It has been almost 3 months since the devastating tsunami struck the Kepulauan Mentawai region of Indonesia.  Two of our charter boats were anchored in the bay at Macaronis Resort when the tsunami hit, the Midas which caught on fire and the Freedom III which sustained minor damages.  The Macaronis Resort was also severely damaged and is currently being re-built.  The folks at Macaronis Resort reported "as of Tuesday November 30, we have now commenced renovations to the main building in readiness for re-opening on March 01 2011."  The remoteness of the Mentawai islands has proven to be a factor in the re-building process.  All in all over 30 coastal villages were either totally destroyed or severely damaged by this tsunami and the unofficial death toll stands at around 431 but the exact number of casualties in the most isolated villages still remains unknown.  Amongst all the pain and destruction that has taken place following the tsunami we are happy to report that things are being re-built. We recently received this amazing note from one of the WaterWays travelers that was at Macaronis when the tsunami hit:

"As one of the people at macaronis on Oct 25th 2010. Id like to just add thisâ?¦ Thank you Wendy and everyone for all you did with helping me get home. US embassy wasn't much help until i arrived @ Jakarta. I appreciate and was impressed with Wendyâ??s response and action she took on my behalf. I'm returning this Jan to help out and I will use Waterways again, travel insurance is a must. Peace and Good times to all." - Richard L

WaterWays would like to tip our hats to Richard and all the other fearless surfers who experienced this devastating and tragic event. If you are looking for another great resort to travel to in the Mentawais please consider checking out the luxurious Kandui Villas which is located directly in front of Kandui left, and Baby Kandui, in the middle of the surf mecca known as 'Playgrounds'.