Monday 4th August - maybe it is now saying YES - Lahad Datu (catch-up) - Borneo

Monday 4^th August

Catch-up time… I managed to get quite a lot of internet stuff done yesterday afternoon sitting in the foyer of a nearby hotel.  They seemed quite happy to have us sitting on the couches, plugged into their power points, using their WiFi.  Whenever I looked up, there were three beaming young faces at the desk so I just kept on tapping away on my keyboard.

On our way down the coast from the Kinabatangan River we stopped for the night at Driftwood Point.

LOTS of driftwood!

John and I left Pete and Catherine on board and went for a walk along the dark firm sand. 

There were crab-eating macaques in the shallows, not the least bit concerned about our presence.

They had left little craters in the sand, evidence of their fine dining experience.

From the boat

I had seen what I thought was a proboscis monkey – they are a lovely auburn colour.  But alas…on closer inspection, my lovely exotic monkey was just a rusty container…

Big rafts of palmfronds wash up on the beaches, and way out to sea.  They look like dear little islands, ready to be inhabited maybe by some dear little monkeys.  This one was inhabited by a very large water monitor.  Both the lizard and John gave a mighty jump when they came face to face.  The lizard scarpered; I don’t blame it one bit!

In Dewhurst Bay Pete and I had an on-land adventure.  We took the dinghy in to a little jetty near the police outpost and walked a few kilometers along a narrow coastal track.  No roads, no cars.  We negotiated our way across log bridges, wobbling only slightly, and arrived at last in this lovely village, seen here from the water.

The houses were all bright, with flowers, and big vegetable gardens. 

We were immediately invited in, for Hari Raya biscuits .  Some of the children took us to the shop, which was very hard to find.  I had some balls and koalas in my backpack…

Shahira with koala, with her friend

They were VERY serious about their task, and about their photo shoot.  You can see Pete in the background, enthusiastically shaking hands with his lovely new friends, who said, earnestly, If you need any help at all, just come and ask me!

The boy in the middle was our very earnest guide

I have found a way of napping on the couch without having the sun blazing through the hatch…

My “friends” find this photo of me, corpse-like, very amusing and have ganged up to say it has to go on this blog…

There is a bit of dissension in the rally fleet.  I won’t go into details but it is all to do with varying degrees of paranoia… We have LOTS of security around us – army, navy, coastguard, police.  So we are supposed to keep together, in a convoy, to make it easier for our protectors to protect us.  But…sometimes getting yachties to co-ordinate and co-operate is like herding cats.  There has been a breakaway group, of three yachts, which made a run for Lahad Datu a few days ago, thereby splitting the gunboats.  This made a lot of people VERY unhappy.  We too have split, by leaving early for Lahad Datu – our friends are still in the islands, maybe swimming in the clear blue water… (sigh…)  But…we had to leave, to get our Catherine to the airport in time.  So we are legit; we have consulted and advised and we are NOT in the poo.  So much so that dear Myra and Porric

from SV Saol Eile thanked Pete on the fleet radio network and then sent over fabulous breakfast ingredients for us (Irish pork sausages, bacon, baked beans – oh the bliss!!

This was absolutely not necessary but it shows how high emotions are running re The Split…

All is well on 2XS; our tummies are full!