Day 74 – Carnet Success

Herman had been trying to convince us to go to Ataúro Island on the weekend. Apparently, there is a ferry crossing over on Saturdays and if you get tickets for it on Friday, they cost $4 each. So Herman gave us a lift this morning.

That was ... too easy. Take that, Australia!

That was … too easy. Take that, Australia!

We briefly stopped at Timor Plaza with just enough time for Flo to realize that he had gotten the bill of lading from ANL and for Herman to print it off for us at his office. Getting the bill of lading meant that Flo could get started on the carnet paperwork.

Regardless, we had come to town for a reason and so we wandered around at the wharf to by ferry tickets. People kept referring us to “the next gate” until we ran out of gates and wharf. Actually, the tickets were sold through the fence in a corner of the area. You handed them your passport and the correct amount of money (no change!) and then got a ticket for the 5 am ferry. Oomph! I was not aware that it would be quite that early, but it is due to the tides and the very shallow harbour in Dili.

By accident we met Reed and Marten on the street in front who were looking for the wharf themselves, as they are both waiting on their motorbikes as well. Turns out they even saw Rocinante in the warehouse in Darwin where they dropped off their bikes.

It got worse since then. Ouch!

It got worse since then. Ouch!

After a chat and a brief excursion to Hotel Timor so that I could hand in my postcards, we exchanged email addresses and parted ways. Flo and I went on to Pateo, the Portugese supermarket, to buy some bread rolls.

On our way to find a mirkolet, I managed to fall down on a flat section of footpath. Luckily, I am only bruised (my poor knee) but Flo hailed a cab and we took a good look at my knee at home. While at home, we grabbed the carnet for Rocinante and headed back out again to hunt down a stamp.

A slow ride in a very full mikrolet later, we were back at the wharf. This time, we only had to ask two people before we were in the customs office and as soon as Flo said “carnet” they knew what to do: We got to the right person who took us into her office. We handed over the carnet and got the stamp. Easy as!

Yep, they have great food. Ignore the open drain ...

Yep, they have great food. Ignore the open drain …

So by lunch time, we had pretty much done with what we wanted to do. Flo organised our accommodation on Autúro and our transportation back to Dili with two phone calls. We were completely set. 🙂

For lunch, we went back to the Hani Ristaurante & Coffee Shop near the stadium and had yummy food. They had an eggplant-chili-salad that was so good and Flo ate a grilled fish with it.

$3.50 USD ... all of it, for both of us, including drinks :)

$3.50 USD … all of it, for both of us, including drinks 🙂

In the evening, Herman took us along to the SkyBar in Timor Plaza where all the volunteers gather for Friday evening drink. Flo and I had a lovely time chatting to many of them, but we still were not able to meet everyone.

The SkyBar is on the roof of the 5 story building; outside tables with a bar and even live music set the scene. Apart from all the volunteers and expats it was still crowded as it seems to be a popular spot to spend a Friday night.

Dinner in a Japanese restaurant rounded off the night for us and we went home to pack and get some sleep. There is an early start ahead of us tomorrow morning.