Tag Archives: hiking

Day 20 – Up the hills

Our second day at Quinta de Odelouca began. This time, I had opted for fresh bread rolls which the camp ground offered as a breakfast option. Quite happy with the choice, we started to pack the carrier backpack and my own small backpack: Today, we’d see some of our surrounding!

The short hike Flo picked was to get to San Marco de Sierra via the hill route, have lunch there and then come back along the river. We started around 10am when the sun was already up high but temperature-wise it was still okay. Then…we went face first into the hills. 😉 To be fair, we first had to cross a small river to get to the hill. There was no convenient bridge close by, just a railway one, so we did it the old fashioned way. I, once more, was quite happy for my hiking sandals because I just walked on through. Flo, carrying Number 3 in a backpack, had opted for heavy hiking boots and thus needed to find a shallow route. It wasn’t a problem either.

… and up! Not much shade

Then, we went face first up the hill. I’m not sure if the pictures will do it any justice. It was steep. Very steep. I was wondering if a 4WD drive could make it. Probably yes…anyhow, have I mentioned that it was steep?

It was a very pretty hike though. Through fields of flowers, under cork oaks (which I hadn’t seen before) and by the stump of an old tower. Towards San Marco de Sierra which appeared as a lovely white city in the distance once we had crested the hill in between. Seeing the village was quite misleading though as the path wound its way on the crest to the tops of two more hills before descending again.

By around 11.30am we had made it. Half an hour to spare to meander through the village before having lunch in a recommended eatery. Wait, is it closed?

Turned out, it isn’t open Saturday at lunch time. Feeling rather hungry after our hike, we checked the next eatery. It was 22 minutes by foot away. Back into walking mode, we finally arrived at a place that was open. And buzzing. Geez, is that because it’s Saturday? There was hardly a table available. And a whole pig roasting on a spit in front of the eatery. No one spoke a lot of English so I am not sure if it happens every Saturday or if it was a special occasion. Anyway, we got food, even vegetarian things for me. The poor waitress made a face once she understood that I wanted something vegetarian but then was quick to suggest an omelette with cheese. Portions were enormous. Baby also dug into the food. Seems like it’s true and kids just looooooooove chicken.

Flo finished the whole affair with a coffee while Number 3 charmed everyone again. Like a chiselled farm hand, looking serious and ordering a coffee and a shot for lunch…suddenly cracked into a big smile and waved at baby because baby was standing in his way, waving at him. Portugal turns out to be a very good country to travel with kids.

Its breeding time – never seen so many storks

Filled to the brim, we were ready to go once more. This time, we followed along the river for a bit and crossed the river one last time. The way back seemed long now but then, we could see the camp ground and were rather relieved. At least in my case.

Flo still had energy left to jump into the pool with Number 3 before having a short stop over on the porch of the camp ground owners. They offer glasses of wine, port or soft drinks for a very reasonable price while you sit at the same table and chit chat. Unfortunately, most of the campers were Dutch and just could not be persuaded to speak English. Unable to follow the conversation (especially me), we cut our time there short and went to have dinner instead.

  • Fog in the morning made everything damp and slightly cooler
  • tiny bridge over a stream on the porperty
  • Wild roses I would guess?
  • still flat
  • crossing the Odelouca
  • nina through
  • A beautiful cork oak
  • going up …
  • .. and up …
  • … and up! Not much shade
  • San Marco de Sierra taunting us
  • great viewpoint
  • what a life
  • almost here
  • Number 3 checking the decorations at the town square
  • Its breeding time – never seen so many storks
  • A paddock we crossed full of wild flowers
  • Back at Quinta de Odelouca

Day 18 – A different scenery

The next morning didn’t start much better. We were unsure about where to go and what to do next. This part of Portugal is all about the beaches. Here, between Tavira, Olhão and Faro, there is a National Park just off the coast, full of sandbanks. Taking a boat to see parts of it is a thing according to the guide book. So I thought that’s a plan.

After breakfast, we headed towards the reception area to get information about tours through the park. The lady gave us one that looked promising, having an eco tour in it. She couldn’t give us any more information though or sell us tickets so we packed up (not really sorry to leave this camp ground) and drove to the marina of Olhão to make a final decision.

