Since we started heading slightly south, the NE Headwinds became NW tailwinds for a few days. Wahey! 2 days ago we had a feisty 20km paddle to an offshore Island with a good blow pushing us along and creating some chunky waves. Sandy got her sail fixed in Manokwari so she was flying along. I had a good workout to keep up and couldn’t dawdle or I’d be left behind. I love a good surf though and really enjoyed the ride. When we reached the sheltered side of the island it didn’t seem that sheltered with steep waves breaking over shallow reefs. Fortunately a mile further down the coast was a different world and we slid gently onto a sandy shore to make camp in an ants lair. At least that’s what it seemed like as ants were everywhere. We each had about 10 on each foot as soon as we stepped in the forest.

Yesterday and today we explored small sandy Islands with coconut trees providing the classic paradise view. I had a couple of snorkels and marveled at the magical underwater world. It feels like swimming into a movie set of a strange make believe garden. I’m suddenly surrounded by delicate orange fans growing on the edge of a carpet of short blue tipped plants, a white cauliflower plant sprouts upwards next to yellow spaghetti waving in the wind, bulbous Flintstone size boulders are scattered around in yellow and grey, featureless apart from scratches from hungry fish and the occasional brightly coloured sea squirt with feathers like a fishing lure . Smaller balls are imprinted with amazing maze patterns and luscious purple lips pout temptingly. Every nook and cranny is brimming with fish of all shapes and sizes. Schools of blue tailed fish come close to me, small Black fish which look like they’ve been given white tails as an afterthought frolic around near the surface. Tiny bright
blue fish sparkle in the dappled sunlight. A thin stripy fish eats parasites from the sides of bigger fish. The host usually stays still while the service is undertaken unless the cleaner strays too close to their mouth and then they dart off irritated. 5 big parrotfish slowly loom from the depths before seeing me and accelerating back down where they came from. A monster blue starfish with mean black spikes clings to a dying piece of coral sucking the last life out of it. Somehow an hour passes and I’m still there, enchanted by this magical world that is surely the work of someone’s imagination.

The last 2 days, the northerly wins we had banked on have failed to show with light Headwinds replacing them. I’m going this is a blip and we’ll be blown almost all the way to Nabire, where I’ll leave Sandy in about 10-14 days time. Or perhaps she’ll leave me to continue heading eastwards towards Papua New Guinea. I’ll fly back to Jakarta and then home in mid April.

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