Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 6

Day 36 – November 27

We spent most of the day catching up on boat projects, reading and journal writing, cleaning and washing our laundry in salt water.  It may seem that there would be a lot of “free time” on a boat but in my experience so far I find that rarely do I have time to relax, let alone be bored.  Somehow we always seem to find a million and one things to do.

Day 37 – November 28

Rod invited all of us this morning to go diving with him for WWII wrecks - his passion.  Earlier in the week he had spotted something in the harbor that he wanted to check out.  We located the wreck with all the fancy equipment he had on board his boat and he sent all of us down with our scuba tanks to investigate it.  The wreck turned out to only be a local fishing boat but it was super exciting knowing that we were the first people to discover this wreck.  He tells us that he has uncovered hundreds of wrecks, some still with human remains from planes and ships that went down during WWII.  If we are around Rabaul next week he has invited us to help him dredge the silt off a WWII plane wreck he’s just discovered that supposedly had 6 soldiers on board.

Day 38 – November 29

Early in the morning Rod pulled up to our boat in his dinghy asking for help.  The night before a sailboat had gotten caught up in a reef and needed to be rescued.  The news Rod received was not much other than the boat was near some cliffs near Kokopo and might need to be salvaged (meaning it may have sunk).  Becky and I jumped at the chance of doing a “search and rescue” mission and within minutes were in Rod’s dinghy with all our scuba gear.  We set out on his main boat and an hour later found the French-Canadian Pierre sitting at the bow of his boat.  Turns out that his engine had stopped working and the anchor was wound around the reef.  Bec and I dove down to assess the situation, untangle his anchor from the reef and to make sure he was able to completely pull up his anchor so that Rod could tow him back to the dock at Rabaul.

The jellyfish here just love me!  I have so many itchy stings that it looks like I have contracted chicken pox.  I guess it makes up for the fact that the mosquitoes have been avoiding me and instead have been biting my crewmates.

Day 39 – November 30

During WWII when the Japanese troops called Rabaul home, they built over 300km of underground tunnels in Rabaul alone.  Since Rabaul was constantly being bombed this was how they stayed alive and protected their supplies.  Today, everywhere you go you see these tunnel entrance ways in the sides of mountains. 

Rod had asked Becky and I if we wanted to go exploring tunnels with him and the local volcanologist, who was looking for fault lines in the tunnels.  We jumped at the chance but have to admit were a bit nervous when before leaving Rod grabbed a handgun and shoved it into Becky’s backpack.  For safety reasons he told us.  Sometimes there are “rascals” or criminals living in the tunnels and it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

We drove high into the mountains in search of one particular town and after asking many locals for directions we finally arrived.  Local village boys took us on an excursion to all the “caves” they knew of in the area.  It was quite a trek through jungle to get to these tunnels.  I was constantly watching in front of me to make sure that I did not accidentally run into the big spider webs with even bigger spiders that I had been seeing everywhere.

The village boys took us to several tunnels... some were just entrance ways that were caved in and went nowhere but others, after you crawled through the tiny entrance, you could stand up in and they went on and on for a kilometer or two.  We arrived to one deep in the jungle - the entrance way covered completely with jungle.  The village boys chopped down the vines and leaves and we all climbed down (or rather slid down) into the entrance.

Inside we found a maze of tunnels, about 7 feet in height.  With our torches we went exploring and along with several interesting insects (cross between a scorpion and a spider) and bats, we actually found empty Japanese beer bottles.

Becky and I arrived back to Rabaul extremely dirty and very happy.  We jumped into the bay with all our clothes on and swam out to SEAWANHAKA since we were so dirty.  What an amazing day!

Day 40 – December 1

In the morning we pulled over to the dock to top off our water tanks and Rod filled up our scuba tanks with the air compressor onboard his boat.  After waiting 2 hours for the wind to shift to a favorable direction, we left the dock and sailed over to the base of the active volcano, anchoring there for the night in the rust colored sulfur water.

Day 41 – December 2

We tried to leave the bay by tacking our way out but because of light and unfavorable winds it took us over 2 hours to cross a distance that with good wind should have taken 10 minutes!  Since we didn’t have enough daylight or wind to make it to our planned destination of the Duke of York Islands we anchored on the other side of the active volcano at Escape Bay. 

Becky and I swam ashore and explored this ash covered barren landscape.  We walked through deep crevices at least 15 feet high, finding trucks buried up to their steering wheels by the volcanic ash.  Discovering that the top layer of ash covering the land was silky smooth and would stick to our skin we had the great idea to cover our bodies completely in this gray ash.  Becky came up with the slogan “Tired of being white?  Why be white when you can be gray”.  This had us laughing so hard.

For the next 30 minutes we entertained ourselves by throwing rocks against the ash covered land, watching the top layer crumble, creating huge ash clouds that would engulf us.  Such simple pleasures!

Day 42 – December 3

With good wind in the morning we set sail for the Duke of York Islands and along the way stopped at what Rod called “8 meter bommie” to scuba dive.  The water temperature on the boat gauge read 91 degrees!

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 5

Day 29 – November 20

Land Ho!  I have never been so happy to see land as I was today when we spotted the island of New Britain.  I am so ready for this endless Solomon Sea passage to be over.  During the night we sailed over the New Britain Trench, reaching over 25,000 feet in depth.  I can’t explain why but I had my reservations about swimming in water that deep!

Day 30 – November 21

We’ve reached our destination – Kokopo - on the island of New Britain!  Stunning view across the bay with 4 volcanoes that fall into the ocean.  One of the volcanoes is still active and last erupted in 1994 when it buried the main town of Rabaul.  In its place the town of Kokopo emerged.