Daily ritual …

While I still entertained the thought of a boat ride, Flo was having serious doubt. None of the boats had any roofs or cloths to create a bit of shade. Going on a 1 ½ hour tour with Number 3 in full sunshine seemed like a bad idea. And a tour would already be the exotic thing to do: Most people opted for a ferry to the “desert island” sandbank to tan for up to 5 hours and then take the ferry back. That seemed even less of a thing that we would enjoy, least of all Number 3.

When we saw all those people at the docks, prepared to worship the sun for one day, even I changed my mind. Maybe we’re just not beach people. Or maybe we got snobby through all our travels…I just couldn’t see the appeal of sand with no shade anymore. Maybe the rugged west coast will be more our thing.

Thus, we changed course and drove inland, exchanging the ocean for the hills. Flo immediately felt better. And Number 3 was asleep in the car again. 🙂 So our first stop was to get more groceries, because food makes you feel better as well.

We stopped briefly in Salir as the Lonely Planet said, it is a lovely little village but we were still not feeling it. The tourist info was closed and none of the cafes looked too inviting. We had a quick ice cream and coffee intake and then continued.

Only about 8km further, the loop walk of Rocha da Pena started. We arrived, had a quick sandwich lunch with our groceries and prepared for the walk. The estimated time to complete the loop is between 2.5 and 3 hours. It was already past midday when we started and the sun burned down quite mercilessly. Right at the start, two walkers came back down so we asked them about shade on the path and were told, it practically didn’t exist. It would wind up to the cliffs, become a walk along the cliff edge and then get back down. Nothing big, about 160 meters in height but all in sunshine.

Only 150m up, but steep and hot

Now I had doubts. So Flo and I settled on going up for 30min and then coming back down again. And this is what we did. It was a scorcher. Even for me and I wasn’t carrying Number 3 on my back. The views were great, wild sage and thyme bloomed and made it smell delicious everywhere but there just was neither shade nor wind. All of what we saw would probably turn brown in summer, given the heat we experienced. But…we both enjoyed the walk. Finally, we were back on track with how we felt about Portugal and what we are doing.

Our next, and last stop before the camp ground for today was Alte. Agua Mel was a cosy little café with a small balcony-like outside seating area. All of the cakes and treats looked delicious. So we had another round of Portugese Gao, black tea and treats. Baby seemed quite hungry as he was really tugging into the sweets.

Alte itself was a picturesque little village. We wandered through a couple of roads on our way to the “Fontes”, walled in springs next to a small stream. The village used to come here for the washing, nowadays it’s a picnic area where you can look at the stream and count the fish. 😉

Feeling amazing, we headed towards our camp ground. When the road turned into a gravel road two kilometres before we arrived, we got excited. These camp ground out in the sticks are usually the best. As was correct again in this case. The camp ground was small, tucked away and just overall lovely.

There was a bit of a frenzy at the end. First to get back to the petrol station nearby to buy ice for our cooler and then to set everything up in time for another Skype date with our German friends. But all was well. It was warm, sunny and just the kind of quiet place we love. So a little rush does nothing to phase us on this night.

  • Daily ritual …
  • … for the faint of melanin
  • Just a little help … tall stairs …
  • Only 150m up, but steep and hot
  • For our kiwi readers: This is were gorse belongs
  • Daddy got out the big boots fror this
  • cool view, worth the hot hike in our books
  • Final bit up under the cliff
  • this would be less chill with a white landship
  • cracker still in hand, was a good walk
  • walking makes hungry
  • portugese coustardy treats – worth it
  • new skill: climb steps up to the bellybutton
  • walk through Alte
  • brave fountain defender
  • Checking out Fonte de Alte
  • perfect day to walk the hat
  • Number 3 mesmerised by all the …
  • … fishies!!!
  • Blue George felt like a rally car 🙂
  • making sure dad goes past the post
  • base set up in record time
  • combine x with dirt = entertainment
  • georgeous spot
  • first sunset picture of the trip

Day 286 – Over the hills and far away

Another bright and sunny day!

Another bright and sunny day!

