Our week on Pulau Derawan was the life aquatic. On this speck of sand and palms in the equatorial ocean, the air was staggeringly hot and the sea was mercifully refreshing. Light reflecting off of the crystal waters shone through the floorboards of our room at the end of a pier and we could hear the unmistakable sounds of green sea turtles surfacing below us to take a breath before we even got out of bed. In the mornings we relaxed on our deck with tea and pastries while kids fished and men prepped their boats for the day.

Several times a day, we slipped into the sea within steps of our room and floated dreamily among the turtles and out to the reef that rings the island, drifting along to other piers and beaches. Remoras clung to turtles while trumpet fish hid below their bellies and an enormous batfish followed one turtle everywhere it went. Giant clams squeezed shut, moray eels gave the stink eye, Christmas tree corals hid and barracudas lurked below the pier. The huge puffers were too chilled out to puff. We contemplated a snorkumnavigation of the island, but concluded that the first stretch would be spectacular and then we would be shot off into the blue with nothing but mask, snorkel and fins. Still, it was always a good topic to return to for further deliberation over a cup of tea on the porch.

Occasionally, we left our pier. One afternoon we walked through the village to explore and find some lunch. Along the scorching white limestone road, children road bicycles extremely slowly and adults slumped in chairs or slept on floors, sometimes quietly calling out to us, “Panas” (“hot”). Of the three eating establishments we found, one was closed, one was open but the owner was asleep and one was open. So go the afternoons less than two degrees from the equator… during Ramadan.

One night, a ranger named Udin led us out to release baby turtles. We joined several other people on the beach and we gathered quietly and waited. Udin set a bucket of 86 squirming baby turtles on the sand without a word. Sati and I stood there while ten people shoved flashing cameras into the bucket. Apparently, it didn’t occur to them and Udin didn’t mention that the whole point of this is to protect turtles from idiots. We each got to send a wee turtle on its way, placing it on the beach and guiding it out to sea with a light shined on the water. Immediately after the babies made it into the water, the paparazzi left. Sati and I hung out with the ranger to watch adult turtles make their way onto land to dig nests and lay their eggs. Three mamas made nests that night in the white sand beneath swaying coconut palms in the light of the half moon.

The Reza and Dira Homestay was excellent and I would definitely recommend it. The people who run it are sweet, speak English, and are happy to arrange transport and boat trips. We were thankful to have the recommendation to stay in room 14 which is at the end of the pier, so has the best view.