Siti, have been phenomenal to us, entertaining us, organising provisioning trips, fuel, laundry, wow, a host of things.  How can we ever repay their hospitality?  

The blessing of the new marina

And the food served

Pulau Bawean and the case of the burning barge

05° 43.917'S

112° 40.133'E

Another great overnight passage with wonderful winds giving us a speed of 6.5 to 7 knots over the ground.  

During the dark hours, we had a couple of close encounters of the unwanted kind in the form of unlit fishing vessels coming out of the gloom.  I swear they deliberately come right at us to scare the hell out of us.  They, more often than not, have no lights other than a tiny flashing LED which is impossible to determine distance and they then only turn on their one white light when almost on top of us.  Proper navigation lights?  Not a chance.  Haha, I'm sure they think it's funny.  The same thing happened to Paraic aboard Saol Eile and he literally had to reverse out of the way, not an easy thing to do when you've got all sails up and under sail power only.

We're anchored up in the northern bay

The Island of Bawean appeared to be quite mountainous and we arrived in a large deep bay on the northern side which was nicely protected giving us flat waters to drop anchor but still enough of a breeze to keep us cool.

Inside the bay were several barges with their umbilical cords attached to tugs.  One was a barge loaded with coal which had started to smoulder and, by the following morning, was smoking quite well.  We watched this throughout the day and by evening, it was obviously quite serious.  

Once the sun went down, they moved it farther off shore but we could see a massive red glow with jumping flames.  By the next morning, there was no sign of it so they either managed to tow it away or it sank just out there, probably the latter; there was not much hope that the barge could withstand that amount of heat for long.  I hope the tug cut himself loose in time.

Our very upmarket restaurant

The nearby village was full of typical island waterside dwellings with the incumbent goats, cows, cats and kids.  We spent the better part of an hour trudging along the road to the nearby town then stopped at a 'salubrious' restaurant for a plate of mee goreng where several of the chaps agreed to take us on their motorbikes into the town to the mini market.  

As Paraic was on his usual mission to find that elusive beer in a Muslim town, they also took us to what I would describe as a shebeen for a bottle of Guinness; a grungy room hidden in the back of beyond somewhere.  I don't know if I've ever mentioned the fact that Paraic was a brewmaster of note with Guinness in Ireland as well as an advisor on all things to do with setting up new breweries in many locations around the world.  He lives, eats and sleeps all things beer.  Thirst satisfied, the chaps then transported us to the mini market but we found no fruit or vegetables; the town market is apparently only open in the mornings.

Regardless, it was an interesting journey and they returned us to our boats so we could continue watching the burning barge and get on with a few tasks and projects.

PHOTO ALBUM:

The 3 islands are at way points 2, 3 and 4

Our Mee Goreng in production

The anchorage

Rice paddies

Paraic & Paul enjoying their Guinness

The newspaper wrapped boxes to disguise the contents?