I’ve forgotten what it feels like to get a full night’s rest without having to wake up after 2 hours of sleep.  I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time now!

Day 31 – November 22

Wow… 12 hours of sleep last night and it felt amazing!  Not only that but last night was the 2^nd time I’ve felt cold (to the point of reaching for a sheet) in the last month.  I love that feeling!

We scoped out the town of Kokopo and in the evening headed to Kokopo Beach Bungalow Resort for email access, our first beer in 2 weeks, and an amazing dinner! 

Day 32 – November 23

The women of Kokopo have the most amazing hairstyles I have seen in Papua New Guinea.  They keep their hair short but because it is extremely curly, dry, and coarse it turns into these mega afros.  It’s so thick that I’ve seen them use their hair as holding places for pens and combs.  I’m told the term “Papua” means wild hair, hence Papua New Guinea – Wild Hair of New Guinea.  One man got on a minibus I was on (known locally as a PMV) and he had a spider chilling out on top of his thick, bushy hair.  It was a great look!

Day 33 – November 24

At 5am Captain Bill woke us all up and said we had to leave ASAP.  The wind had picked up and was coming from the wrong direction and since the boat was anchored in only 15 feet of water he was concerned the wind might push us into shallower water.  We motored over to Rabaul, 10 nautical miles across the bay.  Rabaul was amazingly beautiful, a town at the base of 5 volcanoes.  Since the eruption in 1994, the old town of Rabaul has been covered in ash and abandoned and just down the street you’ll find the “new” Rabaul.  It’s a little creepy to see all the abandoned buildings – definitely a ghost town.

Captain Bill left to head for the airport to pickup his girlfriend, Monica, who will be sailing with us for the next 3 weeks while Andy headed off to try and get a flight back to the USA due to financial troubles back home.  Becky and I stayed behind to look after the boat and explore the dusty town of Rabaul.

Day 34 – November 25

After dropping Andy off at the wharf for his flight back to the USA, Becky and I headed off with Ben, the security guard at the Rabaul Yacht Club on a hike to the Japanese Memorial and the German lookout.  During WWII the Japanese invaded Rabaul and made it a main base so there is a lot of history here.  After Berlin, Rabaul is the second most heavily bombed place in the world.

Later in the day we said hello to our neighbor Rod (whose boat was docked on the wharf) and we were green with envy when he gave us “cold water” to drink and offered to let us use the washing machine on his boat.  Since he seemed to be a wealth of knowledge, we asked Rod if he had any suggestions for catching a stowaway rat and mentioned to him that we think the rat escaped from the Copra Trader cargo boat that was anchored next to us in Alotau.  He told us that he just heard that a few days ago the Copra Trader, loaded up with over 1 million Kina worth of copra (dried coconut meat from which they extract coconut oil), caught fire just as they were leaving the wharf in Alotau.  Lucky for the rat that he bailed ship when he did!

Day 35 – November 26

In the morning Becky and I gave 3 village kids a bit of Kina to walk with us to the hot springs at the base of the active volcano.  It’s always a smart idea for us “2 white females” to take a local villager or two along for safety reasons, not to mention that they are great tour guides.  Our plan was to boil eggs in the hot springs but when we got there the kids warned us about getting to close to the boiling hot water since the ground was not so stable – after that bit of advice, we opted to go hungry!

For dinner we all headed over to the Rabaul Yacht Club which is nothing more than an open air roof with a little bar and a few tables and stools.  We met up with Dave, an English guy who was raised here in Papua New Guinea.  He must be in his 50’s and is married to a local Papua New Guinea woman.  Six weeks ago he had his 8^th child!  He tells us there are 2 things he is good at doing…  scuba diving for WWII wrecks and making babies.  Go figure!

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 4

Day 22 – November 13

Extremely disappointed in the morning to find the rat trap empty and more of our dried goods eaten, we decided we needed to increase our rat catching efforts.  This meant setting out glue traps in addition to the cage trap.

We sailed from 9am until 5pm through some very light and shifty winds and reached Dawson Island which turned out to be a little slice of paradise.  I mentioned to Becky “if I were to live in Papua New Guinea this is where I would want to live”.  She replies “you say that about every island we come to”.  Maybe I do but this place is truly idyllic and how can you not love a place where all the village kids line up on the beach, waving their arms in the air, welcoming us as we drop anchor in their bay.

It has been 4 days since we have caught fresh fish and canned tuna is getting old.  Just like every time we anchor near a village, we mention to the local men that if they catch us a fish or lobster we will pay them cash.

Day 23 – November 14

Lobstermania!!!  Local fishermen paddled out to the boat early this morning with 3 parrotfish, a cuttlefish, and 14 lobsters!  We gave them 100 Kina (about $40USD) for all and enjoyed a delicious fish fry for breakfast.

After breakfast we set sail across the Solomon Sea for the island of New Ireland – 360 nautical miles to the northeast.  This means that we will be sailing night and day for several days.

Day 24 – November 15

After a great night sail with steady wind at 10-15 knots we came upon a group of 4 tiny islands in the middle of the Solomon Sea – the Marshall Bennett Islands.  For several hours we anchored on the reef at Dugumenu Islet and felt like explorers as we snorkeled the pristine waters and explored this stunningly beautiful and uninhabited island.

