Calypso's Journal: 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.

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