I flew to Port Blair, the main city of the Andaman Islands, from Chennai on the morning of the 24th, a less than two hour flight that arrived shortly after noon. It was quite easy to get to Chennai's airport on a suburban train that took about half an hour from Chennai's old Egmont Station to the airport. We flew over Chennai's long beach and then over the Bay of Bengal for over 700 miles, passing over reef fringed North Sentinel Island, just before landing on South Andaman Island a few miles south of Port Blair. There are a few hundred tribal people living on North Sentinel and so far they have resisted almost all contact with outsiders, usually greeting them with a hail of arrows.
I found a hotel in Port Blair, quiet on a Sunday afternoon, with well paved streets and not much traffic. The temperature was pleasant, in the high 80's. I took a walk around town starting about 4 and went to the port but not much else as I was tired and it was dark before 6. Port Blair is named after a Lieutenant Archibald Blair, who surveyed the islands in 1788. A settlement was founded and then moved to Port Cornwallis on North Andaman Island, but was abandoned after only a few years. Port Blair was refounded in 1858 as a penal colony after the 1857 Indian Mutiny. The islands at that time were populated by tribal people of what is called Negrito stock, similar to Africans but smaller. Fewer than a thousand now remain, of four different tribes. South of the Andamans are the Nicobar Islands, which have something like 30,000 tribal people, of Asian stock. The Nicobars are closed to foreigners and almost all Indians.
I went to bed early and got up soon after 4 the next morning. I would have like to spend a day or two in Port Blair, but there was a ferry leaving for Diglipur on North Andaman at 6, and I got to the port soon after 5 to get a ticket. I got one without too much of a problem and we departed Port Blair in the morning sunshine and headed north along the east coast of jungle covered South Andaman Island, with hills rising to over 500 feet. Other ferries were departing to the islands of Havelock and Neil in the Ritchie Archipelago to the northeast. The ferry boat was about 130 feet long and 30 wide. I stood out on the aft deck for the first two hours watching the coast go by, with ocassional sights of flying fish gliding for surprisingly long distances once distrurbed by our passage.
About 8 I walked about a bit and was invited onto the bridge, where I spent the rest of the ten hour voyage. We were heading for the strait between Bharatang Island, just north of South Andaman, and Ritchie's Archipelago to the east, with the islands of Havelock and Neil and others with English names, many named after heroes of the Mutilny (British heroes, that is). We passed by Strait Island, reserved for the last few Great Andamanese tribal people (50 or so, but once numbering in the thousands) and then along Long Island, just off the coast of Middle Andaman Island and about the mid point of the ferry ride. I enjoyed it on the bridge. The crew members were friendly and I could look at the instruments and the charts. I could sit when I wanted and had a great view. We saw only one other ship, a coast guard ship, and no villages along the coast. A couple of dolphins swam just in front of our prow for a short while.
About 1 we reached the port of Mayabunder in a bay near the north end of Middle Andaman Island. About 20 of our 100 or so passengers disembarked during our five minute stay. Heading further north along North Andaman we passed Saddle Peak, actually two peaks with a wide saddle between them. South Saddle Peak, slightly higher than North Saddle Peak, is the Andaman's highest, at over 2400 feet. We reached the bay we were heading to on the northeast coast of North Andaman, passing a gleaming white sandbar beach that connects Smith Island to Ross Island to its east, and docked about 4 at Aerial Bay, the port for Diglipur, which is several miles inland. This area is the Port Cornwallis (who became Governor General of India after his defeat at Yorktown) of old. From Aerial Bay I headed not to Diglipur, but took an auto rickshaw down the coast a few miles to a guesthouse near the village of Kalipur. I checked into quite a nice little hut, with a good bed, mosquito net, and an attached bath room, just a few hundred feet from the beach. Having eaten nothing but cookies on the ferry, I was hungry, but took a walk on the beach before sunset. A small island is just offshore, and there are mangroves along portions of the beach. The tide was coming in. An enclosed turtle hatchery sits along the beach, full of eggs transplanted after being laid on the beach. I walked to the south end of the beach, where a creek empties into the sea. A sign warned of crocodiles. An almost full moon was rising and it was dark before 6. The Andamans are in the same time zone as the rest of India, though they are far to the east, forming a slight arc along with the Nicobars from south of Burma towards the northern tip of Sumatra.
