Day 7: Jakarta to Raja Ampat

Day 7: Jakarta to Sorong

More pics from Jakarta airport near gate 15

Question of the Day: Where are we?

Weather:  Thunderstorms at take-off, delaying flight an hour; 80s in Sorong with ocean breezes

Department of research: To find out where THB is for the next week, watch Netflix, Our Planet, Episode 4, Minutes 43-50

Scheduled departure was 12:30 am and we push back from gate on time and then have sudden stop while taxiing. The pilot says that due to weather take-offs have been delayed and we don’t take off for an hour. In meantime, THB goes back to sleep for the rest of the flight, waking up after breakfast and before landing.

We are met at the airport by the Aqua Blu team and transported to the Seisshotel in “downtown” Sorong. We can use the hotel for breakfast and everyone has a room for changing clothes, napping, etc. THB showers and naps and changes clothes. Around noon we’re moved to the “tender” for boarding the ship, and given time to unpack.

Picks of Sorong from the airplane

There are 13 of us: one employee of Aqua Blu based in Singapore, two couples that know each other (one lives on west coast, one on east coast), one couple from Hawaii, SAS and  CYS (our friends for over 30 years that missed out on Bhutan due to health issue), one younger couple from Rome (like most of the millennial Italians, they aren’t married and have no kids).

Not our boat

Not our crew relaxing before the next set of guests board

The tender 

Supposedly for trips less than a 1/2 mile we don't have to wear life jackets

Aqua Blu

Our stateroom is lovely, large, well lit and plenty of storage room. There are a few glitches we can work around or will get fixed. For example, the master key to open the safe was broken when whomever was in 402 before us forgot their code and needed the key. So we go without a safe for the week and everybody else has to remember their code. or also forgo using the safe (THB thinks this is more likely)

Our cabin:

Note we have a door to the outside deck, the bridge is just forward of our cabin

The fitness center; it is "closed" until mid-morning; THB never visits

Spa on left, jacuzzi is in the read middle, tanning salon front right and left

SAS, DB, CYS enjoying the top deck before drinks and dinner

Later afternoon and we’re on the sun deck enjoying ocean breezes and alcohol. THB is chatting  up the Singaporean young woman (3^rd generation Indian, divorced, one 3.5 year old that her mom and a helper watch during the day, traffic in Singapore is getting worse and worse) when she jumps up to greet a tall red head. A few minutes later she introduces him to the group, he’s the head chef.

Adrian, chef extraordinaire

THB knows him!

He was the head chef at one of the small hotels we stayed at in Bhutan. We chatted him up then for quite a while, he’s one of those vagabonds circling the globe in the hospitality business. He’s also a great chef! Dinner is actually prepped and presented by the number two guy (same as was done in Bhutan). Excellent!

Large communal table used for all meals

Le Menu

Pics from dinner

We skip dessert; the boat is rocking as we hit open seas and we need to catch up on our sleep. When dinner started, only 8 of the 13 showed up, now they are down to six (the table is huge).