It Was A Crock
08 September 2016 | Doruba
Friday 9 September 2016
Great sail across the Molucca Sea. Arrived just after dawn and anchored by beautiful new floating dock that is unprotected by a breakwater, undulates with each passing wave and will likely be beaten to twisted junk within a few years. Pissed around all day with again excellent internet then finally went into town around 1500. Doruba has not been subjected to the burdens of prosperity. With little language compatibility we topped up data sims, bought eggs and such, and had early dinner at one of 2 restaurants. Rice, chicken and cabbage were good, eaten with fingers and required suppression of overindulgent concern for hygiene. As in all of Indonesia, the people are wonderfully friendly and helpful.
After movie "I Saw the Light" about Hank Williams and post-passage catch-up sleep, headed Thursday across to nearby uninhabited Dodola Island, sight of someone's abandoned project. Bungalows are still in reasonable nick and used by people from Doruba for day trips and apparently the occasional overnight. Nice beach. Quiet, calm anchorage provided opportunity to go for a swim in clearish water and scrape thick slime off bootstripe. Note to self: raise waterline at next haulout.
Morotai was generally a disappointment so off we head for better on Halmahera. Kokara Besar is reputed to have good snorkeling, wall diving and crocodiles (there are freshwater crocs, but salties are the really big, gnarly ones). OK, maybe there aren't any in the mangroves nearby. Will find out and let you know.. or, depending on discovery, possibly not.
Jack