I slept well, under the mosquito net with no fan necessary in the cool night air, and was awakended by the birds about 4:30 as it was getting light. About 5 I walked to the beach. I walked up and down but saw no turtle tracks. I explored the mangroves and then walked along the road a bit before coming back for breakfast. About 10 I went back to the beach, walked across the wide rocky reef, coverered at high tide, and went snorkeling. I swam across to Craggy Island, the small island across from the beach. The current wasn't too strong, but it was longer than it looked. The fish were more plentiful there, but the coral almost everywhere was bleached. There were lots of clam of various sizes, some very big. Most of them had beautiful dark blue mantles. I swam along the island and enjoyed seeing all the colorful fish. I got out onto the island's small sandy beach and then explored the interior, with big trees full of birds. It was great while snorkeling along the island to come up and hear all the birds twittering in the island's trees. The swim back was easier as the tide was lower and I got back to the hotel about 1:30 for lunch. About 3 I went snorkeling again. The walk across the reef was easier, as the tide was low and it was dry. Among the fish I saw were a lion fish and a ray in the sand, plus a large and colorful crown of thorns starfish. I got back about 5, took a shower and went back to the beach to watch the full moon rise over Craggy Island. There was an interesting group of people staying at the guesthouse and I stayed up until about 10.
I got up about 6 the next morning and walked to the beach. I watched the tide come in, the high water chasing the mudskippers towards the beach through the mangroves. There were also birds and dragon flies in the mangroves. I went to breakfast about 8 and returned to the beach about 9. Thousands of hermit crabs were gathered along the high tide line, clinging to tree trunks in places. I went back to the beach at around 11 and the hermit crabs was dispersed with the tide going out. There were sand flies on the beach so I spent little time there.
This day was Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, when people pelt each other with colored powder and water. One guy took a motorcycle into Diglipur and returned covered with several colors of powder. It took days for the red to disappear from his head and hair. Others covered with powder stopped by the restaurant. Rather than get pelted by powder, I went snorkeling, from about 12:30 to 5. I swam across to Craggy Island and swam up and down it, seeing all sorts of fish. I swam along it to both its southern and northern ends. I got close to a lion fish, with a poisonous sting, and swam along clouds of very small fish, less than an inch long, some of which would jump briefly out of the water. The afternoon was beautiful and a couple of fishing boats motored through the channel. After returning and showering, I came back to the beach. The tide was very low, with the wide rocky reef completely exposed as the moon rose.
After staying up late, I slept until 7 the next morning. About 11 another guy and I caught a bus that dropped us off at Aerial Bay, where we joined two others for a boat ride to the sand bar between Smith and Ross Islands. It took only 15 minutes to get there and we spent about five hours there, from noon to 5. The tide was high when we arrived and the sand bar narrow. There was good snorkeling there and I snorkeled until 4 with one short break. I saw lots of fish and several coral snakes. I watched three of them near each other as they swam around the coral and then ascended to the surface for air. Six times I saw them slowly surface for a gulp of air and then quickly descend. I saw four or five lion fish, three of them swimming in a row. There were several sea anemones, harboring their protective clown fish. One of them had a very tiny baby clown fish. At one point I saw two lion fish and a coral snake together. There were swarms of little blue fish. After 4 I sat on the beach and then walked along the now much wider sand bar. We took the boat back just before sunset, and watched the sun set from the coast at Aerial Bay before taking an auto rickshaw back.
The next morning I was up early, at 5, and walked along the beach to watch the sunrise. A little later fishermen were fishing with nets along the reef. After a long breakfast, I snorkeled from about 10:30 to 12:30, along the reef without going over to Craggy Island. I saw a puffer fish, among others. After lunch, I snorkeled again along the reef from about 2 to 4:30, with lots of fish to be seen. There were some big waves that afternoon.
