Ko tarutao

---

hey guys we finally found a wifi hotspot on the island of Ko Tarutao, one of a few national marine parks in Thailand. We arrived here yesterday morning after a nice 40 minute speed boat ride from Pakbara. We were happy to get out of Pakbara because it's basically a pier with one street with a few hotels and like two restaurants on it to suit the guests that didn't get a boat that day out. Needless to say its a hot boring place and were hapllpy to arrive on our white sandy beach island. We were the first stop for the boat as it continued onto Ko Lipe, another island technically not in the marine park but still somewhat considered sheltered from the outside tourist world. We were very happy to get off the boat and watch the rest of the packed in guests depart on their hour remaining ride.
We arrived onto a small dock with one one boat, ours. This was a troubling and good sign to us. We had planned to book a tent sight and successfully did. Right on the beach, literally on sand. Just as all the pictures wed seen shown. This was great....at first... swimming in the ocean was our first activity and desire once set up camp so we went for a swim.
The water here is clear, really clear almost like a pool up until about head high then it gets slightly cloudy, but your feet are still visible. Its warm! id have to guess mid to high 70's maybe 80 in the shallows. This is great to sit in and just relax.
The beaches are perfect white powdery sand that squeaks under your feet when you walk. Little wholes line the beach inhabited by crabs of all sizes, colors and shapes. They scurry about running in terror from our feet.
We made it up the the highest point on the island to check out the view, about a 15 min walk and wed can see most of our park. we started up just before 5 and made our walk down around dusk, say 545 er 6. This was perfect timing for the local dusky langurs monkeys to start coming down into camp. Their gray and id say mid sized for monkeys ive seen. They are friendly in the trees but when they make it to the ground they are after one thing... FOOD, especially green pringles chip cans left out on a close by table, whoops. guess no chips for us.

Lets just say sleeping in a tent on the beach on a hot island isnt the most conducive area for sleep. We packed light so no pads or actual adequate pillows were at hand.

this morning we found another couple who wanted to share a long boat rental to go snorkeling around the various nearby islands. It was great, perfect water, coral everywhere of all colors shapes and pointyness, with fish swimming around. Blue, yellow ,tiger stripped and orange giant clams were among some of the highlights as they close when we get near them with an audible click. Clown fish were spotted darting in and out of their anemone, and also we spotted a great cohabitation of holes in the sea floor by shrimps and small fishes. One cleans house(shrimp) one keeps guard(fish). three spots all different all on different islands. a great variety of sights, although we now partially fit in with our fish friends, we look like lobsters. or alteast parts of us do.

anyway dinners started 6 minutes ago and were hungry

cheers were off for some curry

Chris and Daniella

---