"So we're just coming from the South-East part of Misool,
and we found this sweet little cut-through, that comes through northern part on the eastern side
and there's heaps of rock islands everywhere!
The cliffs go straight down, on both sides, down to over 30 or 40 meters.
But we're just being safe, and doing depth soundings
and talking on the radio making sure we don't hit anything, cos it's not really chartered right here
We're gonna find a sweet anchorage by a beach, and hopefully explore
some caves wall art!"
We do this pretty often on Delos
It's one of the benefits of having a few more people on board in a very fast dingy.
We would Delos through holes in the limestone cliffs.
We were headed West towards Tomolol Bay, where we hoped to find a cave we'd heard about.
The entire bay was full of Pearl Farms!
They stretched for miles and miles completely blocking our way.
We were forced to anchor a few miles further out than we hoped.
At least we had the hook set before this squall hit and ruined the vis.
"Are you excited Josje-Rama?" "We're goin to the caves!"
"CAVES! Dingy adventure, Delos sytle"
"It's gonna be a long one hour dingy ride.. but.. let's do it!"
Just after anchoring we were approached by two boats full of armed men.
We made friends and asked them aboard for coffee,
but they'd have to leave their assault rifles behind.
It was their job to guard the pearl farm from thieves and dynamite fisherman.
They said they often shot at suspicious boats in the night but we'd be very safe here.
They even offered to guard Delos for us.
We hitched a ride to their village in search of fruit and veggies.
All they had to offer was cigarettes and Soppee
which is Indonesia's version of Moonshine
made from distilled Palm Wine. It tastes terrible but is very potent!
Our new friends told us to keep heading West. Towards the end of the bay we'd find a big platform..
and they might be able to help us find the cave we were searching for.
"We have a huge welcoming party!"
The platform was pretty intense.
We were greeted by hundreds of pearl farm workers and more security.
They weren't quite sure what to do with us so we just waited and smiled.
Pretty soon everyone had their phones out and it was like the Indonesian
Pearl Farm Worker Paparazzi!
I don't think they get many foreign guests here!
(laughing) (people cheering)
"WOOO!"
(Singing)
(laughing)
Some people take the bus to work,
others a dual outboard fiberglass boat.
After a while we were escorted into the security office.
He asked where we were from and jotted down a few details.
His slight smile gave em away though.
I had a feeling this was just a formality as we were the only people in their guest book.
"Yeah, no problem"
"Nina.."
"We just signed the Visitor Log Book..
for The Army Police Station here at the end of Tomolol Bay.
And noe we're gonna go check out the cave, we picked up a pretty sweet guide!
So pretty stocked about that!"
"So to the cave we go!" "Off to the cave!"
"No, no, no..." "Oh, ok"
"Trying to weave our way through the shallow coral area"
I secretly had my handheld GPS running just to know where we were!
It turns out we went almost 6KM inland through winding and hidden waterways.
There's absolutely no way we would have found this place on our own.
Then we came around a corner..
And there it was!
And there it was! The elusive sacred cave of Tomolol bay!
"So we just got to The Kramat Cave, which is Sacred Cave in Indonesian"
"Luckily got security to guide us here"
"The Army AND the local Police"
The cave was eerily quiet and still, yet there was a tangible presence in the air.
Our guides were acting a little strange and only went inside for a few moments at most.
They got across that this was an extremely sacred site for them.
They believed that the spirits of their ancestors dwell in this cave.
We were kindly asked not to swim or explore any further
into the cave out of respect for the spirits here.
They preferred to wait outside the cave where they felt more comfortable.
Respecting their wishes we cut our visit short and didn't spend too long.
We had high hopes of exploring deep into the cave.
After all it had taken nearly two days to find it.
But it's really the journey that's the important part, not the destination.
We had an amazing time tracking it down and met some fantastic people.
That's what cruising's all about anyway.
Up Next!
We find a beautiful, secluded island to celebrate Karin's birthday!
And party like rock stars!
"Nina, do you get any updates on your phone at all?" "If I get 3G.."
"Did you hear.. that actress got stabbed?" "Who?"
"Umm.. what's her name?" "Reese?" "Oh Reese Witherspoon?!"
"No, with a knife!" "Reese who?" (laughing)
"What!?" "I said No, with a knife!" (laughing)
"ZINGER!" "OHHHHH!!!!!"
"You wouldn't of had any news updates.."
(laughing) "You fell right into though!"