Location: Kupang, Indonesia
We have finally arrived in Indonesia!!! The first thing everyone did as soon as they woke up was to see the beautiful and busy shores of Kupang, Indonesia. As we finished up with breakfast, we were greeted by members of the Indonesian custom and immigrations. To everyone’s surprise, one of the customs and immigration agents wanted to sing a song, so he asked if someone knew how to play an Elvis Presley song on guitar. Five minutes later, we were all singing and having a blast. After the customs and immigration people left, we started with our class on Intro to marine biology, followed by a class on Intro to leadership. After class, we had some free time where we could appreciate the thrill and excitement we all felt to go explore Kupang.
Lunch came in pretty quickly after our classes. After cleanup, we had our class on Intro to scuba diving. For this, we broke into three groups; PADI Advanced Open Water divers, PADI Open Water divers, and people who have no certification. This allowed everyone to be where they needed to be based on their individual diving experience. I was not busy taking classes, so I figured I could lend a hand to the chefs with dinner. For dinner tonight, we cooked some delicious BBQ chicken wings, which everyone absolutely adored. Having our stomachs full and our faces happy, we gathered at the cockpit and shared our appreciation of the day and our spirit animal.
After five days of getting to know each other, we have all started to form a special bond that will guide us in the rest of our journey. I am happy to be able to call the people aboard Argo a family and a team that truly cares for each other and the 90-day voyage we all want to accomplish.