We’ve moved back on board, so now what? Adventure, exploration, sailing, facing new challenges. Nope, not yet.
To make this sailing lifestyle sustainable for us I need to keep working. My work is very flexible and last year I found that once I’d settled in, I could work while we were sailing. But this time I insisted that we stay put for an extra week. I didn’t know if I’d get seasick while my body readjusted, I didn’t know if the anchorages we planned to stop at would be calm, and I needed to focus. Marina Del Ray at Gili Gede was the perfect spot. No ocean swell rolling in and no fast speed boats going past making Red Dragonfly rock and roll through their wake. Best of all, the fantastic café at Palmyra Indah was just a short dinghy or kayak ride across the strait.
While I worked on a research report, Simon focused on parenting and our jobs list: unpack, change the oil for the motor, grease the stern seal, clean the prop, put the mainsail on, prep ropes for the sails, reconnect the power to the gauges, set up the new solar panels, make the beds, clean the kitchen, get our local sim cards sorted out, fill up with water and diesel.
The last job on the list was provisioning. Definitely one of the best jobs. I love the feeling of abundance and security we have after buying enough basic ingredients for several weeks (or months). We organised a car, went into Mataram town where the big supermarkets are and spent 3 million rupiah on food. We bought:
- 38 litres of UHT milk
- 40 cans of tuna
- 2kg flour
- a box of noodles
- 8 litres of coconut milk
- 8 packets of cassava chips
- 2kg of milo
- 4 litres of cooking oil
- 3 dozen eggs
- 5 watermelons (they are in season)
- stacks of other stuff
Fresh fruit, veggies and other food like tofu and tempe we buy at the market in small quantities as they are easy to get as we travel.
It wasn’t all jobs and quality laptop time though. A major highlight was meeting two sailing families on board their catamarans SV Field Trip and SV Perry. They each had 2 kids and had been sailing around the world for years. What an inspiration!
There was also time for exploring Gili Gede and some snorkeling. One day I went for a swim by myself and saw a turtle at the reef drop off out the front of Palmyra Indah. Another day Markito and I faced our fear (ok, more mine than his) of swimming in the very deep water around the boat (20m, can’t see the bottom, eek!) and snorkeled over to a shallow reef along the Gili Gede coast. There was no coral, not many fish and visibility was poor, but we did see a seahorse which was pretty cool.
We finished off our 2 weeks at Gili Gede with some fun in the water with the ski biscuit. It’s the first time we’ve towed the kids behind the tender in it and boy was it FUN!
Next: We make some plans and head north up the west coast of Lombok to Gili Air. Then when we get there we change our plans.
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