Back and Forth

Our travels over the last few days have included Rutland Island and Little Andaman. Our first stop on Rutland was a fabulous discovery of a sandy beach as far as the eye could see. No footprints or signs of humans on the sand except ours after we arrived. There were tracks, but for me I had no idea what they were. It was determined they were made by a monitor lizard. I have never seen one in real life and looking at the size of the tracks that were made I’m happy to keep that on my “not” bucket list. Walking along the beach we happened upon turtle nests that had been ravaged by these monsters. Spent two nights there and enjoyed fun moments just bobbing in the surf drinking cold beers. Oh yeah I found a few. 

From Rutland we headed to Little Andaman which is the furthest island in the chain. Another dolphin siting on the way. This time about ten dolphins larger than any I’ve seen before. We weren’t travelling very fast so I don’t think we were interesting enough for them to stick around. Here’s a quick vid and then they disappeared.

Little Andaman was a disappointment unfortunately. Nothing really to marvel at, small stores and roadside produce, but I was allowed to buy 8 cans of beer, so something good came out of the trip. We had lunch in the newest hotel built on the island. Sea Breeze. Lunch had to be pre-ordered along with drinks so we placed our order and booked for 1pm. I was done doing chores by 12:00 so found a place in the shade and watched as the town went hustling by. No where near as busy as Port Blair. Lunch at 1 was interesting because I don’t think they had an idea of what they were doing. The hardest part, the language barrier as they didn’t speak English and we aren’t fluent in Hindi. Three orders of Butter Chicken, one garlic fish dinner and one chicken masala.  Somehow the three orders of Butter Chicken turned out to be smaller than the other dishes. After lunch we discovered a local bar behind the hotel and spent some time in there with the locals. Bar snacks were spiced black beans that were very good. Our table server stood approximately 3 steps to our left the entire time we were there and refilled bar snacks as soon as the bowl was empty. If we didn’t eat them fast enough he was concerned that we didn’t like them. Walking back to the dinghy Ally found puppies that she wanted to bring back to the boat. Needless to say she brought back fleas instead. 

The downfall of the island, the amount of plastic and garbage that coats the beach. The worse I’ve seen here in the Andaman’s. The Indian government have signs all over Port Blair and Neil Island trying to get people to stop littering. On Neil Island there is a sign that says there will be, by 2050, more plastic in the oceans than fish. Think about that the next time you buy a plastic water bottle. The beach had layer upon layer of plastic. Too bad no one incentivizes the collection of plastic to recycle somehow.   

Our departure from Little Andaman was 06:00. With north winds in our face it was going to be a long run back to Rutland and the beach we all loved so much. The highlight of the run back was the siting of Killer Whales. Approximately 5. Ally got a shot but they were quite a distance by the time she took it. It’s amazing the vastness that is the sea and yet we cross paths with marine life almost every trip. Dropped anchor approximately 21:00. Everyone was beat. Next day a shorter sail to the north side of Rutland. Arriving middayish we all dove into the water for a cool down. Roberto and Caroline went in and did some snorkelling. Shawn and I were about to get in the water to snorkel when a local boat came by to warn of salties (crocodiles) in the area. Needless to say Shawn and I grabbed a beer instead of swimming. Caroline and Roberto made it back without incident. The next morning it was decided to tempt fate and go snorkelling. So glad we did as this was the most beautiful reef we have swam upon. Fish of all colour’s and sizes. I had a chance to hang with a few clowns. Credit Shawn with this photo. 

Tomorrow we’re  back to Port Blair to clear immigration and grab more supplies (beer) then off to Sri Lanka. I will be without service for the crossing which might take 8-9 days depending on wind. Thanks for reading. Share if you like and I’ll be in touch.

There is more to sailing than ropes and winches, cleats and bulging sails. There are faraway places and the ever changing light, and the silence, and a great peace at the bottom of your soul

Ferenc Maté