Day 25 – November 16

Mayday Mayday… the Solomon Sea kicked our ass this morning.  I was at the helm on night watch from 2-4am and all was great – 15 knots of wind, calm seas, and our only concern was the little bit of lightening off in the distance.  Becky took over at 4am and 30 minutes later Captain Bill called for all hands on deck. 

The wind had picked up to 30+ knots of wind, the rain was pouring down, and the waves were crashing over the cockpit.  Before I could even make it out of the galley and into the cockpit the water alarm went off signaling that the boat was filling with water faster than the bilge pump could pump it out.  Within minutes we were standing in ankle deep water!  Captain Bill and I began to pass buckets full of water up through the hatch to Becky and Andy.  Meanwhile, waves were crashing over the boat and through the hatch, soaking everything inside and undermining our efforts.  My muscles were burning with exhaustion I couldn’t stop because the boat was filling up with water faster than we could bail it out. 

All this time I couldn’t help but think about what I would throw in my dry bag should we need to abandon ship and jump into the life raft.  After an hour of bailing water, Captain Bill had resolved the problem with the bilge pumps and slowly the water began to recede.

As the storm passed, the wind also died down and left us with very light and shifty wind.  Not worth our effort or time to attempt to make that work in our favor.  We shifted the sails so that we were completely stalled out and spent the rest of the day bobbing around in the Solomon Sea, cleaning up the mess that had been made, and found time to get a game of Yahtzee in.  By night the wind still had not returned so we spent the night stalled out in the middle of the ocean with no land in view.

Day 26 – November 17

No wind in sight… and it could be days before we see the wind again.  Since we weren’t going anywhere, it was a great day for boat projects.  The only “project” that we did not succeed at was catching the rat that has now been on board for 8 days.

Day 27 – November 18

Captain Bill woke up with his knee swollen to the size of a grapefruit and developed a fever of 102 degrees.  Since he was down for the remainder of the day and our bilge pumps were not pumping out the incoming water fast enough to keep up, we switched up our sailing schedule so that we each (Becky-Andy-Myself) would spend 2 hours at the helm (steering the boat), 2 hours watching the bilge pumps (emptying them every 10 minutes), and finally 2 hours sleeping.  Not the most ideal situation but the only practical one we could come up with.

Day 28 – November 19

Please… no more lobster!  4 days of eating lobster for breakfast and dinner is just too much – in fact 1 day of lobster is enough for me.  The thought of eating it now makes me cringe and tonight at dinner you could catch me secretly throwing bits of lobster overboard as I ate my dinner.

We had great wind today but the tiredness of only sleeping 2 hours and being awake for 4 has really started to set in.  In fact I even began to hallucinate a little.  When we woke Andy up for his shift he mumbled “are you sure it’s been 2 hours already… I don’t think it’s been 2 hours already… it can’t have been 2 hours already”.  2 hours of sleep goes by in a flash and you begin to question if your fellow crew members actually did their full 2 hour shift or only just said they did.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 3

Day 15 – November 6

Our arrival to Alotau was perfectly timed with the 7^th Annual Milne Bay Canoe & Kundu Festival.  During this festival villages from around Milne Bay dress up in tribal costumes and participate in tribal dances, chanting, and in war canoe races.  We noticed there were several “white” people carrying expensive cameras and video equipment, wearing VIP badges, and later found out they were with National Geographic.

Day 16 – November 7

After spending much of the day at the festival we headed to Alotau International Hotel to swim in their pool (our first chance at freshening up with water since arriving to Alotau) and charge our dead camera batteries.  The bay here in Alotau is pretty dirty (oil, garbage, human waste) so no swimming and no bucket showers.  We’ve even been subjected to washing out dishes with fresh water instead of the normal salt water.

Billy discovered that his camera was missing and we concluded that the local Papua New Guinea girls who had been on board the boat the night before had to be the culprits.  We were all upset, especially since Billy had been the one taking most of the photos since all of our camera batteries were almost dead and were we not sure when we would have the opportunity to charge them again.

Day 17 – November 8

Our plan to depart Alotau today has been postponed for a few more days.  Billy, our crew from Australia, who planned to come for 4 days but stayed for 17, booked a flight back to Australia in 2 days. 

Since today was Monday and the banks were open, Becky and I went to exchange Australia Dollars for Papua New Guinea Kina.  In what normally would have taken 10 minutes, we found ourselves at the bank for almost 1 hour.

Loaded up with Kina we went to Alotau International Hotel to use the only internet in town – even though it was painfully slow, very expensive, and super frustrating to be able to only send a few emails in 1 hour.

Day 18 – November 9

Tried my hand at making yogurt today.  Take 1 ½ cups of powdered milk, add 1 liter of water, and 5 tablespoons of already made yogurt.  Put it into a container, wrap it in a dark towel, set it in the sun, and 24 hours later you have homemade yogurt.  When I went to grab the bag of powdered milk I realized that we had some sort of creature on board as the milk bag had been chewed to pieces.  Collectively the crew decided that it must be a rat!  We searched around town for rat traps but only found “rat glue” which we spread over a piece of plywood and put peanut butter in the middle as bait.  We knew that mice love peanut butter – but do rats?

Day 19 – November 10

Disappointed that we did not catch a rat last night Andy set out determined to find a more functional rat trap.  Becky rowed over to the local bakery to buy 10 pieces of our new favorite breakfast snack “Lamington Cake” while Billy packed his bags, ready for his flight over to Port Moresby, and then back to Australia.  Meanwhile, I realized that my point and shoot digital camera was nowhere to be found.  After an extensive search and finding out that Bill’s watch had also gone missing we came to the conclusion that someone must have come aboard SEAWANHAKA in the last few days and helped themselves to our things.  Sad that they took my camera but happy that it was not my new (and expensive) DSLR camera.  I got over it pretty fast. 