The next day was another day of snorkeling, both in the morning and in the afternoon until about 5. Schools of small fish would let me swim next to them. One large school would look one color from one angle and different colors from different angles.
The next morning several of us had decided to climb Saddle Peak. I got up shortly after 5, but decided not to leave early with the others without breakfast, but to have breakfast first, which didn't start until 7. Instead, I walked to the beach and saw one of the turtle wardens, who sleep in a hut on the beach at night, carrying a bowl of turtle eggs that he reburied, about a foot and a half deep, inside the enclosed hatchery. I spotted on the sand the wide tracks of the turtle that laid them during the night. Breakfast took longer than I hoped and I got out on the road soon after 8 and walked a short distance, maybe 10 minutes, to the village center of Kalipur to wait for the bus to the end of the road at Lamiya Bay, about two and a half miles south of Kalipur, where the trek up to Saddle Peak's summit begins. No bus came along until almost 9 and then it didn't go all the way to Lamiya Bay. I had to walk more than a mile before I reached the start of the path.
I didn't get started on the path until after 9:30, later than I had hoped. The first part of the hike was flat, through giant trees along the coast line. The area was beautiful and the path easy to follow. Many of the trees had large buttresses. I came across some friendly people and even some cows grazing under the trees along the way. It took me almost two hours before I began to climb. About 11:30 I crossed a stream and began the climb. A sign at the stream said five kilometers (three miles) to the summit, though I doubted the accuracy of the sign since a sign at the start of the hike said eight kikometers to the summit, and it was far more than three on the flat part of the hike. The path was good, though steep, though I was bothered by bees on the way up, drawn by my perspiration, I think. I certainly was sweating heavily. I met the others coming down about 12:30. At about 1000 feet the majestic tall trees disappeared and the forest became much less attractive.
About 2 I stopped for lunch at a lookout over the forest and sea at about 2000 feet. From the wooden watchtower here were good views of the coastline north. I could see Craggy Island and Aerial Bay. The lunch prepared by the guesthouse restaurant was pretty bad, rice with two very small soft boiled eggs. From there it was only 400 feet in elevation to the summit, but there were several false summits and ups and downs on the way. I reached the summit at 2417 feet just before 3 and climbed the wooden watchtower to see over the foliage at the summit. I could see Craggy Island, Aerial Bay and even Smith and Ross Islands to the north and Sound Island and Mayabunder Bay to the south. To my surprise I noticed I had climbed South Saddle Peak, the higher of the two. I had thought the trek would be up North Saddle Peak as it is closer to Lamiya Bay. North Saddle Peak was now visible to the north. With the sun in the west I couldn't see the western coastline of North Andaman, but I could see out to sea to the east.
I had told myself that I needed to start down by 3 if I was to have any hope of getting back to the road before dark, so I spent only a few minutes at the summit before starting down. There is a small shrine on the summit just below the lookout tower. I walked down quickly, with a stop at the watchtower at about 2000 feet, which I thought had a better view than the one at the top. The path had pegs holding the sticks designating steps and they posed the hazard of causing stumbles, especially if you are tired. I suspect this path will be quite dangerous once it starts to deteriorate. I suspect there won't be much, if any, maintenance. Despite hurrying, I stumbled only once and crossed the creek and reached the flatlands just after 4:30. I walked quickly through the flatlands of giant trees and noticed that now the tide was low. I reached the road about ten minutes to six, just as it was getting dark. There was no bus nor any other transportation, so I had to walk the two and a half miles on the road back to Kallipur. I walked past the houses near Aerial Bay, of Bengali settlers, and soon it was very dark. There was no moon and the electricity had gone out. I reached the guest house at 6:40 and immediately ate dinner with a guy who had completed the hike earlier and was at the restaurant. I think I drank a couple of liters of water. I had taken four liters with me. After dinner, I took a shower by flashlight as the power was still out and went to bed about 8.
