Hello, hello
This one will be a bit short - at least I think so - because it is late and I want to go to bed. But right now I am too excited. Yes, I have found a tango high in Indonesia. Yea! Stacie, Jenni, and I are in Bali while Deptan is closed for Eid/Lebaran/Idul Fitri. If we had to work from home, we might as well work from Bali, right? So, I flew in last Friday morning, very early. The only ticket I could get on Garuda Air was executive class. I had breakfast (the traditional fried rice plus some fried tempeh) in the executive lounge while a woman checked my baggage and got my boarding pass, etc. in order. I could get very used to that.
Our hotel is small and about one block from the beach. It has lovely architecture and a very nice little pool. The landscaping is beautiful - colorful and fragrant blossoms everywhere. My room has a very ornate door and ceiling but the lighting is poor, so the ceiling is hard to appreciate. The food I have had here on Bali so far has been amazing. Down the block at the beach is a fantastic Italian restaurant, Stiff Chili, where we keep finding ourselves - the manager (owner?) now just smirks and seems amused to see us again. Since here, I have had seafood curry, 2 different pasta dishes with seafood, a darn good hamburger, lots of pineapple juice, a goat cheese & veggie wrap, and the usual fried rice and fried noodles. Great food available in Bali, and cheap! Sarongs and sandals are abundant, as well.
Stacie and Jenni had enrolled in a 3-day SCUBA course. I have decided to wait on SCUBA until I have someone to go with and will have one of two friends, who are both dive instructors, teach me. I spent Friday in the sun and Saturday working and walking along the beach. Sunday was for the spa - 4 hours of complete pampering from head to toe. I felt like a jellyfish when it was all over, although I was a bit dehydrated from the hot baths (with flower petals, even), steam room, and scorching dry sauna. Tough life, indeed. I was very lucky on Monday that the diving group had one extra spot in the van headed to a shipwreck dive site on the north coast of Bali. I rode up there with them to snorkel while they were diving.
It was a lovely drive up to Tulamben - rice fields, beach, villages, temples, lots and lots of shrines, volcanoes. We arrived at a hotel that basically caters to divers. First we placed an order for lunch, then we set off for the water. The first mask supplied by the dive company fit horribly, and I could only get maybe 20 seconds of underwater viewing before the mask filled with water. The baby shampoo applied to the inside of the lenses to prevent fogging would then wash into my eyes; so much for the 'no tears' label. I could see the wreck and the lovely fish, but emptying the mask every few seconds got to be too much, so I gave up and went back. One of the dive instructors lent me his personal mask which, after lunch, was a vast improvement over the first one. I decided to look at the wreck some more because it was so fascinating! Apparently the wreck is a WWII Liberty class cargo ship that was built for WWI and outfitted with guns later for the second world war. It was torpedoed by the Japanese in the straight of Lombok and was being towed to Bali for repairs. While under tow, it was about to be attacked again, so the US Navy beached it at Tulamben. There it sat for 20+ years, until the volcano blew up and washed it just off shore. Now it is a very popular dive site. The hull is split open and the whole thing looks a bit eerie, although coral and bright fish liven it up. I caught the current that was sweeping over the wreck and was able to drift slowly over it twice. Very cool.
Today was a rest break from all the water activities. After working this morning, I went to the beach with Jenni. We are staying in Sanur, which is a quieter part of Bali than Kuta - the jam-packed tourist destination where the bombings occurred. I definitely prefer Sanur to Kuta, although everywhere is much more densely populated than somehow I had expected. The beach nearest our lovely little hotel is apparently popular with Indonesian families. Today we had most of it to ourselves until late afternoon when it was positively full of Indonesian families. The people watching was pretty intense - too many fat, sunburned bules showing entirely too much skin. We have also learned how to quickly and effectively fend off the beach ladies who offer to give massages, manicures, and pedicures right at your beach lounger. When we'd had enough sun, people watching, and offers for massages, we came back to the hotel.
