We woke up early for a boat trip. It was great.
We motored
out into the bay and saw dolphins that were surfacing very close to the boat and
at one stage one breached the water vertically about 5 times. After that we went
looking for a second pod of a different species of dolphins but no luck on that one.
We
continued onwards towards the shore and into a small estuary. It was narrow and lined with mangroves. It was very tranquil.
Next, we motored to a small
island called Palau Komang. We walked carefully over the rocky shore and
climbed the recently made steps to the top of the island. At the top, there was
a large fenced tiled area with the best views up and down the coast - so pretty.
We walked carefully down the steps that were designed three times the regular
height for steps.
Back in the boat, we prepared for a snorkel on the reef next
to the island. There were corals and a variety of small fish. The water was
clear and warm. There were a lot of lice biting us but we relieved the bites with fresh water when we were back on the boat.
We next circled a rugged
rocky island outcrop that had a number of birds roosting on it - herons and a
type of eagle.
Finally, we motored back to the village and beached the boat on
the sand. What a great trip.
Back at the hotel, we cleaned up, had lunch and made
arrangements for tomorrow's transport to Tomohon and rested.
In the afternoon, we hired a motorbike from Franky, the
owner and rode through the village, up a steep hill and then down a rugged dirt
track/road to Canada Beach. Jacinta had to walk the last ten metres as the road
became too steep and loose for the two people on the bike. We parked the bike and
walked along the white sand beach. The tide was low and the water too rocky for pleasant swimming. We wandered to the end of the short beach. Jacinta
sat under the shade of a large tree and I scrambled around the rocks. Before
long Jacinta was surrounded by friendly locals wanting to talk have photos taken. It was fun.
We said goodbyes to our new friends and rode off into the
sunset. Well, not really but we rode up the steep dirt track and followed the
main road through the village and back to the hotel.
During the rest of the afternoon, we hung around the hotel. We met a lovely young
Austrian couple from Vienna. The guy was returning home and the girl was headed
to Yogyakarta for seven weeks of volunteer environmental work. It sounded very
inspiring. We also met a lady with lots of paper lists, a guy who was very thin
from Melbourne and an elderly couple and their grand daughter from Newcastle.
Dinner and sleep.
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