I would love to add the pictures from Gili and also for this entry but it is quite hard to find an internet connection that is potent enough to upload my fotos!!! I will do so, as soon as I find one.
After our beach holidays in Gili Islands (at the biggest of the Gili islands) Chuss and me moved on to Lombok, anothere island quite close to the Gili islands but far bigger. When we arrived we had our first encounter with the local so callled "transport mafia" ... the code phrase here is: stay cool, be patient and bargain like hell...mercy is for victims! We had decided to start our trip in a village called Sengiggi... recommended by the famous lonely planet.
We found a quite cheap hostel which seemed to be very nice as for 5 Euros per person we got a double room (clean), breakfast (banana pancake), free internet and free transportation (as the center was a 15 minutes on foot). Just one drawback... remember the bathroom in Gili had no ceiling, well this bathroom had basically no floor. The soil was covered with rocks, which gave hostage to all kind of insects and animals. Fair enough, otherwise to good to be true.
Chuss and me rented a scooter and explored a little bit the south of the island. While I was driving, Chuss was responsible for greeting and waving at locals, as every time we passed somebody, there were friendly shouting "Hellooooo, how are yooouuuuuuuuu". Did I mention that right now in Indonesia it is still the rainy season? That means that at least twice per day, its starts pouring like hell. We were not yet totally accustomed so, when suddenly the weather god emptied a bucket over us, we kept on driving. Obviously what you should do is: find shelter... this is what all the locals do. Well eventually we got it.. and joined a couple of girls in their shelter.
When it started raining for the second time, we were already prepared and took shelter next to a small kiosk. Even though the owner didn t speak English he was highly motivated talking to us. Slowly his whole family joined, 3 ladies and their kids.... ahh i forgot to mention... here men are allowed to have more than one wife (max 4). He wanted us to hold the babies, but every time we just attempted to touch the kids, they started panicking and cried for 10 minutes :-)
Eventually we could continue and we went to Sokotong (small village in the south), there we enjoyed a very nice rice with chicken in a local "warung" = I wouldn t call it restaurant... but a rather basic place, usually family-run offering food. As the weather didn t get better we decided to go back home, cause I had to be in good shape, as the next day I would start my trekking tour to the summit of a volcano.
Pick up time: 5 am!!!!!!! Even though Chuss would not do the hike, she would still go to the village, where I will end my trek, to visit the waterfalls there. Therefore she had to get up at 4.30 as well. We arrived at the starting point where we had breakfast (banana panacake and pineapple). I never had so many pancakes in my life like in Indonesia... I guess the Indonesians think this is what Europeans eat for breakfast and so this is what they serve (cause they eat rice!!). Anyway after the breakfast an Indonesian girl (Janisha), me, the guide and 2 porters started our trip. The first day we had to hike for 7 hours. The path was extremely steep and very difficult, to make it even more demanding it OF COURSE started to rain, so the soil was very wet ans slippery.
If you think your job is hard, pls let me advice you, probably nothing in comparison to the job of the porter. I almost "died of exhaustion" climbing up that day but the porters were wearing flip-flops and carried around 50 kilos each. Not in a backpack like me, but in two wooden baskets connected by bamboo! I guess you imagine these guys to be of a similar structure like Rocky, but rather the contrary. Two tiny guys (around 1,6 m) with approximately 55 kilograms! Even more fascinating was the speed the climbed the mountain!!! The over took us and basically ran up the mountain!!!!
In the last hour of that day I was really exhausted but I kept going, as there was anyway no way back and complaining would make the situation easier...Eventually we arrived at the rim and OF COURSE it was raining. Two French guys and me found shelter were we waited for the rain to stop. Meanwhile our porters and the guide established our tent... service like for a princes. Cause they also prepared immediately some tea and dinner, so that we would get warm again. I basically fell into bed (sleeping bag) after that, which was good, cause I had to get up at 2:45 am to hike up to the summit.
After a cup of coffee equipped with a torch we started walking up to the summit. The way was very steep, slippery and we didn t have enough light = dangerous venture. I soon lost the other Indonesian girl, as she was very slow, and I was determined to be at the summit for sunrise. I disappointed myself by not making it for sunrise. It turned out to be the hardest hike of my life, as the last bit was a sort of steep lava-sand beach. So every time you made a step, we slid back half of it again. On the way I met the two French from the day before again... they were as exhausted as I was. We celebrated our victory (climbing the summit) with chocolate an energy drinks! AND it was sooooo worth it. The view on the crater, the panorama and just everything was GREAT!!! I have hardly seen something soo beautiful.
On the way down I met the Indonesian girl and our guide, she was totally exhausted and freezing, cause SURPRISE at 3700 m it is cold. So I volunteered to lend her my jacket as I was anyway on the way down to the rim.
When I arrived at the rim, one of the porters had already prepared breakfast for me... I was really glad, cause I was basically starving. Usually we were supposed to leave now to go down to a lake with hot springs, but we had to rest a bit, cause the Indonesian girl almost collapsed.
The way down to the hot springs was a real pain. I really do not like going down, especially when it is raining (ahh yes it started to rain again) and it was again really slippery. So once you slip you might actually die!! Very comforting perspective!
I was walking with the porter, as Janisha was far behind with the guide and so I arrived first at the hot springs. After a cup of tea I went directly with all my clothes on into the hot springs and stayed there 2,5 hours!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOO NICE!
Unfortunately I could not take a photo of the hot springs, but they are amazing. They are located next to a waterfall, which is surrounded by green mountains! No people, just me and the waterfall!
Actually we were supposed to walk up to the other rim the same day, but Janisha couldn t so we stayed (I was quite exhausted as well... but maybe I could have made it). Therefore the next day we had to get up early again to walk up to the second rim. 3,5 climbing! My backpack was even heavier because all my clothes were wet and therefore heavier! When we arrived at the rim, I received a sms from Fabian saying: "Hey astrid, pls send me a message when you are back home, I heard all trek in lombok have been closed as the weather is soo bad".... that doesn t make you feel extremely safe when you are at the top of a mountain. Well... anyway we started walking down and of course by then it started to rain again. We had to walk 6 hours downwards and obviously this is quite a challenge for one's knees. After 4 hours, my right knee decided that it was too much and started to be a real pain (literally).
When we FINALLY arrived in Sanaru at the car.... I was sooo happy to be alive and in more less good health!!!! It was a great trip but VERY exhausting and very hard. So if you ever decided to do that hike, brace yourself. BE in GOOD shape, have a very nice rain jacket and VERY good shoes!
Kisses from the volcano
Astrid
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