I knew that there was a practica / milonga on Bali tonight, and I just couldn't resist trying to go. I haven't brought any tango shoes, so I set off towards the Bali Hyatt where I had seen some cute boutiques on the way to the spa. No one had high heels with an ankle strap of any sort. I finally came across a few ladies selling leather shoes along with the usual sarongs and touristy stuff. They helped me find a pair of thin leather slippers with a slight heel. Not what I had been looking for, but they had a leather sole and a strap around the heel to keep them (mostly) on. I bought them, trekked back to the hotel, scarfed soup for dinner, and headed off to Seminyak for the "pralonga." There were only 3 men dancing and too many women, but, as usual, everyone was so nice and gracious. It was splendid to be back among tango people, even if I had only just met them. That is one of the great things about the tango community - a worldwide group of friends, even if you haven't met them yet. I got in a few dances, got contact info for a tango instructor in Jakarta, and, most amazingly, exchanged contact info with Iris, who MAKES tango shoes. I can have a CUSTOM pair of tango shoes made here in Bali. Amazing! I can't wait to get back into tango while here. I hope it will raise my spirits significantly while I am stuck in Jakarta...
So, no photos yet, but I will get to that soon. Two more days to enjoy Bali then back to Jakarta. Things on the project are heating up and should get pretty "interesting" in the next several months. I have tentatively been assigned to cover West Java and South Sumatra. My Bogor field visit exposed me to West Java; I don't know anything about South Sumatra yet.
Hope everyone else finds their safe, healthy, 'high' for the day! Selamat malam!
Hugs, Edie
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
beach village idyll
Wow, I must be a glutton for punishment today. After standing in 3 lines and filling out countless forms to get an Indonesian bank account this morning, followed by an irritating 3.5-hr meeting for work, then fending off a psycho neighbor's weird text messages (apparently these people are able to find me in whatever country I go to), I am now Skyping to finally cancel my U.S. cell phone account and deal with credit card charge disputes. This feels like one of the days that will never end. Did I mention the mosquito that bit my thigh as soon as I got home and desperately raced for the bathroom? If only I could go back to the beach...
I escaped Jakarta last weekend for a short tour of a secluded beach in West Java. It was the most amazing time! I started out the trip with a fair amount of trepidation. It was the end of a long week of being stuck by myself in the office in Jakarta - Stacie & Jen were in Bali, telling me how much they loved surfing and eating fancy food and getting their nails done. I was the first of the tour group to arrive, at the late end of the appointed meeting time. So much for leaving "SHARP" at 9:30pm. The number of participants had fallen below their usual minimum of 10, but the organizers had decided to go anyway. Instead of a minibus, though, they settled on an SUV. The thought of 8 people, with gear for the weekend, crammed into an SUV for 6-7 hours in the middle of the night over potholed Indonesian roads put my already-frayed attitude on a bit more of an edge. It certainly didn't seem to get better when one of the staff had to be left behind and I watched one of the others cram ramen noodles and bottles of water under the car seats to fit everything in. Thank goodness for my Bucky travel pillow, as it allowed me to sleep most of the way. I did come to partial consciousness several times, mostly when we would hit a big hole really hard or slam on the brakes - enough time to think, "At least the UN knows where I'm supposed to be, when we die."
The group was made up of 6 young Indonesians, all of whom spoke really good English, and Budi, our organizer. A few of the participants were students and the others were young professionals. All in all, a really good group.
