Day 632-633: June 24-25, 2026 – Anambas Islands, South China Sea, Indonesia

Continuing our love fest with the delightful people of the Anambas Islands, we were all invited to a community gathering commemorating the 18th anniversary of their regency. (A regency is an administrative division of Indonesia.) The seating was picnic-style in a soccer field, but for us they had set up chairs and a special section with local food. We were quite popular at the gathering; everyone wanted pictures of their children with us.

I bought a little whirly-gig thingy that all the kids were shooting up into the air, but then couldn’t figure out how to work it. This team of experts was kind enough to teach me.

The next night, the islanders returned the love and came to the ship for a cultural performance of music and dance.