Benan Island- Halloween…Indonesian style

Back in Rally land….we were there to be received with a wonderful welcome ceremony…once again. Dinner was served for us….and even though this was a “dry” village, we arranged for beers to be sold…some were even cold!

A whopping 6 mile passage, we anchored in between islands and almost had all the rally boats there….it was like a reunion! We only stayed a few nights but it was jammed pack with meals shared, birthday party, village tour, swim at the beach, and of course…Halloween!!!!

Almost a sleepy town
No idea what this was but we tried it..it was sweet and chewy
View from ashore
Goats, goats, everywhere…so cute!

Trevor was doing circles in the dinghy and then the engine died…. got a tow from Kenobi….
The dock and all the cruisers..toegher again

The welcome ceremony was small in comparison to some of the earlier rally stops…but I think we were all “welcomed” out and enjoyed not having long speeches and just enjoyed the company.

The sultans wife and daughters I presume…..she actually sang karaoke at the welcome ceremony…not bad : )

The had a karate demonstration..or the indonesian style of karate
I love the colors here…squall coming in….

a traditional dance….
something was offered to the “honored” people….
yes…Trevor is sniffing it….
SO Raymond asked if Trevor and I would be honorary guest and do a speech..I declined….but I made Trevor. They wanted a boy and a girl but settled for 2 guys….Damien off SV Sky Bird 1 looking good as Trevor’s +1 (LOL)

So there was this pole….Amy off Starry Horizons and Trevor went to go check it out…..it was covered in BUTTER?! Yes..Trevor had to taste it!
This beautiful beach was just a few minutes walk across town…we swam in the morning to cool off. …the beach was groomed especially for us

It was Kay’s birthday so we all decorated and even prepared an Oreo birthday cake with a candle
The gang for dinner….
THe ladies who prepared and cooked for us lunches and dinners…

And then there was Halloween..the highlight of this rally stop. Back story: Raymond (our rally official from the Ministry of Tourism) and I started to become close at Lombok. With that said, since Lombok, we haven;t been with the rally since we were so late. Raymond messaged me to see if I was coming to Benan and being that we all were out of beer….we said we were going to skip it and head to the next rally point. He said he would get beer for us…and he did! Additionally, Raymond, who is incredibly dry sense of humor and good sport…promised me he would celebrate with us and wear whatever I brought him for a costume. I did check with him to make sure our costumes (whatever they may be) would not offend the villagers. He came through with his promise and I believe it was a special night for the town as they had a good time laughing at us. It was pretty cool to share our culture with them…. a night to remember for sure!