The night had been slightly eerie as we could hear the wolves howl. I was happy when the sun was back up and we could pack and leave. I know that there were enough sheep around that no wolf would be interested in us but still…

All of today was dedicated to exploring the Alamut valley. We started with a stint to Evan Lake which was the back-up camping option yesterday. Arriving at the tiny lake with lots of rubbish at the shore and almost no privacy, we were glad that we’d camped in the fields. However, on the way out we met a retired French couple doing an overland trip in a 4WD. They were lovely even though the conversation was in French (go Flo!) and gave us the coordinates of a possible campsite further on.

almost back on the main road now

almost back on the main road now

The next “attraction” in the Lonely Planet is a road that leads through or alongside canyons. Flo found a loop that we could ride to not double up and so we went in on river-level. First, we follow the road along the ride with the cliff side to your right. It was hard to photograph as the sun was right behind the cliffs. After a while, the road starts to wind up into the mountains. From here, you can look into the valley with the canyons below. Again, we saw the tents of nomads up here.

Full service overland adventure ...

Full service overland adventure …

On route to Alamut Castle, the next of the famed Assassins’ castles, we saw a group of overlanders parked in a little side alley. They rode down from Switzerland in a tour, complete with support vehicle full of spare parts and tires, and will continue for a month. Thus, they were in a bit of a hurry…once a flat tire was fixed. We talked to them until we were near melting, standing in full gear in the sun.

A quick roadside lunch at the Alamut Castle parking lot prepared us for the hike up to the castle. The “Assassins” were prosecuted and thus quite paranoid when they built their castles here: There is no easy entrance and no easy siege. The mountainside is steep so the narrow staircase is the only way up (the second entrance has been destroyed).

one wing of the castle. Must have been decently manned

one wing of the castle. Must have been decently manned

Alamut Castle is the one with a bit more structure remaining but it is also the one where you have to pay a fee and most of it is covered in scaffolding. We were a bit disappointed, yesterday’s castle had much more to offer.

Technically, the “attractions” end here. There is a pass leading out of the valley all the way to the Caspian Sea but the Lonely Planet only describes it for hiking. The French overlander couple from his morning came in that way and while the views are gorgeous, they said the road was in bad condition and muddy. They were happy to have 4WD. Thus, I was not keen to go that way. However, coming from Alamut valley, most of the road up is sealed. Flo wanted to go as high up as possible…fair enough. First, the road continued on in the valley in a rather unimpressive way. When the incline finally started, the road became interesting again. Up and up and up and up. When we seemed to be level with the snow-capped mountains on the other side of the valley, the tarmac ended and Flo stopped as promised. We took a couple of pictures of the valley, Rocinante and us before heading back down.

The 'final' view - pretty cool

The ‘final’ view – pretty cool

It was late enough to look for a camping spot but we were lacking in the important departments of food, water and fuel. So we hopped from village to village hoping to remedy these lacks without having to go too far. The first shop, with a lovely owner, had water, eggs and veggies for us. Good start but not all we needed. Again, he gave us the things for half the price and a toffee on top. The next village supplied cheese and bread but fuel was only available in the third village. By now it felt late. The first possible spot next to a field of wheat was ours.

Flo cooked the tomato-egg dish for me that Azemeh had made for breakfast all those days ago. It worked well and was delicious with bread and the seed mixture that Azemeh had given us as well. Well fed, we had a short visit by a shepherd asking for water before settling in for the night.

Day 270 – Sneak peek into Persian family life

We enjoyed the wildflowers

We enjoyed the wildflowers

It got really cold over night, up in the mountains in a cave. When the alarm went off at 5.30 am, there was simply no way I could get out of bed. No way. Luckily, Flo didn’t insist on getting up so we stayed in the warm bed until the much more reasonable time of 7.30 am. Breakfast was served at 8 am in the restaurant and consisted of flat bread, butter, honey, a cream cheese that is somewhere between Philadelphia and feta cheese, hard boiled eggs and a plate with cucumber slices. Thus, we were ready to face the day.

Reached a nice high point of our hike.

Reached a nice high point of our hike.

