Banda festivities
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Saturday 5th August 2017 We attended the welcome festivities on Monday, which began
with some traditional dancing on the hotel lawn, the dances depicting the
activities of picking and preparing the spices the islands are famous for. Then
we listened to a couple of speeches which were thankfully not long and only one
was in Indonesian and that was translated for us.
Ladies performing traditional spice island dances.
The music was played on chimes and drum by these two
ladies. Speeches from the “Banda Tourism Board” and a local
official. There followed a very pleasant evening at the hotel
restaurant with a buffet dinner and plenty of Bintang beer. The Farewell BBQ was on Wednesday at the Cilu Bintang Hotel,
where we had previously enjoyed drinks on the verandah one afternoon and a
buffet dinner one evening. Aba, the owner, had once before asked if we wanted
to stay at the hotel, and shown us the rooms, and we thought it would be nice
to stay over on the night of the BBQ. At 350,000 rupiah (about £21), including
breakfast, it was too good an offer to miss, so after a very nice evening of
very short speeches, eating, drinking and chatting to fellow cruisers, we retired
to our air-conditioned room, ensuite bathroom and comfy bed for the night.
Such luxury!
The entrance to Cilu Bintang with VOC logos. Intricate
patterning on the floor tiles.
The upstairs verandah looks out over the old fort and the
volcano on the neighbouring island.
Cruising ladies having a chinwag on the verandah.
Our bed had a nutmeg carved into the headboard... and
the wardrobe had one at the top too!
Steve testing the rocking chair in the courtyard outside
our room. We joined Bob and Sue outside their room for drinks.
First attempt at group selfie – somebody
wasn’t looking! Second and more successful
attempt at group selfie. Bubbles provided by Bob and Sue who were celebrating
seven years at sea. Cheers! |
