Karimun Jawa - Marine Paradise of Jawa
26 September 2017 | Karimun Jawa
Mel
We arrived at Karimun Jawa in the early afternoon. We dropped anchor between the moorings of the fishing boats. The Harbour Master had already seen us coming in and called us on the radio. He wanted us to check in and bring Paperwork into his office. He was a very well-spoken man. He kind of sounded tiny. He explained where we can park our “rubber boats” to come and see him and explore the town. We parked where he said, and started wandering towards his building. A tall Indonesian guy came to help us finding the Harbour Master Office. He was the Harbour Master himself. He was very delighted that we found our way to his little Island. Suddenly, he looked upset. He explained that we missed the Sail to Karimun Jawa Rally and that the last two Boats had just left in the morning. He was sorry, that we missed out on the Dancing and Festivities. We told him that we are not part of the Rally and that we belong to a different one, which did not stop at his beautiful place. We stated that we were only here, because we heard that Karimun Jawa is a great place to be. And he smiled again. After we found out that we can’t get Diesel on this Island, and paperwork, we walked down the road of Karimun Jawa. This place was pure Muslim. We came past a Mosque in which you could see them pray in their traditional clothing. Opposite were the children, as well in their long white pants, white tunics and their little green muslim caps. It was lovely to watch. We arrived at a small restaurant, serving western food, like burgers, pasta, pizza and cordon bleu. The cordon bleu was great, but the portion was tiny. White people were the only patrons of this particular restaurant, while we were there. When we left, I still felt hungry. Since we are in Indonesia, I have learned, should I ever sail through Indo again, I will gut the inside of the boat and replace everything with food and boat parts. Don’t get me wrong, the food is great, but it does not stick to my body. I think, so far, I have lost half my weight! And I am permanently hungry…permanently…