2 x farewell

19. February 2023, Sunday
9° 6' 27" N, 119° 1' 33" E


Shaking my head, I read every day what is happening in the world at the moment. Far away from all that, we are in a bubble of happiness in eternal summer and can consider ourselves lucky to be able to enjoy this life far away from all madness. We become all the more aware of this when we receive the annual visit of our friend Rudi, who, far away from everything, experiences an amazing inner metamorphosis during the weeks on board, which once again reminds us of our privileged, stress-free life. Most of the time we anchor on lonely beaches that are free of tourism, or discover the interior of islands where only a few simple fishermen live in their small huts. This time, however, the peace on one of the islands seemed a little disturbed. 

Strange activity prevailed at one of these anchorages. Strange equipment was brought in boats. 

Curious, we take the dinghy to the beach and learn that the Canadian reality show "Survivor" is to be filmed here.  High-spirited beetles and muskrat testicle-eating and teasing games apparently amuse the simply knit entertainment seeker in front of the telly worldwide. The funny thing is that after the daily shooting, the Survivor contestants are taken back to the luxury hotel to stay the night. Survival Deluxe!

We've been in the area long enough to show our friend Rudi the most beautiful islands and beaches, but at some point the fun stops and Mr. Schmidt makes his way home - back to normal madness. 

This morning I took him to the small airport in El Nido, where a small propeller plane will take him to Manila. From there to the Middle East to Qatar and finally Germany. Rudi the 16th came to an end and we are already looking forward to next year and Rudi the 17th. 

For us, too, it's time to say goodbye to the South China Sea. The journey will take us through the infamous Sulu Sea, which gained notoriety in the past when in different years German sailors were kidnapped and partially beheaded by Muslim pirates connected to ISIS. It seems to be quiet lately, so we want to take a chance and sail this stretch through the Sulu Sea towards Borneo in the next few days.