This is the view of the little fishing village that we are now anchored in front of here in Telok Belurin on Lembata Island.
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The second smoking volcano is to the west of us. The two volcanoes are interesting to watch as they smoke intermittently. I take that as a good sign and believe that an eruption from either is not imminent!
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As we sit at our anchorage here in Telok Belurin, we can see two smoking volcanoes on each side of each. Here is the one to the east, which we passed on our way here.
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This is the view we had this morning as we weighed anchor. It is so peaceful and serene. It was hard to leave this wonderful spot. We had anchored in the back bay behind the small village of Blangmerang on Pantar island. The village sits on a small peninsula between Java Sea and the little back bay. This view is facing the opening to the Java Sea
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08/12/2012, Telok Belurin, Lembata Island, Indonesia
We reached another milestone today. Today we became proud grandparents!!! Yea!!!! Our daughter Christina and our son-in-law Michael, gave birth to a healthy baby boy this evening at 10:17pm, Tucson, Arizona time (August 11th there, August 12th here). The not so little tyke came in weighing 8lbs 6oz and stretching 21 inches. Mom and Dad are doing great but a little tired after a long delivery. Due to the time differences between here and Arizona, we are still waiting to hear what the little tyke's name is. Through pregnancy the baby was referred to as Baby Boyless. Boyless is Michael and Christina's last name. Well done, mom and dad! We are so very happy and proud for you!!! We cannot wait until November when we fly back to the States to meet the newest member of the family.
To celebrate the new family member's arrival, Mary Margaret baked a delicious lemon tart for dessert. It was to die for. I can't wait for tomorrow morning when I will have another slice for breakfast!!!
This morning we weighed anchor and sailed another 40 nm to get to our next anchorage. The winds were typical for this time of year in Indonesia: on again, off again. We sailed for about 3.5 hours and motored for about 3.5 hours. We had hoped to anchor just off a reef on a sandy bottom in 5 meters of water. We had the Lat/Long coordinates of the spot based on where another cruiser had stayed 7 years ago. However, when we got there, we discovered that the bottom quickly rose up to meet the reef and if the wind changed direction, we would swing into the reef. We motored back and forth a few times trying to find a good spot but the bottom would drop to 100 feet abruptly just off of the reef.
A few pongas passed us as were trying to find a good spot and they all waved to us and through sign language, told us this was not a good spot to anchor. We believed them after giving it a go.
Instead, we motored a bit further into the bay and found a spot next to a fishing boat that was anchored just off a small village. We are in 65 feet of water and very protected. The only problem is we are next to another village. We had hoped to anchor in the clear water where we could fall off the boat and enjoy a swim.
Based on a blog entry that John of S/V Sea Mist wrote the other day, we know that in the next bay down is a lovely spot. However, from our location we are picking up a lot of chatter from other cruisers that are anchored in this area. While we enjoy everyone's company, we are using this time to rest and escape the crowd. Since first arriving in Darwin we have been anchoring with lots of other boats and it gets to be a bit much at times. We are using this time to decompress a bit and enjoy our solitude. We will be catching up with everyone at the next port of call in a couple of days.
Tomorrow will be a R and R day. I will work on a couple of boat projects that have been nagging me but they will be attacked in a very leisurely fashion. Mary Margaret plans to clean and cook in a leisurely fashion as well.
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