We arrived in the village (I'm not sure I want to give away the name yet because I want to keep the place all for myself! hahahahaha) at about 3:30am. As soon as I stepped out of the SUV, I knew why I had come - I could hear ocean waves crashing far off in the distance. After crossing a jumpy suspension bridge on foot, we were met by a few of the villagers who were preparing a meal for us. With the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims eat before 6am and then not again until about 6pm. They served us mildly spicy fried rice (nasi goreng), fried and very yummy cubes of tempeh, sliced cucumbers, sweet tea, and I can't really remember what else (sorry, Joan!). I have really gotten a taste for tempeh - fermented soy or other vegetable protein substrate that has been worked on for a little while by some fungus or other. It is widely consumed in Indonesia and comes in all sorts of forms and local varieties. It is one of my new favorite foods. :) After sleepily gazing about and eating on a raised, roofed platform built for basically just hanging out, we walked to another part of the village where we would be staying. Next to a small, open, tile-floored community building was a raised hut made mostly of woven mats and a tile roof. It had a tiny covered "porch" and an equally tiny enclosed room. There were 2 bathrooms nearby: wet mandis where you squat over the "toilet" opening and then you pour in water from a dipper to flush and rinse off the whole place. It's a good idea to roll up your pant legs and bring your own toilet paper before entering. Indonesians who use TP, and expats in Indonesia, tend to carry tissue with them at all times since the TP supply here is highly unreliable. But I digress...
After we threw our stuff down in the "guest house," we took off for the beach by moonlight to catch the sunrise. We left along the banana palms next to the guest house, passed by rice paddies and tethered water buffalo before coming to an area devoid of most vegetation due to a burn that went out of control. But as we got closer, the sound of the ocean became louder and louder. Once we crested the final stretch of sand, we had a huge curvilinear sand beach all to ourselves! The sun was rising from the hills behind, and we could see fishing boats and large rocks a way down the beach. Ever the seashell hunter, I observed what looked like some promising shell beds and took off that way to see. Yes, I now have some amazing shells to add to my collection! After running around a bit there and testing out the cool ocean water up to my knees, we decided to move along down the beach. We passed a few houses with fishing boats in front of them and headed to the big rocks. We wandered out on the rocks to check out the great tide pools and huge waves crashing on the outer rocks. There were tons of spidery little sea stars; one couldn't help but try to just tread on them carefully. Past the big rock island with shrubs growing out of it, the lava rock forming the tidal pools continued and made a large, glassy, lagoon-like tidal pool perfect for skipping rocks on. At the end of the tide pool lagoon there was another much smaller sand beach protected by the surrounding ridges and trees. We all took a nap there on the sand, in the shade, for at least an hour and a half. Amazing.
Our journey continued down the beach. It was getting hotter, and I hadn't brought my hat since we were only supposed to be away from the guest house for 2 hours or so. Another lesson to learn - at the very least ya gotta double the time Budi says it will take to do something... We continued along, me filling my pockets with really interesting shells. We came along a grove of coconut trees and could see yet another, completely perfect, practically empty sandy beach lagoon. Fishermen were setting up on the rocks for their day's work, as the sun was glistening off the waves. Definitely check out the photos on this one! We were getting desperate for shade and headed for 2 huts at the apex of the lagoon. Two guys went to the coconut grove and cut some down for us. Those who weren't fasting downed the juice with pleasure. It was so completely idyllic - I will carry an imprint of that place and that moment forever. When things here in Jakarta get hectic, that is definitely now my mental "happy place" to escape to...
After a rest in the shade, we observed some folks boiling down stuff to make palm sugar. Then we walked back over the hills and through the rice paddies to our humble abode. It was also quite lovely and so different from the beach, but so close. For the non-fasting folks, lunch was white rice, fried fish (the kind we had seen the men catching on the beach), fried noodles (mie goreng), these slightly fish-flavored cracker things, cucumbers, squid, and maybe something else. Everyone went to take another nap, and I was faced with the thought of laying down out of the breeze and sweating my way into dreamland. What the "porch" really needed - Dave, are you listening?? - was a hammock. Indonesia does not appear to be much of a hammock culture. I haven't seen one anywhere, even though people lounge around quite a bit in the heat. Fortunately, I had a handy travel hammock I had bought for use in Guatemala - light and strong. I got our flirtatious, young, village boy helper to find something to tie it up with. He brought plastic twine, which was surprisingly effective. That hammock was a dream! Instead of sweating on the floor out of the breeze, I could swing comfortably, surrounded by the lovely breeze. And another blissful nap had its way with me.
