Cocos Keeling has been one of our favourite stopovers.
We are anchored at Direction Island, which is uninhabited (except for a policeman with a tent), so it is almost like being back on Suwarrow.
Home Island is a 15 minute dinghy ride away and has a reasonable supermarket for provisioning, plus a small but interesting museum about the time when the islands were used for copra production.
West Island is a ferry ride from Home Island. It is the most developed, with the airport, motel, cafe, restaurant, bar and an artist's studio sited in an old barge. We spent a night on West Island, with a sunset canoe tour in the evening and then a tour of the island the next morning. The tour was conducted by John Clunies-Ross, who's father was the last of the dynasty that owned and farmed the islands. The coconut plantations are now uneconomical to farm and they are just returning to jungle.
Last night we had the official World ARC get together, with a barbecue on Direction Island. It was a good opportunity to catch up with the friends we had not yet met here (plus we won a bottle of wine for the leg from Bali).
Setting off in the canoes, the water is like a swimming pool F16
Just one white beach after another, and a glass of champagne at each F17
The sun going down over the islands F18
John Clunies-Ross is now farming giant clams on West Island F19
The cauldron circle at the barbecue (for cauldron read wine box) F1A
The sun sets behind the anchorage F1B