SUNDAY - BANDA NEIRA

After another comfortable night at sea, we arrived at our first destination this morning – Banda Neira. We were welcomed by two dragon boats crewed by about 30 of the local men. Unfortunately I can't show you the photos. After they escorted us into the harbour, they brought their boats up to the stern of the ship and each rower received a soft drink from the crew. That is apparently their reward for welcoming us.

Shortly after, the Indonesian officials came aboard to check our paperwork. It must have been OK. We have heard nothing about it.

This afternoon, we went went for a fabulous dive and snorkel at a local lava flow site. There is a volcano which last erupted in 1988 causing lava to flow down into the water. As you would expect, the lava flow on the land is sterile solid lava. Under the water, it has caused the coral which it originally covered and destroyed to grow spectacularly. Again, unfortunately, I can't show you the pictures but it was a brilliant snorkelling and diving site. There are eight certified divers on the boat. Just a comfortable number for a dive.

This evening, we go ashore to have drinks at the historic Dutch fort which overlooks the town. The Dutch took control of the area in the 1500's and killed most of the locals – very barbaric. They wanted to monopolize the spice trade. At that time, spices which were highly valued could only be grown in this part of the world – the Spice Islands. To this day the Dutch are very much hated for that piece of history.

Tomorrow, we spend time exploring the local area and then head off to another snorkelling and diving area.