When we got going again, it was to cross the jumpy suspension bridge and head across the river to see the sunset on the beach from another angle. We were walking out toward the setting sun, through a coconut grove. Another amazing scene. The rumored crocodile never materialized, and children were playing freely in the water, so we felt confident to wade across the river outlet to the beach. It was an idyllic sunset. With the setting of the sun, those who were fasting were able to finally eat and drink. We broke out snacks and all sorts of stuff. Tea and chocolate - on the beach at sunset - never tasted so good. As darkness descended upon us, we headed back up the beach to where we had come out on it in the morning. We played a bit of LED frisbee while waiting for dinner, as the ghost crabs came out to watch. Eventually, dinner was served: stews - one sweet with bananas and the other more spicy with veggies and meat, leftover fried noodles, sliced watermelon, white rice (nasi putih, of course!), squid, fried fish, and sweet coconut. And tea.
We then walked a little further to where a fire had been built. Budi encouraged us to share our dreams with each other, including "wet dreams!" I thought Indonesians were more discreet than that!! Hahahahahaha. Anyway, it was really neat to sit there under the stars and hear about the hopes and aspirations of these young and upcoming Indonesian professionals. They share many of the same goals and desires I, my family, and loved ones have. One young woman, Unik, sounds like she is in the same place I have been previously about international vet med. She holds a passion in her heart and can't seem to break through to get where she wants to go. I hope our sharing helps her to find the patience and surrender to trust that the universe hears her and will make her path apparent, even if it is not the path she had imagined for herself. It was also interesting to hear what books people had read and their beliefs about life, energy, and the universe. We are all so alike, even thousands of miles, years, and languages apart.
Then it was back to the guest house. A few wanted to stay, but the rest of us piled into the SUV and drove to a nearby village to hike to a cave. We started out along the road in the village but wandered through cemeteries and rice paddies before reaching the cave. It was a horizontal limestone cavern with stalagmites and stalactites that are a bit worse for the exposure. A stream was running through, so we ditched our shoes and wandered along the cave, alternating between the silty or sandy stream and slippery clay. Not quite Carlsbad Caverns but still quite a treat. The trek back through the paddies by moonlight was probably even a bit more special. But one has to have a good source of light because the dikes between the paddies are narrow and sometimes high, so you don't want to slip!
I slept well that night, starting out in the hammock but moving to my sleeping bag on the floor when the breeze was too cooling to be comfortable. The heat of the morning sun drove me back to the hammock, however. Breakfast was modest - fried egg, bread, and what I discovered too late was a local tempeh. I finished off a small jar of peanut butter I had brought along for just that purpose. Besides, it was crunchy Skippy PNB, when I really just like creamy Jif! No more crunchy! We got ready for the beach and struck out. The water was cool but felt WONDERFUL! A few people were surfing in the distance. The waves were quite strong, so I didn't stay in too long for risk of getting tired and swept out to sea where there probably isn't a Coast Guard to come to my rescue. I love playing in the waves more than I like body surfing. The clear, cool water; the waves; and the tingly foam were just what I needed to recharge. After the surf, we were napping and sitting on the beach, discussing ways to improve tourism to benefit the village. I must not have applied enough sunscreen - sorry, Mom - and my shoulders got cooked. All the better to soak in the experience, I guess. Gotta have some sunburn to go with the sand in your clothes that just won't quit!
We walked back, rinsed off at the village well and again in the mandi. Then there was a simple, and simply perfect, lunch. First they brought iced sweet tea, and I realized that drinking iced tea is just what I would be doing at the beach at home. I am glad to know that beach cultures seem to universally appreciate the finer point of iced tea drunk at the beach when it is hot. We also had these divine cassava cracker things that I just love. They are a bit like tortillas but thinner and then folded over. I'm not sure what, if any, flavoring has been added, but they have a savory kind of flavor. There was a mildly spicy vegetable soup, nasi putih, and - best of all - a fantastic fried fish. Beach village cuisine at its finest. It was soooooo hard to pull down the hammock to leave...
