by Judy Handley | Dec 17, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 56, Year 4: Swimming with the Fishes & Then Eating Them
Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Weather: Overcast; Some Wind; Sunny Late Day
Location: Ko Lipe, Butang Island Group, Thailand
Our day started with an early morning with a trip to shore. Our goal was to hike to Toe Boo Cliff Viewpoint which is a short walk up from the beach, but first we had to walk along the beach to do a little shelling as Claire is the quintessential beach comber. She found a few shells that she can add to her collection and then up the hill we went. We walked through the mangrove swamp area and then started up the hill. We didn’t see monkeys or langurs but we did see ants. We saw the most amazing army of ants marching across our path and we just had to stop and video the event. This triggered stories from Claire from Bert Holdobler, a world expert on ants. And this triggered Mark to experiment with the march of the ants. It’s amazing how four adults can spend so much time playing with ants!
We returned to Windbird and headed west to the island of Ko Lipe. We were dedicated to making this a sailing and not a motoring event, but as the arrival time got later and later, we finally turned on the engine. We arrived in the southern anchorage on Ko Lipe in the late afternoon. We immediately launched the dinghy and headed to closer to shore to snorkel. The coral here is not colorful, but there is a nice mix of fish life. For Mark and I, our find of the day was beautiful blue tangs. We saw palate tangs in the Komodos, but this was our first sighting of blue tangs. We must have spent at least an hour in the water, maybe more, because it was such a wonderful sight. We have been in marinas for much of the past two months and Kevin and Claire do not live in prime snorkeling territory in western Virginia. So after having a totally wonderful swimming experience with the fishes, we showered and headed to shore for dinner. We found a neat little place at the far end of the beach and Claire and I ordered barbequed seafood. To do this, you go up and pick out the fish, prawns, or squid that you would like, have it weighed, and then barbequed and delivered to your table. Some of the choices of fish were the same as the fish we had just been snorkeling to observe. So we carefully avoided those choices but realized that there is fine line between observation and dinner.
Tomorrow we will search for fantastic places to snorkel. We know there are places nearby with beautiful soft corals, so that will be our goal. We will probably spend another night in this area and then head north.
by Judy Handley | Dec 16, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 55, Year 4: Kevin and Claire Arrived Safe and Sound
Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Weather: Another Beautiful Day
Location: Ao Pante Malacca, Ko Tarutao, Thailand
Kevin and Claire arrived on time and safely today after quite a long trip. But at each stage of their journey, all connections worked. They flew out of Dulles to Paris and spent a few hours walking the streets eating religieuse (chocolate eclairs in double layers) and crepes). Then it was back to an overnight flight to a quiet Bangkok airport, a taxi to the train station, an eighteen-hour overnight train to Hat Yai in southern Thailand, a mini-van ride to Pak Bara, and then a speedboat ferry to Ko Tarutao. We met them at the ferry dock and then it was a dinghy ride to Windbird. I think this was about 50+ hours of travel, but finally they were here and after the overnight train ride, they were rested and ready to go. We jumped in the water for a swim around Windbird and then got back in the dinghy to go up the river to find the Crocodile Cave. There used to be salt water crocodiles here, but thankfully no more. But the caves are still here with some interesting stalactites. It took us quite a while to find the caves, however, as we wandered this way and that through the mangroves. We finally had to go back to the national park to get directions, but we then found the caves and enjoyed the explore.
Tomorrow morning we will go back to land to do an early morning walk on the island and then we will be off for the Bulon Group of islands where the snorkeling is supposed to be fantastic. Let’s just hope that the reports are correct.
by Judy Handley | Dec 15, 2008 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 54, Year 4: Arrival in Thailand
Date: Monday, December 15, 2008
Weather: Beautiful Day-Sun, Some Wind, Light Rain in Late Afternoon
Latitude: 06 degrees 41.848 minutes N
Longitude: 099 degrees 38.380E
Location: Ao Pante Malacca, Ko Tarutao, Thailand
Today was just a beautiful day and we are now attached to a mooring in the Ko Tarutao Marine National Park in Thailand. Much of Thailand is very touristy, but the marine park is totally eco-friendly and beautiful. There are no resorts here, just back-packer accommodations. Some concessions were made in 2001 when the Survivor TV series was filmed here, but otherwise it is a quiet, untouched spot. You could easily spend a week or more here, but we will only be until for a day or so. Our friends,
Kevin and Claire, should arrive here by ferry from the mainland tomorrow on the 12 noon ferry or the later ferry at 4:30 pm. We will spend the next day exploring the island and then move on. But I can see that this is a spot where we might return.
We arrived here mid-afternoon after some delightful sailing mixed with some motorsailing. The water looked clear and clean so I decided that it was time for me to jump in and clean the waterline. We haven’t been in the clean, clear water since Belitung in Indonesia, so this was a treat. I had to fight a bit of current but I did get the waterline cleaned. Tomorrow morning Mark will dive to clean the prop and as much of the bottom as he can before we head to shore to meet Kevin and Claire.
It is beautiful here, not dramatic, but the layers of mountains and misty clouds that hang between the mountains make a beautiful backdrop. We are ready for a holiday vacation exploring Thailand and this anchorage is a perfect beginning.