After many hugs and parting words we said farewell to Billy and prepared to set sail – away from Alotau and away from what the local Papua New Guinean’s call “rascals” or thieves.

We anchored the night at Waga Waga and were thrilled to be able to swim off the boat again.  Nearby was a WWII coal transport ship that in 1946 sprung a leak and sank.  The bow of the boat stuck out of the water and proved to be an excellent snorkel spot.

That evening over a dinner of canned tuna and wine we heard Andy’s new and improved rat trap snap shut.  We all jumped up and yelled “we caught a rat!”  Our question was “can rats swim?”  Sure enough, rats are amazingly fast swimmers.  As soon as he hit the water he quickly swam back towards the boat and disappeared.  After not being able to locate the rat in the water we were a little concerned that he might be able to find his way back onto the boat but to do that he would have to squeeze through some impossibly small pipes.

Day 20 – November 11

After a tasty breakfast of homemade yogurt, super sweet pineapple, and chopped cashew nuts we set sail for no place in particular, going where the wind took us.  We anchored at a place called Kana Kopi at the entrance to Milne Bay.  When asking the local villagers about crocodiles they said “we use to have one but we haven’t seen him lately and he only eats dogs.”  For us that was warning enough and we enjoyed bucket showers tonight.

Day 21 – November 12

The rat is back!!!  Bill found rat poop in his bathroom sink this morning and upon further inspection we found the rat has gotten into bags of pasta on the other side of the boat.  This means war!  And this time we plan to kill the rat once we catch him.  Andy the rat master is on it!

We anchored the night at Nuakata Island and were immediately surrounded by at least 10 paddle canoes filled with village kids.  They were so excited to see us and brought plenty of banana, coconut, papaya (or what they call pawpaw here), squash, limes and passion fruit to trade.  We’ve been missing our daily drink of coconut water so we were thrilled!  Sometimes when we are surrounded by all these canoes you can’t help but wonder if this is what animals in zoos feel like.  Constantly being watched by outsiders who are interested in observing our ways.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 2

Day 8 – October 30

Today we took the dinghy out to a small island just off the coast of Suau Island and spent most of the day snorkeling, exploring the island, and purely relaxing.  What a life we have!

In the evening a local village woman canoed out to the boat and asked if we had any batteries for her flashlight.  We told her that yes we have batteries but asked her what size she needs.  She tells us she needs “ABCD” battery.  After much confusion we later find out that there is a battery brand called ABC and she needs the D battery.

Day 9 – October 31

After spending 4 glorious days at Suau Island we pulled up the anchor and sailed east towards the village of Ilo Ilo – about 40 nautical miles.  Along the way we passed over the Sunken Barrier Reef and hooked a decent sized Rainbow Runner which none of us had ever eaten before.  Our fish book listed it as a 3 star out of 4 in terms of tastiness so we knew we would be eating well that night.  In addition, it was October 31 – Halloween, so we felt the need to cook up some pumpkin given to us by the people on Suau Island.

Day 10 – November 1

Amazing sight to wake up to dolphins swimming near the boat!  The night before local fishermen from Ilo Ilo stopped by the boat to say hello and we told them we would buy fish if they caught any.  Sure thing, that morning they came by with their boat filled with fish, lobsters, and sadly turtles.  For 40 Kina (about $15 USD) we got a huge sweetlips fish, several lobster tails, and these crustaceans the locals call “bugs”.

That afternoon, Becky and I were escorted ashore by several local village boys in their little boat.  With 10 boys in tow, ranging in age from 5 to 15, we were guided on a hike to the other side of the island.  When we became thirsty, one little boy climbed “monkey-like” up a coconut tree to get us fresh coconut water.  Delicious!

Day 11 – November 2

Around 6am little Joe and a few local girls paddled out to the boat and I asked if I could take their canoe for a spin.  I paddled around and the little girls couldn’t stop giggling at the sight of me paddling their canoe. 

We left Ilo Ilo heading towards Samarai Island to check in at Papua New Guinea customs and along the way passed over the Sunken Barrier Reef again.  Just like clockwork we hooked a fish.  This time it was a spanish mackerel.  As soon as we had filleted the first fish, off went the line again and we all shouted “fish on”!  It was another spanish mackerel but this one was huge, giving us about 15lbs worth of fish.  We’ll be eating well for the next few days, that is a given!

Since the wind was not blowing in our favor, we ended up anchoring the night at Doini Island – about 12 nautical miles from Samarai Island.

Day 12 – November 3

After drinking our daily “SEAWANHAKA mocha” we did a quick sail over to the small island of Gona Bara Bara where we were told there was a manta ray cleaning station.  After a quick snorkel to determine that yes, there were manta rays and after a delicious breakfast of fish, we put on our scuba gear and jumped in to search out the manta rays.  Despite the current being incredibly strong (to the point of having to hang onto rocks in order to keep from being swept away) we were up close and personal with 2 huge manta rays.  Absolutely amazing!

By noon – after having a swim, snorkel, eating a great fish breakfast, diving with the manta rays, and drinking a beer, we set sail once again for Samarai Island, arriving in the early evening.

Day 13 – November 4

We attempted to clear Papua New Guinea customs at Samarai Island but found that Felix, the customs guy, was on another island and could possibly be away for days.  Since it looked like we were going to be “illegally” in Papua New Guinea for another day we hunted down a local police office to ask permission to remain at Samarai Island for the day.  Sitting in the shade, chewing on betel nut, he says “no problem”.

