Day 87

25/09/2009

The Lombok to Sumbawa ferry docked around 2am but as we attempted to drive off the ferry the accelerator pedal was sat on the floor. We limped off in the very low gear fitted to the T3 Syncro, at idle speed with a bit of a push over one of the ramps.

On the dockside we found that the linkage between the pedal and accelerator cable had come apart, so an easy fix. I must have been moving the pedal sideways with my foot during the crossing for it come apart as it did.

We continued driving until 5:30 then stopped for a couple of hours sleep. Sumbawa has quite a small population compared to much of Indonesia so has a very rural feel. The roads were quiet even in the daytime, lots of wild monkeys around and the scenery is quite impressive. If it wasn't for the amount of rubbish everwhere it would be worth a return visit.

As we drove into the major city of Bima in the east of the island at midday all the roads were blocked. It seems that on this totally (?) muslim island, even the traffic has to stop for friday prayers. Even the ATMs at the banks were temporarily out of service.

We reached Sape at the east end of the island at 2pm and established that the next ferry to Flores was at 8am the next day so checked into the best hotel mentioned in Lonely Planet, which is at the port entrance. Best is a very relative term here as the standard is nowhere near the more westerly islands. After a shower (cold water tap and a pan to pour water over yourself), we both slept almost uninterrupted until 5am.

Lat 8 34.43 S
Long 119 01.24 E
Town Sape
Distance 24545