Day 7 - Friday 13 January 2017

Mosquito Island........People love tropical islands where there are beaches with bleached coral sands fringed with coconut palms, where there are seas teaming with fish and rich dense forests containing wonderful creatures and where there are mosquitos and midges ready to devour you. This is paradise and I’am reluctant to leave here but I’ve been bitten from head to toe. Even Katoon is suffering.
Meditation........At Juara Mutiara I’m still amazed at the comfort and décor of the room. I would take the room wherever it was let alone right alongside a beautiful sandy beach. I awoke a 6am but realising there’s nothing I need to wake up for, I roll over and sleep for another hour and a half. If I had any intentions of witnessing a glorious sunrise then I’ve missed it but at the moment it’s cloudy anyway. The pace of life has slowed to level I only dreamed about a couple of days ago as I make a coffee and sit out on the verandah with a cappuccino just gazing out at the ocean for a good hour as if in meditation.
Bushman Chalet........Google Map. Around 10am I decide to walk over to Bushman Chalet where I enquired yesterday. A room is ready and I return to gather my things. Bushman Chalet lies at the furthest point south before a headland which divides the bay in two. There are just eight chalets again right on the beach front. Obviously I’m not expecting the same luxury as at Mutiara but I’m still happy with it for just 80 ringgit and far superior to Pelandang at Tekek. It also has a fridge but I’ve given up by now in getting an internet connection. I’ll deal with the backlog when I get back to the mainland.

Surfing festival........Google Map. It’s moving towards midday and we decide to walk around the headland to the next bay. The narrow concrete road continues through the forest coming out to reveal more chalets; clearly Juara is bigger than I thought. What causes me to walk here is a signboard to the sea turtle research centre. There are other signboards up indicating something completely different. It’s a surfing festival and it’s happening right now. As we walk further along the beach road we see that it’s here. People have gathered with cars and equipment. There is a judge’s stand and food stalls and not a little commotion going on in the water. It’s not until we reach the spot we see that compared to the rest of the bay, this corner has braking waves, just enough to support surfing. Interesting as it is to some, I’m more interested in surfing the net and seeing some turtles.

Sea turtle conservation centre........Google Map. When we reach the research centre there are no turtles. The egg laying season is from April to November. But the lady here is happy to explain the process of conservation. It’s sad to know that just a few places on Tioman now support the turtles. Such is the steady expansion of humanity into all areas that turtles are now endangered here. Their already fragile existence just cannot cope with human activity. It’s quite a sad story really and it’s no wonder there are volunteers ready to assist in conservation work here during the breeding season....more. As we walk back to Bushman Chalet about 15 minutes away, we call in for some lunch. Then with precision timing, our driver has arrived with some passengers. He’s happy to drop us of back at Bushmans.

Fond memories........The afternoon consist of a siesta and a swim and a last chance to take photographs to capture memories of our stay here. The afternoon consist of a siesta and a swim and a last chance to take photographs to capture memories of our stay here. Dinner for a change is taken at the chalet restaurant. Tuna spaghetti is a change from beef burgers. I do manage to get a connection on my PC but it’s not enough to allow me to upload work which is now three days behind. Determined to squeeze every last drop from my stay at Juara Bay, I empty the last of my duty free into a coke can and sit out on the verandah. Within an hour of darkness, the moon rises and it’s practically full. This just adds sparkle to the scene as the moon’s reflections dance around in the bay. Next Page.