Wakatobi

The 2 nights and 1 day it took to reach Wakatobi was fairly uneventful and as we approached anchorage we were called on the radio and directed to a mooring buoy to await the tide to enter the lagoon.


Once settled the students/guides were keen to show us the sights. Unfortunately for us the Internet ranks fairly high on this list.


From here we took a trip around the island visiting the fort, (every town has one) underground pools, the beach etc. As the 30-day Muslim period called Ramadan has begun we are no longer allowed to publicly eat, drink, have husband – wife relations, or smoke between 5am and 6pm. The Muslims can’t do them in private either during this time. It’s sometimes hard to sneak a drink of water in a country of 220 million people.


Since we were invited to a dinner function by the local dignitaries I thought a hair cut should be in order. I can’t remember who recommended the place but they forgot to mention a few key points. 1 the hairdresser is very very gay, 2 a haircut comes with a compulsory massage, and 3 he likes to kiss white white people. The massage I could have dealt with.


Later that night we all crammed our dinghies onto the wharf and speed through the night in a convoy of official government cars to a resort on the other side of the island for our dinner. Somewhere along the way Amanda was talked into making a speech on behalf of the 30 or so yachts that were in attendance.
When it came time for the speech, I had broken out into a cold sweet, my stomach was knotted and my legs had turned to jelly. I think I must have been suffering from sympathy pains. Anyway she pulled it off pretty well and I don’t have any pictures. My mind was elsewhere. PS no alcohol either.