We walked back through the village to the waiting SUV. The tailpipe had fallen off, by the way, when we left for the cave, presumably a result of the aforementioned hard driving on bad roads. We took photos of our friends, each grabbed a souvenir kilo of sweet preserved (smoked?!?) bananas from just up the road, and piled into the SUV for the trip home. We made a stop for photos at the top of a bluff overlooking the main beach and another stop in a fishing village where another river empties into the sea. Quite nice, but I'd rather be back down the road away from all the "traffic." LOL. We passed through a very narrow strip of virgin rainforest; most of what I saw on the trip back was secondary growth and oil palm plantations. Obligatory nap in the car, dinner at a random padang, and then back in Jakarta.
All in all, quite a weekend. This group is pretty active outside of Ramadan, and I will definitely go out with them again. Maybe Krakatoa? I also hope to see more of the young and upcoming Indonesian professionals. It's great to have local friends to spend time with, apart from people connected to work. Sigh. My sunburned shoulders are still quite red, but I think I have washed off most or all of the sand from my clothes and gear. I hope to go back. Maybe next time I won't return!
Hugs, E
I escaped Jakarta last weekend for a short tour of a secluded beach in West Java. It was the most amazing time! I started out the trip with a fair amount of trepidation. It was the end of a long week of being stuck by myself in the office in Jakarta - Stacie & Jen were in Bali, telling me how much they loved surfing and eating fancy food and getting their nails done. I was the first of the tour group to arrive, at the late end of the appointed meeting time. So much for leaving "SHARP" at 9:30pm. The number of participants had fallen below their usual minimum of 10, but the organizers had decided to go anyway. Instead of a minibus, though, they settled on an SUV. The thought of 8 people, with gear for the weekend, crammed into an SUV for 6-7 hours in the middle of the night over potholed Indonesian roads put my already-frayed attitude on a bit more of an edge. It certainly didn't seem to get better when one of the staff had to be left behind and I watched one of the others cram ramen noodles and bottles of water under the car seats to fit everything in. Thank goodness for my Bucky travel pillow, as it allowed me to sleep most of the way. I did come to partial consciousness several times, mostly when we would hit a big hole really hard or slam on the brakes - enough time to think, "At least the UN knows where I'm supposed to be, when we die."
The group was made up of 6 young Indonesians, all of whom spoke really good English, and Budi, our organizer. A few of the participants were students and the others were young professionals. All in all, a really good group.
We arrived in the village (I'm not sure I want to give away the name yet because I want to keep the place all for myself! hahahahaha) at about 3:30am. As soon as I stepped out of the SUV, I knew why I had come - I could hear ocean waves crashing far off in the distance. After crossing a jumpy suspension bridge on foot, we were met by a few of the villagers who were preparing a meal for us. With the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims eat before 6am and then not again until about 6pm. They served us mildly spicy fried rice (nasi goreng), fried and very yummy cubes of tempeh, sliced cucumbers, sweet tea, and I can't really remember what else (sorry, Joan!). I have really gotten a taste for tempeh - fermented soy or other vegetable protein substrate that has been worked on for a little while by some fungus or other. It is widely consumed in Indonesia and comes in all sorts of forms and local varieties. It is one of my new favorite foods. :) After sleepily gazing about and eating on a raised, roofed platform built for basically just hanging out, we walked to another part of the village where we would be staying. Next to a small, open, tile-floored community building was a raised hut made mostly of woven mats and a tile roof. It had a tiny covered "porch" and an equally tiny enclosed room. There were 2 bathrooms nearby: wet mandis where you squat over the "toilet" opening and then you pour in water from a dipper to flush and rinse off the whole place. It's a good idea to roll up your pant legs and bring your own toilet paper before entering. Indonesians who use TP, and expats in Indonesia, tend to carry tissue with them at all times since the TP supply here is highly unreliable. But I digress...
