Calypso's Journal: On the go again

Once we left Tioman, we stopped for a couple of days at another small Island only eight miles away where again, the water was fairly clear which allowed us to get in a bit of snorkelling. The couple we have been travelling with for a while now, Myra and Paraic, off the Irish boat, Saol Eile, are somewhat unique in the cruising world. He doesn't swim at all and is, in fact, terrified of the water. She can swim a bit but can't snorkel so it was my mission to get her into the water with mask and snorkel so that, at least, she could enjoy some of the things we are in this part of the world to appreciate; the life below the surface.

Well, I won't say it was a roaring success but she persevered sufficiently to get a bit of experience breathing through the tube instead of her nose. Unfortunately, she never quite grasped how to blow the water out of the snorkel without swallowing half the ocean but at least she's willing to give it another go. Paul says he's determined to teach Paraic how to swim but I'm not so sure about that one. I'm of the firm belief that you can teach an old dog new tricks but Paraic might just prove me wrong on that score.

Our next stop was back on the mainland at a town called Chukai where we were to be hosted by the local authorities. The anchorage was up a river and close up alongside a thick forested island. It was a bit unnerving to drop anchor so close to the shore especially as it was a lee shore or, perhaps in this case, a lee forest. However, it proved to be safe enough and had we had a longer stay, we were told we could possibly sight wild boar, monkeys, crocs and large monitor lizards in amongst the growth which was only metres away from our stern.

The town was small but boasted an excellent fruit market so we could indulge in one of my favourite fruits; mangoes. Absolutely delicious ones too. The day after our arrival, we were picked up for a tour which included a mini zoo which is not quite my cup of tea. Malaysia has wild tigers and there was a magnificent specimen in a large glassed-in cage made to simulate the wild as best they could. A gorgeous creature but how we all hated to see this poor fellow trapped so. There was also a lion and lioness, a juvenile elephant, a couple of tapirs, orangutans and other monkeys as well as some beautiful birds whose cages were far too small. It's probably the only way most of the locals get to see these animals but.....

The best part of the day was a wonderful stop at a turtle breeding station. Here they monitor the number of females each night arriving on the beach to lay their eggs. These were then protected until such time as they've hatched and we had the privilege of releasing some new hatchlings back into the ocean. So few actually survive but we said a little prayer for ours in the hopes that they may be the lucky ones.

Our day came to an end with a fabulous dinner of local food, some of which I'd seen many times on the plates of the locals but, having no idea what they were or what they were called, we stuck to things we could recognise. Some of the strangest looking things were delicious so now we know!

Next stop, Pulau Kapas, a gorgeous island another overnight trip away and we had our best sail in over a year. Conditions were perfect, decent wind with flat calm seas. This unexpected treat caused us to arrive at our destination in the dark but it was a very easy anchorage so no problems.

What a gorgeous spot. Lovely white beaches, lots and lots of coral and clear very warm waters. There were ten boats there so we arranged an afternoon cricket match on the beach and a pot luck dinner and BBQ. It was the sort of day one envisages when hearing of cruising the islands. Perfect! But this was just an interim stopover as we were to be in Kuala Terengganu, just twelve miles away, for our next official function so it was up anchor and on our way again only two days later.

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