I awoke the next morning about 6, but stayed in bed until almost 7. I spent a relaxing mornning, except for washing my very dirty clothes. I was tired, but not very sore. I went snorkeling along the reef from about 2 to 5 and saw four sea turtles, including two at once. Three were of one species and one of another, but I'm not sure which. Maybe the first three were hawksbill and the other a green sea turtle. They weren't the giant leatherbacks, which also inhabit the area. I also saw a sting ray. The sun was setting as I emerged. After showering I walked along the beach until dark and then rested in my hut. I was tired and skipped dinner, falling asleep about 8.
The next morning I was up soon after 5 and went for a walk on the beach. The tide was very low. I saw the morning ferry on its way from Aerial Bay to Port Blair. After breakfast I snorkeled from about 9:30 to 11, and then again from about 2:30 to 5 before another walk on the beach until dark.
I thought about leaving the next day, but decided to stay another day. After a morning walk on the beach and a long breakfast, I took a bus to Lamiya Bay, arriving about noon. I had decided to spend the afternoon walking among the big trees in the flatlands along the first part of the Saddle Peak trek. I spent about five hours walking around, slowly. A couple of times I sat on the sandy and rocky beaches to rest and enjoy the views. One beach had shipwrecks of rafts. There was a good breeze early in the afternoon, but it died down later. The weather had become quite a bit hotter than when I had first arrived in Kalipur. Emerging from the forest onto the road about 5, I walked along the road for about 20 minutes along the farmhouses until the day's last bus came by and was back at Kalipur before dark.
I did finally leave the next day. After a final walk on the beach and breakfast, I got a ride into Diglipur, larger than I expected but still a small town, maybe ten miles away, arriving about 10:30. There was a bus south to Mayabunder at 11, but I missed it as I wasn't told that it didn't leave from the bus station but from the fish market. I found an internet cafe and waited for the 2:15 bus, which left, oddly enough, from the bus station. The ricketty bus wasn't full and rumbled over the hilly terrain, rising to over 500 feet in elevation. The drive was scenic despite a surprising large amount of people, all migrants from the mainland, living along the way. It is about 50 miles from Diglipur to Mayabunder (it is 200 miles and 10 to 12 hours by road from Diglipur to Port Blair) and we arrived about 5 after crossing the bridge over Austin Strait between North and Middle Andaman. Mayabunder is on a little peninsula and I got an okay hotel before taking a walk around town, with some nice views over the water. The hotel was run by a Karen family, descendents of migrants from Burma, brought by the British to work lumber mills and other jobs.
I found a hotel in Port Blair, quiet on a Sunday afternoon, with well paved streets and not much traffic. The temperature was pleasant, in the high 80's. I took a walk around town starting about 4 and went to the port but not much else as I was tired and it was dark before 6. Port Blair is named after a Lieutenant Archibald Blair, who surveyed the islands in 1788. A settlement was founded and then moved to Port Cornwallis on North Andaman Island, but was abandoned after only a few years. Port Blair was refounded in 1858 as a penal colony after the 1857 Indian Mutiny. The islands at that time were populated by tribal people of what is called Negrito stock, similar to Africans but smaller. Fewer than a thousand now remain, of four different tribes. South of the Andamans are the Nicobar Islands, which have something like 30,000 tribal people, of Asian stock. The Nicobars are closed to foreigners and almost all Indians.
I went to bed early and got up soon after 4 the next morning. I would have like to spend a day or two in Port Blair, but there was a ferry leaving for Diglipur on North Andaman at 6, and I got to the port soon after 5 to get a ticket. I got one without too much of a problem and we departed Port Blair in the morning sunshine and headed north along the east coast of jungle covered South Andaman Island, with hills rising to over 500 feet. Other ferries were departing to the islands of Havelock and Neil in the Ritchie Archipelago to the northeast. The ferry boat was about 130 feet long and 30 wide. I stood out on the aft deck for the first two hours watching the coast go by, with ocassional sights of flying fish gliding for surprisingly long distances once distrurbed by our passage.
