We sailed overnight to Tolitoli in the north east of Sulawesi and nearly arrived too early as we had such good winds and also a current which ran at nearly 2 knots some of the way. We slowed the boat down and arrived just as dawn was breaking with enough light for anchoring.

Tolitoli is surrounded by hills that are covered in clove plantations. This is the true start of the “spice Islands”. Cloves are big business and I witnessed men carrying 60kg sacks of cloves into a waiting container ready to go off to Java to be used in the tobacco industry. Tolitoli is hardly visited at all by tourists as it is not easy to get to by conventional means, so this meant that 10 yachts turning up was a big deal.

The locals responded accordingly and our contact Hendra did everything in his power to make our stay memorable. He works for the local tourist office but also teaches English at the college here and had organised his students to act as our guides; this not only meant showing us around but even ferrying us about on their motorbikes. We were such a rarity that a traffic jam developed at the dinghy dock as people stopped to stare and, for the more forward ones, ask to have their photo taken with us.

The people were a delight throughout the town. They were friendly, inquisitive and helpful. Walking through the town centre was a continual barrage of “hello mister”, and “where you from?” I needed a haircut so for a £1 this lady tackled my grey curls…….

…and the locals admired the result.

The local market was a bit ramshackle but the owners took real care in laying out their excellent produce to attract the passing shopper.

Hot stuff

and cool greens.

 During our stay Lorraine’s extremely nasty chest infection continued and she was eventually taken off to the hospital with an interpreter. She was diagnosed with fluid on the left lung and three different drugs were prescribed, the coughing continues. On a lighter note I went on a trip organised to visit a local village which is still very traditional. They welcomed us into their homes, demonstrated their technique for beach fishing and fed us an excellent lunch.

Rickety bridge into the village.

School kids

Everyone without exception loved Tolitoli and said it was the friendliest place they had ever visited. The university students were thrilled to be practising their English and said that for them it was like going abroad for 5 days. They came out to our boats and spent time with us trying to learn as much as they could, their enthusiasm was boundless.

I have organised an entry for Tolitoli on Noonsite (the essential web site for yachties) and hopefully this will encourage more people to come here in the future. There is a lot more to see with plenty of attractive beaches and healthy reef which is virtually unexplored. We were told there are also good waterfalls a short walk inland. However, our abiding memory will be of the people here.