Having to spend three weeks in any one spot is normally a nightmare for Lain and I but we somehow managed to put up with the trauma inflicted upon us upon Pulau Kepa. Lovingly operated by a beautiful French family, La Petite Kepa is a friendly, extremely relaxed and welcoming 'homestay' on a tiny island dropped into some of the most rich and abundant coral reef systems on the planet. Anne, Cedric, Lila the eight year old, energetic bundle of joy as well as Anuk and all the beautiful locals who keep the place going made us so welcome and comfortable that we really found it hard to leave. Thanks to you all, I am pretty sure you will see these two adventurers again.
Expecting a certain level of inefficiency from Pelni, the boat company (it is operated by the government), given that the last boat was cancelled without warning, it was not a surprise to discover that our 7pm departure had been delayed. We arrived at the port just before sunset and the crowd of people to swarm our arrival had grown to easily 50 by the time we had slipped out kayaks up onto the boat ramp. We have learnt to work the crowd a little, answer the few key questions to a key member of the swarm and then let him retell the story to every newcomer who joins the zoo.
Seven o'clock slipped past, as did the next estimate of a 10pm departure. Even though we had previously paid for a ticket and the freight of our kayaks, we still did not actually have the required ticket, a situation that you would not see as normal unless you has spent many months travelling in Asia. When the boat finally appeared, some time after 11pm and we still had no way of proving our expensive purchase we wondered if we should have been worried. Nope, just as the last rope was thrown from the enormous vessel to the jetty a voice called to us from the crowd, and our tickets appeared - things always seem to work, they just don't work with logic.
A huge crane was lowered from the front deck, which itself is about 4 stories off the water and our kayaks were hoisted aloft, with not a care in the world for occupational health and safety. They will weather the four day journey to Bali nestled amongst fuel cans and other greasy containers strewn around the front of the deck.
Watching the flood of passengers and freight surge on and off the boat, a passenger liner of vast proportions, all at the same time up just one tiny gangway could only have been more exciting if there had been a herd of wild elephants involved. In true Indonesian style it seems that the sharper your elbows the faster you get to the front, and there is no concept of an orderly queue. For nearly two hours the fracas continued until an unfathomable number of people were crammed into the expansive, cockroach infested third class cabins. For once we have splurged on 'first class' accommodation, our own cosy cabin with a greatly reduced number of cockroaches.
Five weeks ago we left a backpack full of gear in Larantuka, our first stop on the voyage back to Bali. Even though I was the first person off the boat and I deftly manoeuvred my way through the swarm at the dock, I had to travel nearly 20 minutes on a motorbike to collect our bag. Despite the speeding motorbike, when my return journey to the port was coming to an end I heard three loud blasts from the boat, the signal that the liner was sailing. I ran for all I was worth and almost had to leap to catch the gangway before the boat peeled off the dock, much to the joy of my very relieved wife.
We may have finished the paddling but until our kayaks are safely on their way back to Australia, this adventure is far from over.
Pictures: 1. Lain and Lila at La Petite Kepa; 2. The last pack-up; 3. The final paddle; 4. Two small boats are lifted onto one big boat.
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