Walking around this small island we stumbled upon “native toilets” over the water.  Imagine an open air, cement structure on stilts, separated into 2 sides – ladies and men.  Each side has several holes in the floor where you squat, which then drops directly into the ocean.  Quite an experience!

For dinner we headed to the guesthouse where Bill has been many years previous.  We asked the women there to cook us a traditional Papua New Guinea dinner and we feasted on Spanish mackerel, potatoes, taro root, plantains, sautéed local greens, passion fruit, mandarins, and the toughest donut I have even eaten.  The dinner was quite dry but with a few S.P.’s (the Papua New Guinea local beer) everything seems to go down much smoother.

Day 14 – November 5

Planned destination for today was Alotau, the capital of the Milne Bay Province.  30 nautical miles should only take a few hours but it was critical that we made it to Alotau before 4pm since it was Friday and Papua New Guinea customs doesn’t work on the weekends.  This was the first time where we ran into zero knots of wind meaning zero speed.  Just our luck.  We were at a standstill and it was HOT!  What better thing to do that take a dip in the ocean!  We finally gave up on waiting for the wind and turned the engine on (which almost never happens on SEAWANHAKA). 

Before we arrived to Alotau we had to get rid of all evidence of having been in Papua New Guinea for the last 8 days.  Into the ocean went the bananas, coconuts, squash, and empty S.P. beer cans.

Papua New Guinea customs and quarantine came onto the boat, seven people in all.  Within 30 minutes we had arrival stamps stamped into our passports but quarantine was not so eager to clear us for entry into Papua New Guinea.  They required us to fill out medical statements which we could only get on Monday.  That meant we needed to stay in Alotau over the weekend but luckily they allowed us to get off the boat and come ashore.

Sailing Papua New Guinea -- WEEK 1

Pre Departure – October 22

Our last day in Australia!  Spent the day buying $1200 worth of food, trying to find space on the boat to store all this food along with all the other things that Captain Bill had locked away in a storage unit for the last 3 years.  Australia Immigration came to the boat to stamp our passports with an exit stamp and to remind us that we MUST depart Australia within 24 hours.

Day 1 – October 23

All morning we were in packing frenzy and sadly there was no time left for us to take a final “fresh hot water” shower at the marina.  Departed the marina in Cairns, Australia and decided that we needed a little more time to secure all of our things before beginning our 4-5 day open water passage to Papua New Guinea.  In an attempt to avoid Australian customs we anchored a few hours south of Cairns at a place called Mission Bay and enjoyed a great BBQ of fish and prawns along with red wine and cheese.

Day 2 – October 24

In an attempt to install the inverter it blew up meaning that we have no 110 or 240 voltages.  Sadly this means that we have no way to charge camera batteries unless we happen to be ashore where there is a hotel or restaurant that will let us use their electricity.  So sad : ( 

Set sail for Papua New Guinea today – 450 nautical miles across the Coral Sea.  Began our sailing schedule of 2 hours at the helm and 8 hours of freedom.  Tonight I was at the helm from 2am until 4am and it was my first time wearing a harness - just in case something was to happen.

Day 3 – October 25

Traveled 148 nautical miles in the last 24 hours.  The Coral Sea has some huge swells, making sleeping, eating, and using the toilet quite a challenge.

Put out the fishing lines hoping to catch some fish for dinner.  Caught a big eye tuna and 10 seconds later caught a 200lb marlin.  The marlin took about an hour to reel in but since he was so large to bring on board we set him free. 

Dumped most of our rubbish overboard.  The only things not thrown over were plastic based.  Aluminum and tin cans, glass bottles, paper and cardboard, food scraps - all went into the ocean.  Seemed to wrong to be doing this but that’s what happens when you are at sea on a sailboat.

Day 4 – October 26

Traveled 135 nautical miles in the last 24 hours.  Put out the fishing lines and hooked 2 huge tunas at the same time but lost both of them when they bit through our fishing line, taking the lures with them.

Ran into a squall during the night which meant fresh water.  Stood in the cockpit and let the rain wash all the salt water off my body and my clothes.  So refreshing!

Day 5 – October 27

Land Ho!!!  Made it to Papua New Guinea but missed our original planned destination so ended up anchoring a bit west at Suau Island.  Engine flooded during the passage from Australia and we were concerned it was beyond repair. 

Within the hour canoes paddled by local villagers began to arrive to the boat.  We gave pencils and pens to the kids and in return they brought us coconuts and bananas.  We learned that the people on Suau Island see about 2 cruising boats a year.

Took my first shower in 5 days!  Shower on the boat means soaping up and jumping in the ocean.  We have no fresh water on board for anything other than drinking.  There is always a small threat of saltwater crocodiles in these areas but that didn’t stop us.  Made sure to ask several local villagers first before taking the plunge.  Realized that soap will not lather in salt water.

Day 6 – October 28

In the early morning a local village woman canoed out to the boat and gave us a plate of star fruit, bananas, and squash.  In return we gave her a large plastic bowl and she was completely thrilled with her new possession.

Took the dinghy to the village and visited the local school where the kids sung us their National Anthem, the adults played the guitar and sand for us and Billy (one of our crew) joined in by playing music with spoons against his cheek.  The villagers thought that was the coolest thing!

Later in the day Becky and I rowed the small dinghy named “weewanhaka” to shore and visited the local family living there.  The kids let us try out their canoe and when we tried to stand up and paddle like they do we almost lost our balance and fell overboard.  Laughter could be heard all around.  We had so much fun that we asked if we could trade one of our crew members for their canoe.

