‘I am Pelni. There is no boat to Surabaya today.’
Pelni is the national ferry company. The woman pronounced her verdict with authority from the delapodated non-existant Pelni office.
‘There is no boat today,’ repeated a travel agent with a big Pelni logo on the window. ‘Only on the 27th at 2am.’
We showed the information on the official Pelni website, leaving today (26th of May) at 22.00.
‘No.’
We bought a ticket for the 27th at 2am. The man disappeared to print the ticket.
‘The boat leaves tonight at 22.00,’ he informed us. ‘If you go to the port at 2am it would have already left. Make sure you’re there at 10.’
Monty Python must have been Indonesian.
The boat from Makassar to Surabaya
Will was sick this morning – he had another fever. Maybe a repeat of what we both had earlier. Clement and I needed to get to Makassar to catch the boat, and Will’s boat leaves a few days later. We agreed we were already back in civilisation, and Will would be OK, and Clement and I sprinted to Makassar. It was flat, cloudy and not so hot, and we raced to Makassar, reaching there at about 2.
We were welcomed by Dar Na and Mr Dul from the Makassar cycling community, shown around, and given a place to freshen up for the long boat trip to Surabaya.
Our friends in Makassar
The boat is huge, and only for passengers – no cars. It is a maze of corridors and stairways. I was like a little kid, exploring the depths and hidden places of this boat. I found a stairwell piled full with old televisions and mouldy mattresses. I went to the toilet in the captain’s toilet and hung out in the crew lounge. I visited the laundry, and met the people sleeping on random pieces of floor all over the ship.
In the bowels of the boat
P.S. When we arrived in Surabaya, we read of Will’s sickness. He had been to the hospital and was tested positive for dengue fever. Ouch. I wish him a speedy recovery. A very nasty disease to have..
arctic-cycler.com 
Gosh, more tough challenges. Hope Will’s dengue isn’t the serious haemorrhagic strain and he recovers soon – “Breakbone” fever i think it is called? Now to Suraybaya … and eastwards. The Wallace Line crossing will be an occasion? Good luck for the next part of the journey.
Yes. Will is getting better now. The post was from a week ago. He’s catching a boat to Flores today.
The Wallace line. I’ve never heard of it, but it looks really interesting. I’ve already crossed it on this trip when I went to Sulawesi. The next cruising will be from Bali to Lombok. 🙂
Good to read Will is on the go again! Yes ol’ Darwin hogged all the limelight, while Wallace slogged away quietly. Look forward to seeing your route – getting evet closer to your destination,
Yes. It’s getting very close..
Sorry to hear about Will. Just curious….what is your forward plan after Surabaya? Love following your trip.
Will is feeling better now. After Surabaya I’ll scale a few volcanos on Java before island hopping to East Timor. Then Darwin to Adelaide which is the end of the trip – although I might do an epilogue trip to Sydney..