Day 370
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Day 374

29/9/00

Richards view of the crossing 
(with GPS)

In Sumatran terms BL was a mega city - with fancy hotels, fast food, and busy congested streets. For us it was good relaxation and an appropriate place to take shelter from the swealtering conditions that have by now become our normal state of existence. We decide on balance to take 2 rest days here in preparation for the crossing of the Selat Sunda (straits of Java). We enjoy a great team evening prepared by Tim, Rich and Dean - celebrating our 1 year on the road. The highlight - without a doubt must have been - no not the ice cold beer - but Tim's lyrical masterpiece - "Just what is Human Power and what does it mean?" (check it out on the website). We all have a good laugh - and sit up late swapping stories of the last few days - notably of Dean and Tim's adventures with the kayaks from Bukkittingi - and then Rich and Tim's more recent escapades in trying to recover them from a wayward freight company. Of the rest days my main recollection must be of the street vendor offering Venomous Cobras at the bargain price of 20 000 Rupiah (One pound and eighty pence!). As we watch from a safe distance at the evil eyes peering back at us and the forked tongue licking its way through the bars of the cage, we wonder who is going to buy one of these and for what purpose. And how might one be able to get one of these serpents home - surely not in a plastic bag!!!

With Tim having spent his time in Sumatra in assisting the movements of the kayaks, he's obviously keen to get some more riding in. But so too are Rich S. and Dean - so we hold a team meeting (see we do 'work' after a fashion!) to discuss our forward route - and who will take turns to transport kayaks - and who will cycle across Java. With a few discussions about the duration of the forward journey - an eye on our visas (currently valid for 60 days - of which we have used 30 already in crossing Sumatra) we reach consensus - and feel quite good about it too! We ride down to Bukauheni in an afternoon - as 3 - due to one bike being still without a functioning rear wheel. Rich, Andrew and I ride quickly and cover the 95k's in just a few hours - screaming down the final descent - the wonderful blue sea greeting us - and the inviting view out over the scattering of near islands whetting our appetites for our next day's adventure. Before we can contemplate kayaking however - we must first find Tim and Dean - who have yet to arrive in the port, and we also have to arrange accommodation in Bukauheni (there are no hotels in this tiny village). Presently a 6'5" fellow and a somewhat smaller companion pile out of a Rascal van - clutching bike panniers and rucsacs - looking glad to have arrived safely in one piece. Tim explains that he has already spent some 3 days in a place that most people wouldn't really want to spend more than half an hour - and so he and Dean decided to leave their arrival as late as possible. Thankfully by the time Andrew and I pull into town - Tim Dean and Rich have made enough waves that sorting accommodation, finding the kayaks and checking navigation charts on the bridge of one of the ferries is no more than a formality. What would we do without these guys!! Indeed we are very lucky - as the government bungalows for the night prove to be very comfortable - air conditioned and everything!!! The kids from roundabout are fascinated by our equipment - particularly our Salomon Camel Packs - which carry our fluid on our backs - with drinking straws dangling to our front to make drinking and staying hydrated as easy as possible. The kids - when Rich and Tim kit them up with the Camel Packs - are convinced that they are underwater breathing devices - and they go skidding about the floor pretending to breath through the straw as they scull in slow motion as if beneath the water.

