No wind but we finally arrive in Bali

We left Darwin on the 26th of October, having finally got our Indonesian cruising permit. There was very little wind and we motored almost half way. The wind increased and we sailed the second half, arriving in Bali on the 8th of November. The sea was calm so I can't complain. I was able to eat and the food was delicious, our French crew are both good cooks.

On route we caught four fish. Another barracuda that bit the line and took the lure, a yellow fin tuna, which was very tasty, a marlin, which jumped off the hook and finally something huge, which took all our line. So fish was now off the menu. The boat has had a bad time; the mainsail in mast furling mechanism broke again, tearing the sail. The generator water pump impellor broke, causing the generator to get too hot and melting the exhaust manifold. As we were anchoring, the marina being small and full, the throttle cable broke. So it's the usual story, mending the boat in yet another exotic place.

The anchorage here at Benoa is small crowded and shallow, with many sunken objects and wrecks to negotiate. Luckily friends we met in Darwin, Holger and Gloria are now here and introduced us to a local man who showed us where it was safe. We decided to check in ourselves rather than pay the marina to do it. It wasn't difficult, just required a bit of legwork. We were required to visit the port captain, immigration, quarantine, customs and the navy, in that order. Despite the boat problems, we are having a good time socially. Holgar and Gloria introduced us to their friends, Peter and Yuli who have lived here on a boat for ten years. Yuli is Indonesian and has taken us to noodle shops, where the locals eat. The food is Indonesian, very cheap and tasty.

We hired a taxi plus driver and did a bit of sightseeing, visiting Pura Besakih temple and lake Batur. Balinese people are Hindu and this is Bali's most important temple, housing over 80 shrines to the various gods and spirits. Both men and women are required to wear a sarong and William also wore a Balinese hat. All this could be bought or hired on site of course. Lake Batur is Bali's largest lake and lies in the crater of mount. Batur. The scenery is great, the downside is that tourists are continually pestered by people selling things, who refuse to take no for an answer. Driving is crazy, with cars, taxis, lorries and a vast number of motorcycles, weaving in and out and darting into every available space. I was amazed there weren't accidents but apparently there are very few, as everyone knows what they are doing and what to expect. Motorcycles are the favorite form of transport and you see whole families, mum, dad and two children on one bike. They transport everything, probably including the kitchen sink about on them The money confuses me; the exchange rate is about 15,000 rupees to the pound. Everyone is a multi millionaire, we withdrew 3 million the other day and people come out of the bank with a carrier bag full.