About 8 I walked about a bit and was invited onto the bridge, where I spent the rest of the ten hour voyage. We were heading for the strait between Bharatang Island, just north of South Andaman, and Ritchie's Archipelago to the east, with the islands of Havelock and Neil and others with English names, many named after heroes of the Mutilny (British heroes, that is). We passed by Strait Island, reserved for the last few Great Andamanese tribal people (50 or so, but once numbering in the thousands) and then along Long Island, just off the coast of Middle Andaman Island and about the mid point of the ferry ride. I enjoyed it on the bridge. The crew members were friendly and I could look at the instruments and the charts. I could sit when I wanted and had a great view. We saw only one other ship, a coast guard ship, and no villages along the coast. A couple of dolphins swam just in front of our prow for a short while.
About 1 we reached the port of Mayabunder in a bay near the north end of Middle Andaman Island. About 20 of our 100 or so passengers disembarked during our five minute stay. Heading further north along North Andaman we passed Saddle Peak, actually two peaks with a wide saddle between them. South Saddle Peak, slightly higher than North Saddle Peak, is the Andaman's highest, at over 2400 feet. We reached the bay we were heading to on the northeast coast of North Andaman, passing a gleaming white sandbar beach that connects Smith Island to Ross Island to its east, and docked about 4 at Aerial Bay, the port for Diglipur, which is several miles inland. This area is the Port Cornwallis (who became Governor General of India after his defeat at Yorktown) of old. From Aerial Bay I headed not to Diglipur, but took an auto rickshaw down the coast a few miles to a guesthouse near the village of Kalipur. I checked into quite a nice little hut, with a good bed, mosquito net, and an attached bath room, just a few hundred feet from the beach. Having eaten nothing but cookies on the ferry, I was hungry, but took a walk on the beach before sunset. A small island is just offshore, and there are mangroves along portions of the beach. The tide was coming in. An enclosed turtle hatchery sits along the beach, full of eggs transplanted after being laid on the beach. I walked to the south end of the beach, where a creek empties into the sea. A sign warned of crocodiles. An almost full moon was rising and it was dark before 6. The Andamans are in the same time zone as the rest of India, though they are far to the east, forming a slight arc along with the Nicobars from south of Burma towards the northern tip of Sumatra.
I slept well, under the mosquito net with no fan necessary in the cool night air, and was awakended by the birds about 4:30 as it was getting light. About 5 I walked to the beach. I walked up and down but saw no turtle tracks. I explored the mangroves and then walked along the road a bit before coming back for breakfast. About 10 I went back to the beach, walked across the wide rocky reef, coverered at high tide, and went snorkeling. I swam across to Craggy Island, the small island across from the beach. The current wasn't too strong, but it was longer than it looked. The fish were more plentiful there, but the coral almost everywhere was bleached. There were lots of clam of various sizes, some very big. Most of them had beautiful dark blue mantles. I swam along the island and enjoyed seeing all the colorful fish. I got out onto the island's small sandy beach and then explored the interior, with big trees full of birds. It was great while snorkeling along the island to come up and hear all the birds twittering in the island's trees. The swim back was easier as the tide was lower and I got back to the hotel about 1:30 for lunch. About 3 I went snorkeling again. The walk across the reef was easier, as the tide was low and it was dry. Among the fish I saw were a lion fish and a ray in the sand, plus a large and colorful crown of thorns starfish. I got back about 5, took a shower and went back to the beach to watch the full moon rise over Craggy Island. There was an interesting group of people staying at the guesthouse and I stayed up until about 10.
I got up about 6 the next morning and walked to the beach. I watched the tide come in, the high water chasing the mudskippers towards the beach through the mangroves. There were also birds and dragon flies in the mangroves. I went to breakfast about 8 and returned to the beach about 9. Thousands of hermit crabs were gathered along the high tide line, clinging to tree trunks in places. I went back to the beach at around 11 and the hermit crabs was dispersed with the tide going out. There were sand flies on the beach so I spent little time there.