After we threw our stuff down in the "guest house," we took off for the beach by moonlight to catch the sunrise. We left along the banana palms next to the guest house, passed by rice paddies and tethered water buffalo before coming to an area devoid of most vegetation due to a burn that went out of control. But as we got closer, the sound of the ocean became louder and louder. Once we crested the final stretch of sand, we had a huge curvilinear sand beach all to ourselves! The sun was rising from the hills behind, and we could see fishing boats and large rocks a way down the beach. Ever the seashell hunter, I observed what looked like some promising shell beds and took off that way to see. Yes, I now have some amazing shells to add to my collection! After running around a bit there and testing out the cool ocean water up to my knees, we decided to move along down the beach. We passed a few houses with fishing boats in front of them and headed to the big rocks. We wandered out on the rocks to check out the great tide pools and huge waves crashing on the outer rocks. There were tons of spidery little sea stars; one couldn't help but try to just tread on them carefully. Past the big rock island with shrubs growing out of it, the lava rock forming the tidal pools continued and made a large, glassy, lagoon-like tidal pool perfect for skipping rocks on. At the end of the tide pool lagoon there was another much smaller sand beach protected by the surrounding ridges and trees. We all took a nap there on the sand, in the shade, for at least an hour and a half. Amazing.
Our journey continued down the beach. It was getting hotter, and I hadn't brought my hat since we were only supposed to be away from the guest house for 2 hours or so. Another lesson to learn - at the very least ya gotta double the time Budi says it will take to do something... We continued along, me filling my pockets with really interesting shells. We came along a grove of coconut trees and could see yet another, completely perfect, practically empty sandy beach lagoon. Fishermen were setting up on the rocks for their day's work, as the sun was glistening off the waves. Definitely check out the photos on this one! We were getting desperate for shade and headed for 2 huts at the apex of the lagoon. Two guys went to the coconut grove and cut some down for us. Those who weren't fasting downed the juice with pleasure. It was so completely idyllic - I will carry an imprint of that place and that moment forever. When things here in Jakarta get hectic, that is definitely now my mental "happy place" to escape to...
After a rest in the shade, we observed some folks boiling down stuff to make palm sugar. Then we walked back over the hills and through the rice paddies to our humble abode. It was also quite lovely and so different from the beach, but so close. For the non-fasting folks, lunch was white rice, fried fish (the kind we had seen the men catching on the beach), fried noodles (mie goreng), these slightly fish-flavored cracker things, cucumbers, squid, and maybe something else. Everyone went to take another nap, and I was faced with the thought of laying down out of the breeze and sweating my way into dreamland. What the "porch" really needed - Dave, are you listening?? - was a hammock. Indonesia does not appear to be much of a hammock culture. I haven't seen one anywhere, even though people lounge around quite a bit in the heat. Fortunately, I had a handy travel hammock I had bought for use in Guatemala - light and strong. I got our flirtatious, young, village boy helper to find something to tie it up with. He brought plastic twine, which was surprisingly effective. That hammock was a dream! Instead of sweating on the floor out of the breeze, I could swing comfortably, surrounded by the lovely breeze. And another blissful nap had its way with me.
When we got going again, it was to cross the jumpy suspension bridge and head across the river to see the sunset on the beach from another angle. We were walking out toward the setting sun, through a coconut grove. Another amazing scene. The rumored crocodile never materialized, and children were playing freely in the water, so we felt confident to wade across the river outlet to the beach. It was an idyllic sunset. With the setting of the sun, those who were fasting were able to finally eat and drink. We broke out snacks and all sorts of stuff. Tea and chocolate - on the beach at sunset - never tasted so good. As darkness descended upon us, we headed back up the beach to where we had come out on it in the morning. We played a bit of LED frisbee while waiting for dinner, as the ghost crabs came out to watch. Eventually, dinner was served: stews - one sweet with bananas and the other more spicy with veggies and meat, leftover fried noodles, sliced watermelon, white rice (nasi putih, of course!), squid, fried fish, and sweet coconut. And tea.