We get a great nights sleep - in marked contrast to the preparations for the last crossing - and although I miss my alarm at 05:00 - we're all up and stumbling around by 6am - Tim remarking that this constitutes something of an 'Alpine Start' for him - no-one has the heart to tell him that this should be more properly be referred to as an 'Alpine Lie In'!!! We receive a rapturous send off from the kids at the Government Bungalows, and then once we have eased the kayaks into the water - from an assembled throng of onlookers. We certainly have more well wishers here than we had at our official send off from Greenwich - smiling faces line the harbour walls and shouts of 'bye-bye mister', and more worryingly 'I love you!' - from male members of the crowd! Despite our early start - by the time we've got underway its 7:30, the sun is rising in the sky and the air is warming up already. We paddle off in high spirits - encouraged by the crowd and the unflagging enthusiasm of Tim, Dean and Rich. The waters even close in to shore are a clear turquoise, and the calm harbour allows us a rapid getaway. We race along at 7.5km/hr - and are soon pulling through the small collection of islands we had seen as we arrived yesterday. We pause briefly on the last island before the large open expanse of water. A stretch of the legs, quick toilet stop, a bite more to eat, a couple of snaps - and we're off. The GPS reads 24 km to Merak - a walk in the park. The weather is picture perfect - with just the faintest breath of wind, few clouds, and even away from shore - no significant swell. We pause momentarily before leaving the island behind altogether - held spellbound by the sight beneath our boats - coral and coloured fish can be seen clearly through the crystal clear water. The black and white stripes dart about here and there - blissfully unaware of our presence above! Its time for us to be going though. As we're not one hundred percent sure what to expect with the tides we can't be sure how we shall fare with out forwards speed - but we're hoping to make the crossing in just 5 to 6 hours. For the first few kilometres I carefully track our progress on the GPS - trying to feel for the tide which should be directly across us - and trying to ascertain whether its influence on us is significant. As it turns out it is pulling us slightly northwards - but nothing really to worry about. Out in the open sea we're completely alone - for the first time making our very own open sea crossing in earnest. To look out across the wide horizon is certainly some feeling - in our tiny boats. I'm sure the feeling would be somewhat different if the weather were a less favourable. We pass the shadow in the haze of the large Island which is halfway across the straits and we continue onwards. Time to break only briefly for a picture and to swap drinks bottles. We take care with the continual stream of ferries that are chugging back and forth between Java and Sumatra. The large slow ferries don't present much of a problem - although we do have a radar reflector on our rear deck (here's hoping it works!), we can watch them coming and take appropriate action. But the smaller jet ferries who buzz across at high speed are more tricky - and we try to spot them nice and early. After the large middle island we're looking out for our final waypoint - the small island which lies just 8km from the shore of Java. We spot it from about 5km out - and make our way deliberately towards it. Although it’s a little off our course - it makes a great spot for lunch - and a chance to stretch legs and get out of the by now violently strong sunshine. The waves crash in on the shore of the island - and we have a slightly tricky approach to the beach - over a line of submerged rocks - we time our run in with the incoming swell of the tide - and we're carried safely over the jagged rocks - and on to the beach beyond. We wonder whether any Sea Kayakers have set foot on this island, it certainly is a great spot - hope you can see the photos.

One last push sees us safely across the last leg of todays paddle - and into the safety of Merak Harbour. With the sun now high in the sky the water has changed its colour - and now we're riding along on a dark blue sea. Its reminiscent of the Greek Mediterranean - the surface so clear - and the depths so dark and colourful.

On shore we are greeted by the anxious waves of our support team. Although we're not totally exhausted - its still been hard work - and to see the waving arms, we know that we'll be looked after once we touch land - and that is a relief. Dean and Rich sort the hotel whilst Tim arranges for the kayaks to get carted over there. Java - as we had expected is a crazy and busy place. People hanging from everywhere - trying to get us going with shouts from every corner - we just ignore it though today - no smart banter - and certainly no energy to shout back - just enough energy to get up to the Feri Hotel - where we collapse into bed for the afternoon.

From Merak the ride is pretty straightforward. Sorting the transportation of the kayaks is a bit more problematic - and the tiny pick up that they end up traveling in is somewhat hair raising - but I keep my fingers firmly crossed - I'm sure they'll come in handy sometime soon. Tim is back on his bike - and we ride off into Java as a new threesome!

Java is really busy - especially the main road that we follow initially. Certainly it’s a huge contrast to Sumatra - and already within 30km we've passed through 3 large towns, and we haven't even started to come into the Jakarta suburbs. Happily we pull off the main road and begin our journey towards Bogor. We have opted to stay away from Jakarta - as riots have been predicted there within the next few days - and besides the ride up to Bogor should be more pleasant. It’s a great ride - through rural scenes - and the roads are surprisingly quiet until just before Bogor itself. We pull into the city in the mid afternoon. This has been Tim’s first ride for some 7 weeks, and he feels pretty shot by the end of the day - but hopefully glad to be back in the saddle again. Bogor has the record as the highest frequency of Thunderstorms - in fact for every 9 days 8 are expected to have thunder. Sure enough within a few minutes of arriving the clouds have come over, the skies have darkened and the rumble of a storm is upon us. We manage to avoid the worst of the rain. Shall make a couple of trips into Jakarta - trying to avoid trouble - but we need to extend visas and get new bike wheels. Heading East - heading for BALI!!!!