11th July - Turtle Islands (Sabah, Borneo)

Saturday 11^th July

Our little reef-y island looks much more picturesque with the tide in.  I swam around and had a look, late in the afternoon, and found it all a bit disappointing.  Not much coral, or rather, lots of ex-coral, and not many fish.  On the other hand, it was just glorious, at Pulau Lankayan, so maybe I picked the wrong spot to investigate.

We are going to spend the day here, maybe looking at some of the other nearby little islands.  There are now about 16 rally boats anchored in this area, spread out over a mile or so.  We can hear lots of conversation on Channel 72, as people arrive, and make their plans for the day.  We are being silent…speaking only when spoken to.  The radio is a godsend a lot of the time; it keeps us all connected, informed, and help is always at hand.  But sometimes there is just too much info, too much chat.

Rally boats, spread out

One thing about Pete: he is not a shopper.  That is not, of course, strictly true.  This blog is full of photos of him blissfully shopping in hardware shops and chandleries.  That is different, according to Captain Pete.  Hardware shops and chandleries are full of NECESSITIES.  What he doesn’t like is just browsing in shops full of NON-necessities.  My eyes are always attracted to pretty THINGS – bead necklaces, baskets, this and that.  Pete just strides on by; his eyes don’t even flicker towards these tempting shops and stalls.  So imagine my surprise when he returned to the boat from our bus trip from Kudat, with…a very pretty THING.  Just couldn’t resist it, he said, a bit sheepishly.  And it was made from a coconut, how neat is that!