This day was Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, when people pelt each other with colored powder and water. One guy took a motorcycle into Diglipur and returned covered with several colors of powder. It took days for the red to disappear from his head and hair. Others covered with powder stopped by the restaurant. Rather than get pelted by powder, I went snorkeling, from about 12:30 to 5. I swam across to Craggy Island and swam up and down it, seeing all sorts of fish. I swam along it to both its southern and northern ends. I got close to a lion fish, with a poisonous sting, and swam along clouds of very small fish, less than an inch long, some of which would jump briefly out of the water. The afternoon was beautiful and a couple of fishing boats motored through the channel. After returning and showering, I came back to the beach. The tide was very low, with the wide rocky reef completely exposed as the moon rose.
After staying up late, I slept until 7 the next morning. About 11 another guy and I caught a bus that dropped us off at Aerial Bay, where we joined two others for a boat ride to the sand bar between Smith and Ross Islands. It took only 15 minutes to get there and we spent about five hours there, from noon to 5. The tide was high when we arrived and the sand bar narrow. There was good snorkeling there and I snorkeled until 4 with one short break. I saw lots of fish and several coral snakes. I watched three of them near each other as they swam around the coral and then ascended to the surface for air. Six times I saw them slowly surface for a gulp of air and then quickly descend. I saw four or five lion fish, three of them swimming in a row. There were several sea anemones, harboring their protective clown fish. One of them had a very tiny baby clown fish. At one point I saw two lion fish and a coral snake together. There were swarms of little blue fish. After 4 I sat on the beach and then walked along the now much wider sand bar. We took the boat back just before sunset, and watched the sun set from the coast at Aerial Bay before taking an auto rickshaw back.
The next morning I was up early, at 5, and walked along the beach to watch the sunrise. A little later fishermen were fishing with nets along the reef. After a long breakfast, I snorkeled from about 10:30 to 12:30, along the reef without going over to Craggy Island. I saw a puffer fish, among others. After lunch, I snorkeled again along the reef from about 2 to 4:30, with lots of fish to be seen. There were some big waves that afternoon.
The next day was another day of snorkeling, both in the morning and in the afternoon until about 5. Schools of small fish would let me swim next to them. One large school would look one color from one angle and different colors from different angles.
The next morning several of us had decided to climb Saddle Peak. I got up shortly after 5, but decided not to leave early with the others without breakfast, but to have breakfast first, which didn't start until 7. Instead, I walked to the beach and saw one of the turtle wardens, who sleep in a hut on the beach at night, carrying a bowl of turtle eggs that he reburied, about a foot and a half deep, inside the enclosed hatchery. I spotted on the sand the wide tracks of the turtle that laid them during the night. Breakfast took longer than I hoped and I got out on the road soon after 8 and walked a short distance, maybe 10 minutes, to the village center of Kalipur to wait for the bus to the end of the road at Lamiya Bay, about two and a half miles south of Kalipur, where the trek up to Saddle Peak's summit begins. No bus came along until almost 9 and then it didn't go all the way to Lamiya Bay. I had to walk more than a mile before I reached the start of the path.
I didn't get started on the path until after 9:30, later than I had hoped. The first part of the hike was flat, through giant trees along the coast line. The area was beautiful and the path easy to follow. Many of the trees had large buttresses. I came across some friendly people and even some cows grazing under the trees along the way. It took me almost two hours before I began to climb. About 11:30 I crossed a stream and began the climb. A sign at the stream said five kilometers (three miles) to the summit, though I doubted the accuracy of the sign since a sign at the start of the hike said eight kikometers to the summit, and it was far more than three on the flat part of the hike. The path was good, though steep, though I was bothered by bees on the way up, drawn by my perspiration, I think. I certainly was sweating heavily. I met the others coming down about 12:30. At about 1000 feet the majestic tall trees disappeared and the forest became much less attractive.
About 2 I stopped for lunch at a lookout over the forest and sea at about 2000 feet. From the wooden watchtower here were good views of the coastline north. I could see Craggy Island and Aerial Bay. The lunch prepared by the guesthouse restaurant was pretty bad, rice with two very small soft boiled eggs. From there it was only 400 feet in elevation to the summit, but there were several false summits and ups and downs on the way. I reached the summit at 2417 feet just before 3 and climbed the wooden watchtower to see over the foliage at the summit. I could see Craggy Island, Aerial Bay and even Smith and Ross Islands to the north and Sound Island and Mayabunder Bay to the south. To my surprise I noticed I had climbed South Saddle Peak, the higher of the two. I had thought the trek would be up North Saddle Peak as it is closer to Lamiya Bay. North Saddle Peak was now visible to the north. With the sun in the west I couldn't see the western coastline of North Andaman, but I could see out to sea to the east.
