October 13, 2024
Portimao, Portugal - small fishing village
Never heard of this small fishing port until today. Town was pretty quiet on a Sunday afternoon. This port is up river and not navigable by the big cruise ships. Did a stroll along the harbor, sipped on some sangria and beer with fellow residents and soaked in the sun. I attempted to organize a speed boat tour of local caves, but wind and surf too rough to do safely.
Today was just pure relaxation! We arranged with Tourism lady from yesterday, to have Penyali Resort send a boat to Tarempa port to pick 10 of us up and take us to the Resort, for the day. The speed boat ride took about an hour. Some of us just floated about with cocktails, others snorkled but all had a great time. They prepared a yummy lunch for us, with a fresh grouper fish, we literally picked up, on our way there.
Today we arranged to see Siantan Island by hiring a local Captain & boat owner to take us, along with 2 lovely young ladies, we met at the Tourism office, who spoke great English. The ladies found the Captain and we negotiated a price of 1,200,000 IDR or $67 USD to take four of us out and about, for 2 hours. Since the forestry on the island and the soil is gigantic hard boulders, almost all the villages are on the water on stilts or the edge of the coast. Excavation cost would be a huge premium and best done with equipment, they don't possess.
The ANAMBAS ISLANDS REGENCY, is a remote Indonesian archipelago in the South China Sea, part of the Riau Islands Province known for its stunning clear waters, pristine reefs and rich biodiversity. It is located between Singapore and Borneo and consist of over 200 islands of which only 26 are inhabited. Tarempa is the administrative center of the Islands and is located on Siantan Island. We are anchored, about a 15 minute tender ride, from the Tarempa Wharf . Our first day here, was all about celebrating our friend Terri's Birthday!