Ciendeh and Lingeh
25 August 2017
Kim
We made two stops between Maumere and Labuan Bajo - which would be our home base for Komodo Dragon-spotting, snorkeling, lazing at the poolside bar, nice hotel meals, and more mundane tasks like provisioning and laundry. Ciendeh Bay and Lingeh Bay broke up the distance to Labuan Bajo nicely. The entrance to Ciendeh Bay is so speckled with rocks and reef that one look at the charts is enough to deter many cruisers from entering. But our Cruising Guide to Indonesia provided great advice on approach and anchoring waypoints, so we gave it a shot. We arrived late afternoon as a small fleet of spider fishing boats headed out for the evening (these are elaborate looking outriggers that really look like long legged insects). We were the only cruising boat in the bay so we anticipated a peaceful evening with the anchorage to ourselves. That lasted until sunset. The rest of the night we listened to loud karaoke music which blared across the bay. By sunrise I almost felt like singing along, but it was time for us to hoist anchor and bid farewell to Karaoki Bay.
Fortunately, we were able to catch up on sleep the next night at Lingeh. But not until the village kids had paddled back to shore for the evening after swarming us in their canoes, eager for small gifts they've grown accustomed to receiving from cruising boats. This ritual - which seems to grow more pronounced the further West we go, gives us an opportunity to practice our limited Indonesian vocabulary and the kids to demonstrate the English they learn in school. After offloading pencils and books, shirts, sunglasses, towels and soap, a couple of kids returned with fresh fruit, which they offered at a reasonable price. Pineapple chicken for dinner and sweet mango for dessert... yum! (more photos to come when we have internet again)