We then walked a little further to where a fire had been built. Budi encouraged us to share our dreams with each other, including "wet dreams!" I thought Indonesians were more discreet than that!! Hahahahahaha. Anyway, it was really neat to sit there under the stars and hear about the hopes and aspirations of these young and upcoming Indonesian professionals. They share many of the same goals and desires I, my family, and loved ones have. One young woman, Unik, sounds like she is in the same place I have been previously about international vet med. She holds a passion in her heart and can't seem to break through to get where she wants to go. I hope our sharing helps her to find the patience and surrender to trust that the universe hears her and will make her path apparent, even if it is not the path she had imagined for herself. It was also interesting to hear what books people had read and their beliefs about life, energy, and the universe. We are all so alike, even thousands of miles, years, and languages apart.
Then it was back to the guest house. A few wanted to stay, but the rest of us piled into the SUV and drove to a nearby village to hike to a cave. We started out along the road in the village but wandered through cemeteries and rice paddies before reaching the cave. It was a horizontal limestone cavern with stalagmites and stalactites that are a bit worse for the exposure. A stream was running through, so we ditched our shoes and wandered along the cave, alternating between the silty or sandy stream and slippery clay. Not quite Carlsbad Caverns but still quite a treat. The trek back through the paddies by moonlight was probably even a bit more special. But one has to have a good source of light because the dikes between the paddies are narrow and sometimes high, so you don't want to slip!
I slept well that night, starting out in the hammock but moving to my sleeping bag on the floor when the breeze was too cooling to be comfortable. The heat of the morning sun drove me back to the hammock, however. Breakfast was modest - fried egg, bread, and what I discovered too late was a local tempeh. I finished off a small jar of peanut butter I had brought along for just that purpose. Besides, it was crunchy Skippy PNB, when I really just like creamy Jif! No more crunchy! We got ready for the beach and struck out. The water was cool but felt WONDERFUL! A few people were surfing in the distance. The waves were quite strong, so I didn't stay in too long for risk of getting tired and swept out to sea where there probably isn't a Coast Guard to come to my rescue. I love playing in the waves more than I like body surfing. The clear, cool water; the waves; and the tingly foam were just what I needed to recharge. After the surf, we were napping and sitting on the beach, discussing ways to improve tourism to benefit the village. I must not have applied enough sunscreen - sorry, Mom - and my shoulders got cooked. All the better to soak in the experience, I guess. Gotta have some sunburn to go with the sand in your clothes that just won't quit!
We walked back, rinsed off at the village well and again in the mandi. Then there was a simple, and simply perfect, lunch. First they brought iced sweet tea, and I realized that drinking iced tea is just what I would be doing at the beach at home. I am glad to know that beach cultures seem to universally appreciate the finer point of iced tea drunk at the beach when it is hot. We also had these divine cassava cracker things that I just love. They are a bit like tortillas but thinner and then folded over. I'm not sure what, if any, flavoring has been added, but they have a savory kind of flavor. There was a mildly spicy vegetable soup, nasi putih, and - best of all - a fantastic fried fish. Beach village cuisine at its finest. It was soooooo hard to pull down the hammock to leave...
We walked back through the village to the waiting SUV. The tailpipe had fallen off, by the way, when we left for the cave, presumably a result of the aforementioned hard driving on bad roads. We took photos of our friends, each grabbed a souvenir kilo of sweet preserved (smoked?!?) bananas from just up the road, and piled into the SUV for the trip home. We made a stop for photos at the top of a bluff overlooking the main beach and another stop in a fishing village where another river empties into the sea. Quite nice, but I'd rather be back down the road away from all the "traffic." LOL. We passed through a very narrow strip of virgin rainforest; most of what I saw on the trip back was secondary growth and oil palm plantations. Obligatory nap in the car, dinner at a random padang, and then back in Jakarta.
All in all, quite a weekend. This group is pretty active outside of Ramadan, and I will definitely go out with them again. Maybe Krakatoa? I also hope to see more of the young and upcoming Indonesian professionals. It's great to have local friends to spend time with, apart from people connected to work. Sigh. My sunburned shoulders are still quite red, but I think I have washed off most or all of the sand from my clothes and gear. I hope to go back. Maybe next time I won't return!
Hugs, E
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