Since we were not successful in catching much fish we have run out of fresh fish.  No fresh fish means that we resort to eating canned tuna.  We had mentioned to the local village men that we would pay them for fish if they catch them but still no sign of anything.

Day 7 – October 29

Rained in the morning so we collected rain water with a tarp and ran a hose into our water tanks.  Hung our clothes on the lifeline to wash off all the salt water.

In the afternoon Becky and I rowed weewanhaka to another house and along the way painted the fingernails of the girls who were canoeing alongside us.  The family was thrilled to have us at their house and we painted more fingernails, took a walk to see their fresh water creek, and as we left they gave us a small fish and leafy greens.  It was my night to cook so I sautéed up the greens and made a fish curry with rice.

After dinner we swam of the boat since the “glowing” bio-luminescence was out and our bodies lit up as we dove in the water and moved around.  Super cool!

Sailing the South Pacific

After spending the last month in Cairns, Australia helping Bill get the boat ready we are finally setting sail!  I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time and can hardly believe that it is finally happening.

On the first leg (of what I hope to be a 6-month journey) there will be 5 of us.  Bill (the owner/captain who is from Oregon/San Diego and has been calling his boat home for a long-long time), Becky (a 25-year old dive instructor from England who has been working with dive boats here in Cairns for the last year), Andy (a 32-year old personal chef from Texas), Billy (a 28-year old Australian who also has a sailboat here in Cairns), and me. 

Our plan is to leave the port of Cairns and set sail for Papua New Guinea (aka PNG) just to the north of Northeastern Australia.  It should take around 4 days of non-stop sailing to reach PNG and our plan is to spend all of November and December cruising the islands of PNG, scuba diving the pristine and remote reefs, catching fish/prawns/lobster for dinner, and visiting the remote villages of PNG, bearing gifts such as toothbrushes, pencils, and paper.  Things that are useful to them but hard to come by.

Around the first of the year we plan to make our way north across the equator into the Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae).  We will probably spend January and February cruising these islands and then head over to Palau and spend another month or two there.  After 4-5 months (around April/May) we plan to make our way down the eastern Indonesian chain of islands. 

Planned Sailing Route

If all goes as planned I'd like to get off the boat sometime around April/May, travel a little more, and be back in the USA around August. 

While on the boat we will have NO PHONE and very limited EMAIL.  I hope to be able to send out email updates every few weeks and maybe even a picture or two.  The boat does have a website where you can read about our latest adventures and follow where in the world we are

Click here for:  Boat Website

10 Days in Western Australia

After 5 months, 6 countries, 25 flights, and over 40 hotel rooms I have said goodbye to Southeast Asia.  I was sad to leave but very excited for the adventures that await me in the South Pacific.  Since the sailboat will be leaving from Cairns, Australia I decided my next stop would be Perth, Australia on the west coast primarily because I was able to find an $60 flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.   As a budget traveler, Australia would never have been on my itinerary since it's quite expensive but I figured that I could survive 10 days there.

Adjusting to life here in Australia has been much harder than I thought it would be.  When I arrived to the airport in Perth and stepped outside it was in the low 40's and after being in 80 and 90 degree weather for 5 months it was a definite shock to my system.  I had forgotten what cold was like and now remember why I avoided it.  But I do have to say that the people of Western Australia are some of the friendliest and they will absolutely despise you if you have anything good to say about the people from Eastern Australia.  

Looking back I realize now that I was actually REALLY spoiled while traveling throughout Southeast Asia.  At almost every hotel/hostel I stayed at and in many of the cafes/ restaurants there was always FREE wireless internet.  I could at sleep in a decent bed for $5 a night and eat a filling meal for $2. 

In Australia there is no such thing as "free" wireless internet and they charge $5 an hour to use the internet at the hostels.  Besides that I'm paying $30 for a dorm room and $15 for breakfast! 

For 2 nights I stayed in Fremantle which is very close to the "big city" of Perth.  The hostels here are not at all like the hostels in Southeast Asia.  The one I stayed in Fremantle had over 100 people and the majority of them had been living there for months, working in Australia, with the occasional traveler (aka me) passing through.  So the vibe was totally different and was a party scene every night! 

Two nights of that and I had enough.  I rented a car because taking public transportation would have been a headache and in the end would have cost me just as much as renting a car.   It took a few minutes for me to adjust to driving again since it had been 5 months since I drove a car and in Australia they drive on the opposite side on the car and the opposite side of the road.  Luckily driving here is nothing like driving in LA. 

My first stop was Margaret River which was about 4 hours south of Perth.  I ended up staying at this great hostel close to the beach in Prevelly Park and since it was low season I had the 4-bed dorm room all to myself!  Margaret River is known for their world class wineries and also their world class surfing - although just a few weeks ago there was a fatal shark attack on a surfer!  I stayed 2 nights here since it was such a relaxing atmosphere. 

After Margaret River I drove 7 hours to the town of Albany in the south of Western Australia.  Whaling was a major source of income and employment for Albany but the main whaling station stopped operating in the 1970's and has now been turned into a museum.  From town if you look out into the Southern Ocean you can see lots of whales spouting.

The Gap at Albany

My goal was to get up to Kalbarri in the central coastal part of Western Australia so I decided to stay the night at the seaside town of Cervantes which was a 7 hour drive northwest from Albany - a good stopping point.  The roads here are not at all like the freeways we know.  Unless you are in a major city like Perth the main road are only 2 lanes with an occasional passing lane.  You see dead kangaroos everywhere since they come out at night and don't understand the danger of cars.  I even saw a huge emu almost get hit by a big truck but luckily he escaped in time. 

