Been looking back through the blog and need to catch up big style as we head for the Suez Canal and hopefully better wifi!

I can honestly say this has been an experience of a lifetime but I don’t think anything prepared us for Bitong and the wonderful people of Indonesia.

We arrived the night before we were due, medical emergencies including one wonderful lady from my art class, we hear she is doing well, if this ever reaches her, J you are missed and in our thoughts We hope you are recovering well.

There was of course an official welcome. Our captain Christopher Bourne and senior officers were greeted by local dignitaries, dancers came to entertain us, people in traditional dress, but the locals turned out in their thousands to simply welcome us and thank us for coming.

We felt like celebrities, people asking for selfies with us, photographs of their children with us, it was simply surreal. Never have we received a welcome like this before

My tour was to the nearby city of Manado, it was fabulous, the Chinese Temple stunning, the children dancing amazing, the warm welcome fabulous and the lunch delicious!

But when it was time to leave, out they came to cheer and wave us off

It was hot, it was humid, it was dirty and gritty in parts, the roads had potholes you could lose a coach in but it was fabulous and I’ll never forget the wonderful people of Indonesia