Beez Neez now Chy Whella

Final Sabang

Big Bear and Pepe Millard

Tue 19 Feb 2019 23:57

Final Day in Sabang

Bear spuddling the jerry cans ashore. A very nice man met him and charged ten Rupiah per litre to go and fill them at the petrol station and return the filled jugs to the quayside. Had we gone off shopping we would have found the filled jerry cans waiting in Baby Beez. No worries about being robbed – so much so that the locals get very upset if you try to lock your dinghy to the jetty...... Bear had handed over enough money for eighty litres and the extra charge for the personalised service ??? the princely of £1.69.

Bear lays down on the job again. This time adjusting the alternator belt.

I did some pottering about the estate and one of my jobs was to get ready Bear’s At Sea Tuck Box, reminds so much of getting the children’s lunch boxes ready. Instead of sandwiches there are ‘goodies’ - a Genoa cake, mini-puddings, peanuts and blackcurrant cookies to munch on his watches, I will replenish each morning when I get up at ten.

Chores done, Bear picked up the diesel and after lunch I lost on the final round of Mex Train Doms. Much growling...... Ashore and sitting in Quarantine to check out, and despite no power cut we sat for half an hour, handed over fifty-five thousand Indonesian Rupiah (that’s £3.02.....). Leaving Quarantine we bimbled along the road passing a trusty steed and action side car. Someone really trying hard to make the front of their house pretty with pot plants.

Up the hill we passed an eatery showing examples in the window. I shuddered at most things.

A very common sight is the modest little eatery, serving a tasty, limited menu prepared in minutes while you watch, banana leaf to go, plate to eat in. Twenty past four we were sitting, sole ‘customers’ in the fancy looking Immigration Office. Simply hand over Passports, stamped and leave ???? Should have twigged as technically we are customer 004 and we counted seven officers.......

There we sat and as one officer took a picture of Bear in action, so did I. Out in half an hour.

Along the road. past the town sign to Customs - we were really quick, in and out in twenty minutes. Bear stands with his left foot at the roadside, layer upon layer of tarmac to a current nine inches. We stood for a minute at the lookout and then headed for the alley back down to town.

Couldn’t resist a look at Beez Neez (to the left of the observation tower), ooo she has a new neighbour sitting at anchor.

Must be that time of day. Soundo, even the barber in his chair.

Back in town, we cut through to the waterfront and feel sure that the ‘one careful owner’ plastic settee would have once been treasured and comfortable but now it lingers outside room 2 at this B+B, perhaps the breakfast is amazing ???.............Last call of the check out process was at the Harbourmasters Office. Bear settled to loads of forms and stamping, with our ship’s stamp, like he was working on pension day in the local Post Office – in the old days of course, before everything was done through bank transfers. We were handed a tax bill of 6,741 Rupiah, gasping but then realising it was 37p. Finally, all done and dusted after forty minutes we could now bimble back toward Quarantine to pick up the laundry.

A bit of a surprise, an allotment right next to a government port building, very nicely laid out but in the picture you can just make out the deep harbour. A typical residence along the way, glass cabinet for food display and a little shed to prepare and serve food.

Laundry pick-up from the jolly painted house. We expected to pay 50,000 but my knickers seemed to have put the bill up by 10,000, not going to mention that your Bridget Jones can indeed be used as spare sails but.......if you want to take your next breath stop there. No-one mentioned your sleep short though, eh.....Anyhoo we paid £3.27 laundry bill instead of £2.73 and very nice it smells too.

Bimbling back toward town we see it’s wash day and clean washing can be hung most anywhere........

Fish and chips – I don’t think so.

In the main bit of town (I use that word very loosely although the bank looks quite posh) Bear trotted over to the ATM to withdraw 300,000 or £16.32. This to cover some tomatoes, melon, pawpaw, date night meal and some Coke and Sprite. After buying the fruit we bimbled to the far end of town and took a no-through-road to see where the fishermen park and live.

Each little humble house was six to ten feet wide, the children raced to do high-fives and were delighted to have visitors, clearly tourists don’t come this way. The adults were equally surprised and called cheery welcomes. The biggest shock was seeing a Kawasaki Ninja (that took up most of the front garden) outside one of the smaller houses. Clearly fishing does pay methinks.

Bimbling back the way we had come we saw some very nice cars parked at the end of the street.

One more street to get back to the High Street, we passed a chicken who thought she was a Rottweiler and found more washing on some barbed wire. Hope there is no stiff breeze or it will be shredded.

For our date night, well final night and after a busy day...... we found a nice chap and settled in his eatery. We each had nasi goreng ayam – rice and chicken with bits and bobs costing ..........drum roll.........32 pence. Add a small-sized Coke bottle each and our really enjoyable feast set us back.......... £1.64, no wonder most locals eat out and many yachties get here and stay put.

Not too many chums between us and crossing to Sri Lanka (Thank You Marine Traffic for the image). Off on the morrow for the eight hundred and sixty nautical miles to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. We hope to arrive on Wednesday the 27th, fingers crossed for favourable wind and current.

Sadly, our new sat phone does not have the capability of putting a flag on our blog map (the old one we used to switch off and on every day at midday and it would Ping and add a flag at the correct Lat and Long) who said I was going to be happy with the new equipment ??? (I would like to have that person’s cajones pickled in a jar on my shelf, that’s for sure) - because of ‘old fartdom’ I hear you ask. NO. Because the new depth gauge throws hissy fits, don’t get me started on the new chartplotter – no tape measure, screen jumping (not used to touch screen) and I cannot block edit waypoints........so I’ll growl and hope to get a baby blog on half way to Sri Lanka....... deep breath, short pants and all............