The Pinnacles near Cervantes

In the morning I continued my drive north and finally reached Kalbarri after 5 hours of driving.  Kalbarri was spectacular!  The scenery was absolutely stunning, red rocks, white beaches, and blue ocean.  And because it's desert, the weather was warm and dry.  I stayed 2 nights and could have easily stayed longer if I had the time.

Kalbarri coastline

Western Australia was amazing and I wish I had more time to explore further north.  There is so much to see and do here.  In the 10 days that I was here I probably drove well over 1,500 miles.  But Western Australia is so big and so vast that in order to see this part of the country you have to drive.  They say that Western Australia is as big as Texas times 4 just to give you an idea of the size.


To see all the pictures click here:  Western Australia

Life of the Penan in Borneo

My days were filled with walks through the rainforest, exploring impressive caves, and watching billions of bats fly out at night at Mulu National Park in Borneo, Malaysia.

One of the many caves in Mulu National Park

Over 3 billion bats fly out of the cave at night

While there I also had the opportunity to visit a Penan village along the river.

Penan village along the Mulu River

The Penan are some of the last nomadic hunter-gatherers living in the world. Today they are about 10,000 Penan in Borneo but less than 300 Penan still lead a completely nomadic life in the forest. Those that still live this lifestyle survive by hunting and gathering. They don’t practice agriculture or raise animals for food and have no permanent settlements. They forage for rattan, medicinal plants, fruits, and sago palm - a starchy staple. Wild game is hunted with blowpipes and poison darts. And they believe in never taking more than necessary.

Local Penan woman with traditional "stretched" earlobes

About a week earlier on my trek in Bario we came across several abandoned Penan settlements, basically shelters made of bamboo and palm fronds. Every month or so when the Penan exhaust all the wild game, jungle plants and fruits they move to a new location in the forest and build new shelters. The old settlements are left to return to the jungle. With very few possessions, they are able to carry everything in simple “backpacks” made from rattan from palm leaves.

The forest is essential to the Penan, providing them with everything they need to survive. Sadly with all the logging operations encroaching on their land, there is less food for them and many Penan have had to give up their nomadic lifestyle and settle into government provided housing in order to survive.

To see all the pictures click here:  Mulu National Park

On the Headhunter’s Trail in Borneo

Borneo is an island in Southeast Asia shared by Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Even though Indonesia occupies about 2/3 of the island much of the Indonesian side is still quite remote with very few tourists. The Malaysian side of Borneo offers many more attractions and the majority of the visitors to Borneo go there. I traveled to Borneo, Malaysia a few years ago for a scuba diving adventure and had wanted to venture into the rainforest so that is what I decided to do this time around.

Map of Borneo

I flew to Bario, a small village near the Malaysian / Indonesian border. At the airport there was a separate check-in line for those flying to “rural” villages. Here I was weighed with all of my belongings and then allowed to board a tiny 20-seater plane that had cardboard “fans” in the seat pockets since there was no air circulation and believe me, it was HOT on the plane.

20-seater plane I flew into the jungle

My original plan was to try and do a 4 day/3 night trek into the jungle with a guide. Once I was in Bario I found that it was not as easy as I had anticipated to arrange such a trek and in the end had to settle for a 2 day/1 night trek with a French couple and a guide.

To get to our starting point we drove on a very muddy and steep road, the truck sliding sideways most of the time. After driving for 2 hours we finally arrived to the village of Pa’ Dalih where we stayed for 1 night before beginning our trek. We stayed in a traditional longhouse shared by 6 families. A longhouse is a communal house built on stilts with one long roof and separate rooms for each family. Dinner was tiny fish from the rice paddies, sautéed local ferns, hearts of palm, and of course rice.

Inside the longhouse at Pa' Dalih

In the morning we began our trek on the Headhunter’s Trail. This trail was used by the local villagers to trek into Indonesia where they would attack their enemies and bring back their heads. The practice of headhunting ended around the time of WWII but then again resurfaced for a period of time in the late 1990’s. Even though the villagers no longer display the heads like they use to I was told that if you ask they will show you the heads.

After a few hours of trekking we came to a small house in the middle of nowhere. Inside was a small fire pit and on a metal rack on top of the fire pit was some kind of smoked meat. It turned out to be local “barking deer” and for lunch our guide heated up some of this meat and we ate it along with the rice wrapped in a banana leaf our host had given us before we left the longhouse in the morning. At first it was hard to eat the deer since the head and feet were nearby but once I got over that it was actually quite tasty.

Lunch:  barking deer meat

During our trek I was surprised and very happy to see that there were hardly any mosquitoes but in their place there were plenty of leeches. I had been warned about the leeches and was told to wear long socks pulled over long pants and to tuck my shirt into my pants to make it hard for leeches to find skin to bite. As soon as we stepped into the rainforest the leeches were all over our shoes, climbing up our legs, trying to find a piece of skin they could feed from. When leeches bite you it’s not so easy to get them off. It takes quite a bit of effort to pull them off once they have sunk their teeth into you, and if you do pull them off you will probably end up with their teeth still stuck in your skin. The best way to get them off is with salt or matches or you can just wait for them to get their fill of your blood and fall off. Once they do let go, you bleed quite a bit for several hours afterwards. Yuck!

