We met up with the Ship in Timor Leste or East Timor, one of the youngest countries in the World. This sovereign state just gained their independence on May 20, 2002 from prior Portuguese rule (1515 until 1975) and Indonesian occupation (1975 until 1999). The Ship was anchored off the coastal town of Dili, the capital city with a population of roughly 1.4 million.

It is such a shame that Timor Leste is not thriving, in their new independence. Civil war with Indonesia broke out over their rich oil & gas reserves, as soon as Portugal left, killing more than 100,000. Worse yet, now that they finally have their independence, their oil and gas reserves are drying up, leaving the country on the edge of collapse. Sadly becoming part of Indonesia again, is looking like their only solution. Over 50% of their population is under 35 and 42% are living in poverty, so they deeply depend on tourism and agriculture. We didn't get much time to see the Island as we flew in around 1pm and had to be processed by very slow immigration officials.  Above is our first views of the Ship - Home, Sweet, Home and some of the passing sights, as we took taxis to the tender port location. The Ship left our anchorage at 5pm heading onto our next port in Indonesia, LaBuan Bajo.