Debut - 29 july 2015

Tashi Delek
Mike & Carol Kefford
Wed 29 Jul 2015 06:45

05:44.70S 132:40.61E

 

One morning we met a group of high school children who had come down to the dock to practice their English with the visitors.  An absolute delight.  Chiko and Lino came to speak to me in faultless English.  Chiko (in the tie is 12) was living in Java and attended the international school.  He is now living in Langgur with his aunt as his mother died and his father is working in the USA.  Chiko speaks to him often but does not know where his father is working.  Lino is a local boy from Langgur.  There were overwhelmed to be invited to come out to the anchorage to see inside Tashi Delek. 

 

Over the few days we have been here Mike has been hugely helped by a local Ministry of Tourism guide, Andrew.  He has taken Mike to various towns to try and get a mobile phone mended and then to buy and activate a new phone.  Andrew was also very keen to see what the yachts looked like and was happy to act as a chaperone and accompany the two boys out to Tashi Delek.  On the last night the villagers in Debut held a big party for us with huge amounts of excellent food and much dancing. Everyone being expected to join in, great fun.   Andrew introduced me to his lovely wife. Itha, who also worked for the Ministry of Tourism.

 

On another morning when we went ashore to the dinghy dock the tide was low and getting from the dinghy onto the dock was very difficult.  So mike having delivered Meryon, Tim and Pim to the steps took the Delhi Taxi to the dock where he was offered many hands to help pull him up onto the dock.  Unfortunately Mike weighs many times more than several Indonesian men!  You know what is coming next!  Whilst the six people holding his left hand held firm the one gentleman holding his right hand did not, and passing over Mike’s head in a beautiful cartwheel ended up in the water beside the dinghy.  As he could not swim he did not want to let go of Mike’s right hand and they remained suspended from the dock until Mike could get his feet back on the dinghy.  None of this was helped by everyone on the dock being convulsed in hysterical laughter.  Carol will be turning grey at this point of the story but rest assured the surgeon, Jane Moser and the Olympic swimming pool at Crystal palace did a wonderful job on the left shoulder which held firm and suffered no ill effects.

 

 

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Chiko and Lino aboard Tashi Delek

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Andrew and Itha