To see all the pictures click here:  Borneo Trek

Filipino Transportation

I found traveling in the Philippines to be much more of a local experience than in the other countries I have been to in Southeast Asia.  Countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia are visited by so many tourists that they have a nice system of organized shuttles that make life so much easier for the traveler.  Here in the Philippines there is no such thing - you take the local bus.  Buses crowded to the point that not one more single person can squeeze in, people riding on top of the bus and hanging out the doors, bus drivers driving like maniacs and dodging all the suicidal sleeping dogs that like to lie in the middle of the road.

Local Filipino Bus

Inside of the bus before it was filled to capacity

The only time I actually found the option of taking a shuttle versus the local bus was on the trip from Puerto Princesa to El Nido in Palawan.  By bus it’s an 8-9 hour hot, dusty, and bumpy journey and by shuttle it was only 6-7 hours in an air-con minibus.  But there are a few downsides to taking a minibus.  When it comes to slick mud you almost always get stuck unlike the bigger buses.  Luckily the driver only made the “boys” get out and push the minibus out.

Stuck in the mud on the way to El Nido

Except for in a few of the bigger cities you will hardly see any taxi’s on the road.  Everyone here drives a “trike” or “tricycle”.  Basically a motorcycle with a side car.  Some can even fit up to 7 people in them and you see them everywhere.

Riding in a trike!

ATM Issues in the Philippines

Since I don’t travel with US dollars I depend on the ATM for getting local currency. Normally it’s not a problem but here in the Philippines it’s a different story. After trial and error I have learned that there are only certain banks here that will actually accept “western” ATM cards. Once you find one of these banks more than likely the machines will be out of cash, especially the closer you get to Sunday. They normally refill them on Monday. Nothing like going from bank to bank to bank trying to find an ATM that will give you cash.

The ATM’s normally give you 500 Peso (about $10) or 1000 Peso (about$20) bills and trying to change these into smaller bills is no easy feat as no one seems to have change. The people here will actually refuse to sell you something or refuse to take you on a taxi if you don’t have small change. Anything over 100 is pretty much unusable. I learned early on to head to the larger supermarkets and chain restaurants like McDonalds to change big bills. Even they would ask if I had smaller change but I knew that they could change my bills and would pretend that I didn’t even though I had a stack of small bills stashed away.

Filipino Religion

I flew from Hong Kong to Cebu airport in the Philippines and I knew from the flight that I was in for a treat. In addition to all the “western” men with Filipino women there were also quite a few missionaries onboard the plane. The Philippines is predominately Christian unlike the other countries I have been to which have been predominately Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist.

I had taken a ferry from one island to another and just before we left the dock a prayer was broadcast over the loudspeaker blessing our journey. Another time I was in an extremely crowded supermarket and at 6pm a prayer was broadcast over the loudspeaker and everybody in the entire store stopped for about 5 minutes to bow their heads in prayer. It was the oddest thing and I felt a little naughty for continuing my shopping while this was going on.

Hello Hong Kong

The great thing about traveling is that there is no plan.  After leaving Indonesia I really didn’t know where I was headed to next.  One of the main factors in determining my next stop was the price of airline flights.  Being in Southeast Asia flights are relatively cheap but since Bali is a hot destination in July and August flying from there to anywhere is expensive.  Since I had quite a few airline miles on Cathay Pacific (based out of Hong Kong) I was able to book a “free” flight from Bali to Hong Kong and then from Hong Kong to Cebu, Philippines.  All of this for under 35,000 miles. 

Hong Kong Skyline

Since I had never explored Hong Kong before I decided to spend a few days there.  I knew that Hong Kong was going to be expensive and after talking with friends who have stayed in Hong Kong I realized that my best bet for a cheap room was to stay in the Chungking Mansion.  

Chungking Mansion

Chungking Mansion is a 17-story building in downtown Hong Kong that is well known as having the cheapest accommodation around. It is made up of five towering concrete blocks and even though the building is supposedly residential, it is has over 80 guesthouses, shops, restaurants, and other services.

Chungking Mansion

I was a little nervous to stay here since I had received an email from the guesthouse I was to stay at warning me that when I got to the Chungking Mansion there would be a crowd of Indian men outside the building trying to persuade me into seeing their “quality” guesthouse.  I was told to push past these men and take the first elevator up to the 12^th floor and there I would find the New Peking Guesthouse.  

Entrance to my guesthouse

Luckily I was staying in Block A so the elevator was near the entrance to the building.  If I was staying in Block E I would have had to walk for what seemed like miles (when you’re fighting off Indian salesmen) to get to the elevator.

There are 2 elevators per block and one goes to the even floors and the other to the odd.  The elevators are tiny and you can cram about 8 people in them.  There are always long lines to get onto the elevator and if too many people try to cram into the elevator and the weight limit has been reached, an alarm will sound and the doors will not shut until someone reluctantly gets off.  Since there are 17 floors you spend a lot of time waiting for the elevator.  I came to dread taking the elevator and unfortunately I was on the 12^th floor and with 90 degree heat I was not so inclined to take the stairs.

The room I stayed in was $30 a night and was similar to a jail cell.  There was just enough room for a bed - I could touch all four walls when lying on the bed.  And the bathroom was nothing more than the tiniest sink I have ever seen and a toilet. 

My tiny room

The view from my room was the backside of Block B and mountains of trash down below.  I do have to say that is was very clean and there were several amenities like TV, aircon, towels, blankets, soap, WiFi.

View from my room

Many of the people staying in the building are laborers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.  Needless to say that riding the elevators and staying in Chungking Mansion you meet some very interesting characters.