I had told myself that I needed to start down by 3 if I was to have any hope of getting back to the road before dark, so I spent only a few minutes at the summit before starting down. There is a small shrine on the summit just below the lookout tower. I walked down quickly, with a stop at the watchtower at about 2000 feet, which I thought had a better view than the one at the top. The path had pegs holding the sticks designating steps and they posed the hazard of causing stumbles, especially if you are tired. I suspect this path will be quite dangerous once it starts to deteriorate. I suspect there won't be much, if any, maintenance. Despite hurrying, I stumbled only once and crossed the creek and reached the flatlands just after 4:30. I walked quickly through the flatlands of giant trees and noticed that now the tide was low. I reached the road about ten minutes to six, just as it was getting dark. There was no bus nor any other transportation, so I had to walk the two and a half miles on the road back to Kallipur. I walked past the houses near Aerial Bay, of Bengali settlers, and soon it was very dark. There was no moon and the electricity had gone out. I reached the guest house at 6:40 and immediately ate dinner with a guy who had completed the hike earlier and was at the restaurant. I think I drank a couple of liters of water. I had taken four liters with me. After dinner, I took a shower by flashlight as the power was still out and went to bed about 8.
I awoke the next morning about 6, but stayed in bed until almost 7. I spent a relaxing mornning, except for washing my very dirty clothes. I was tired, but not very sore. I went snorkeling along the reef from about 2 to 5 and saw four sea turtles, including two at once. Three were of one species and one of another, but I'm not sure which. Maybe the first three were hawksbill and the other a green sea turtle. They weren't the giant leatherbacks, which also inhabit the area. I also saw a sting ray. The sun was setting as I emerged. After showering I walked along the beach until dark and then rested in my hut. I was tired and skipped dinner, falling asleep about 8.
The next morning I was up soon after 5 and went for a walk on the beach. The tide was very low. I saw the morning ferry on its way from Aerial Bay to Port Blair. After breakfast I snorkeled from about 9:30 to 11, and then again from about 2:30 to 5 before another walk on the beach until dark.
I thought about leaving the next day, but decided to stay another day. After a morning walk on the beach and a long breakfast, I took a bus to Lamiya Bay, arriving about noon. I had decided to spend the afternoon walking among the big trees in the flatlands along the first part of the Saddle Peak trek. I spent about five hours walking around, slowly. A couple of times I sat on the sandy and rocky beaches to rest and enjoy the views. One beach had shipwrecks of rafts. There was a good breeze early in the afternoon, but it died down later. The weather had become quite a bit hotter than when I had first arrived in Kalipur. Emerging from the forest onto the road about 5, I walked along the road for about 20 minutes along the farmhouses until the day's last bus came by and was back at Kalipur before dark.
I did finally leave the next day. After a final walk on the beach and breakfast, I got a ride into Diglipur, larger than I expected but still a small town, maybe ten miles away, arriving about 10:30. There was a bus south to Mayabunder at 11, but I missed it as I wasn't told that it didn't leave from the bus station but from the fish market. I found an internet cafe and waited for the 2:15 bus, which left, oddly enough, from the bus station. The ricketty bus wasn't full and rumbled over the hilly terrain, rising to over 500 feet in elevation. The drive was scenic despite a surprising large amount of people, all migrants from the mainland, living along the way. It is about 50 miles from Diglipur to Mayabunder (it is 200 miles and 10 to 12 hours by road from Diglipur to Port Blair) and we arrived about 5 after crossing the bridge over Austin Strait between North and Middle Andaman. Mayabunder is on a little peninsula and I got an okay hotel before taking a walk around town, with some nice views over the water. The hotel was run by a Karen family, descendents of migrants from Burma, brought by the British to work lumber mills and other jobs.
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