Reef

Second Entry.

So we’re on our way.

It feels great to finally have the boat ready and Iva on board. We’ve made plans to go to the Similan and Surin islands off the west coast of Thailand, close to the Burmese border. We have about a month in front of us, long enough to anchor every night, sail during the day, and spend a few days in the places we enjoy the most. But only a few days because we have to be back in Langkawi end of March…it will turn out to be a bit frustrating not to be able to stay for a few weeks in the best spots, but then again, it’s important to remember we’re in no position to complain…

So we leave Phuket, after a few days of gathering supplies – fresh food ! A waterproof camera; a lot of water – fixing a few things on the boat, and spending some nice evenings with our friends. And we’re off. We leave behind the crowds of tourists; the bike rides on busy roads, the malls and the hookers. Feels nice.

We slowly make our way up along the coast, and after a couple of days we head northwest and finally reach the Similans.

The water. It’s Blue. But a kind of blue we had never seen before. We thought we were spoiled with the turquoise water of southern Thailand. But the water here is crystal clear. An Indigo blue. You could look at it for hours. And once you’re inside it…it’s still the same color. And then you see the fish. They are not envious of the color around them. They proudly show off their assets, shine in the sun, suddenly turn around, and speed off into the Blue.

This is the most famous diving spot in Thailand. There are a lot of diving boats around, running their compressors at night to fill up the air tanks, but after a night in a gorgeous but busy spot we find our own little paradise on the east coast of Koh Similan. A perfect beach, huge, white, empty, with a new shade of blue in the water, a bit more green, milky…almost artificial. At the end of the beach a huge rock that we climb. It’s the end of the day. We share a beer and a perfect moment in a wise place…

The next day the boat is happy. On the way to Surin, after a few hours of motorsailing, we’re hit by a nice little storm. It first brings rain and 25 knots of wind, but then the clouds part and it’s only the waves in the sun and the strong wind pushing the boat at 8 knots towards our destination. Iva quickly feels comfortable and learns how to steer the boat in these conditions. She seems to love it. I feel relieved. And so lucky. We have two reefs in the main sail, a few turns on the front sail, we’re powering through the water…Dali is singing in the swell, life is good.

Phil

Después de un par de días subiendo, llegamos a las islas Similan. Es difícil de explicar lo que se siente al ver agua tan clara en un ambiente natural. Yo diría que ni la mayoría de las piletas llegan cerca en cuanto a visibilidad y nitidez. En vez de usar el ancla, conseguimos un mooring, y desde arriba del barco veíamos claramente el final de la soga, unos 33 metros abajo del agua.

Las dos playas de Koh Miang (parte del grupo) compiten entre ellas por la atención de las manadas de turistas rusos. Desde las 11 hasta las 3 de la tarde, las dos playitas – relativamente chicas – explotan de gente que atontada por los azules del mar camina de una playa a la otra sin poder decidir cual es más linda. A estas horas, con Phil esperamos a la sombra hasta que se van las últimas lanchas.

La isla principal, Koh Similan es mucho más grande en tamaño y mucho menos poblada. Aunque no tuvimos tiempo de explorar todas sus playas, las que vimos nos dejaron con muchas ganas de ver más. Como Phil ya las describió, los dejo solamente con las fotos para que se den una idea.

Iva