23-25 November – our time  in Sorong

Sunday morning we left our anchorage in the the waterways near Sorong, we only had 15 miles to go, but it took some navigating, we also managed to go through the main port anchorage which was crowded with boats, loads of pinisi boats and every other form of water boat. It was an absolute bustle after our calm anchorage. We discovered the marina is out of town, so it took us a little longer to navigate through the busy waters. The water is full of plastic and rubbish, it is so, so sad to see. It was a tricky narrow bit of manoeuvring to get into the marina, very tight once inside, we have to Med moor, meaning put our anchor out, then return to the wall with ropes to hold us in. The place must have been quite something in its hey day, most of the marina cottages are now derelict and the place looks pretty run down, but there is no alternative. Thankfully I have booked us into a hotel for the three days we are here, as it is roasting in the marina, which is very well protected but means it gets no breeze. We passed Claudette’s boat Profasea, and the Belgian’s cat Jiyu. We finally found someone to catch lines, one was the lady Rowan arranged to clean the boat. We got in surprisingly easily as we had a nice wide gap. We did just narrowly miss the boat next door’s line out front which was cutting across our berth, it’s a huge motor launch with two ropes out in front. Thank god we didn’t snag as nothing would make me go into that filthy water! The very friendly cleaner came on board while we went to the shops. Rowan had found a highly recommended taxi called Noor, who picked us up and took us to the supermarket 25 minutes away. We did some big bulk buying of staples that we are running low of, milk and toilet being the two major things. We got it all back to a very clean boat, quick unpack and then back into town to our hotel, which is amazingly smart compared to the chaos around. We had a great dinner at a pizza restaurant, fun to eat something different.

The next two days were busy on the boat, Rowan had loads of people organised to do various jobs, sadly it wasn’t very successful, as he thought the mechanic he had in to do the engine services knew less than him! The guy to fix the AIS problem also wasn’t up to much, he then found a Slovenian guy, who established we needed a knew antenna or a new control box. Poor kids are getting laden with stuff to bring out! We did some successful shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables, and thanks to the help of Noor our taxi man we got well provisioned, Avos and mangoes being a highlight. I managed to get my ears cleaned out, by an ENT doc at a clinic. He had the smartest machine with a camera so he could show me before and after photos. Really very impressive when all around just looks like shanty towns. 

The hotel is a welcome aircon break from the heat, a real reprieve for Rowan who has broken out with heat rash all over his back. We are woken up by a very early Imam calling his flock to prayer, quite incredible voices. We also had a competing collection of roosters crowing at first light. We had a couple of good meals out, the last night at a seafood restaurant, where we had the most delicious BBQ’d red snapper. It was pretty empty except for a table of government dignitaries, the big wig dined in a private room, he came and chatted to us on his way in, he said he was the Attorney General for Sorong. There were a lot of officially dressed people around which was curious. The food was excellent and obviously why the powers that be are eating there.

We had a very sticky hot afternoon restocking the boat and fridges. Clint and Xavi arrive tomorrow at 6:30am.