West Sumatra Yacht Rally

After five days in quarantine, our time to explore Sabang is quite short and we are due to depart Wednesday. That is the challenge of a Rally. You have set dates and locations where special welcome ceremonies and cultural activities have been organised. To be respectful of our hosts and to get the most out of the Rally, we want to meet that timetable, but it will be a challenge for us because we are natural lollygaggers.

Outlined in the image is the timetable for the Western Sumatra Yacht Rally. It has already been adjusted slightly because of current weather conditions, but it will give you an idea of the locations and route of the Rally.

There is a local agent here in Sabang named Budi who has helped us through all of the paperwork and clearance process to enter Indonesia. He and his wife Nani have operated a tour guide business for many years, and they are fabulous hosts. They have introduced us to all kinds of foods, restaurants, pointed out shops, got us sim cards and have organised a tour of the island for us tomorrow. They are absolute treasures and have made this visit a delight. Nani has warned us that at night, sometimes restaurants turn out the lights at 7 pm. They turn them back on at 8 pm. This is for evening prayers. While many people will leave and it might appear that we are being asked to go as well, she said it is ok to stay, or we can go and return when the lights come back on because our food/drinks will be waiting for us on the table. I asked if the same thing happened during prayers at midday and she said "well, they don't need lights at midday".

We'll show you a bit more of the island after our tour tomorrow.