Everyone else who wanted to had gone up the mountain hours before but we thought it would be sad if we leave without the slightest bit of hiking. So we put on our boots, packed some water and snacks and left on the dirt track towards the mountain. We had no idea how far we will get as it started to be quite warm in the sun already but there wasn’t much ambition in play anyway. We just wanted to have a nice view. Following the track around four bends, Flo spotted a tree up a hillside that looked like a great resting place. Up the hillside we went and it was definitely nice in the shade. Exploring further, we hiked up to the top of that hill, then spotted another, higher hill behind which we also climbed. Here, after another break and many pictures, we decided to call it and head back into the village.

Our escort to Shahr-e Babak

Our escort to Shahr-e Babak

Once back in the village, we came across Azemeh again. She had invited us yesterday to stay with her family in Shahr-e Babak and now her whole family (husband Mohhamad, three daughters and herself) were here to pick us up and escort us to her home. Such a sweet gesture! We, of course, were unprepared and hurried up to pack all our things so we were good to leave as well. Shahr-e Babak is the closest town to Meymand, maybe about 30 kilometers away. In no time, we arrived at the house where we also met the grandmother and an aunt and uncle who we had seen before yesterday. Being great hosts, they gave us the chance to have a shower and make ourselves comfortable before it was time for many, many questions from both sides.

The eldest daughter Mahdiye speaks English very well and was able to translate for people who didn’t speak much English. Mohadeseh, the middle daughter, also knew enough English to ask questions while little Maedeh only said my name and then relied on translation to get across what she wanted.

Everybody having fun

Everybody having fun

Being a vegetarian, which is not very common in Iran, I made lunch slightly harder for Azemeh. We went out for a tour through the town and to give Azemeh a chance to pick up some ingredients including a kind of bread that Shahr-e Babak is famous for. This is how we ended up in a car, Flo on the front seat next to Azemeh, all the girls on the back seats and Maedeh dancing to Persian pop music on the middle console.

When lunch was served, it turned out that I am the biggest food barbarian when it comes to Persian food. I simply know zero about it which equals knowing zero about what to eat with what. The table sported big bowls of rice which was a good start so I took some. It was clearly meant to go with the chicken which I skipped on. Next to my plate was a bowl with something that looked like sauce so I was about to put it on my rice when I was stopped. It was a yogurt soup that you eat with a spoon or rather you drop chunks of fresh bread in to soak up the soup and then eat the chunks with a spoon. I have never heard of it before but it was delicious. Plus, the Shahr-e Babak bread is delicious, too, and goes well with the cream cheese.

So yummy, so hospitable

So yummy, so hospitable

Next up, I put some salad on my plate next to my rice. This time, no one was quick enough to stop me but it is not what you do. There are special plates for salads and then you pour the dressing over it without it mingling with our other food. Whoops. Tea was served after lunch and I continued my barbarian streak when I asked for milk to put in the tea. One does not do this here but I was allowed to. 🙂 Then Flo dropped a cube of sugar in his cup which you also don’t do. You dip it into the cup, let it soak up some tea then put it in your mouth and drink the tea while it melts away.

During lunch, we also tried to learn Farsi words for the things we were eating but only a couple stuck, mostly the ones for bread and cheese. Tea is also on the list of things so I think I’ll be okay in the future. A little bowl with pistachios was served which was yummy AND an easy word in Farsi. Afterwards, I was really tired so I had a little 30 minute power nap before the day continued.

The rain did not scare all those Persians from their picnics

The rain did not scare all those Persians from their picnics

Since it was Friday and everyone was off school/work, we were good for an excursion to a huge field with rhubarb plants (or something very similar). It’s a very popular spot for the locals to go and have a picnic. We would meet up with more aunts and uncles and cousins there who gathered to be merry and cook a big pot of ash (not quite a soup, not quite a stew) together. The weather seemed to turn on us but we went anyway. Tea was served again and I shared the box of sweets that I had bought in Bandar Abbas so I could contribute something at least. It was great to see so many people and we played some volleyball or a version of dodge ball before having a bowl of ash.

Mohhamad, Azemeh and Maedeh with Charowo

Mohhamad, Azemeh and Maedeh with Charowo

The rain and wind picked up for real now. Packing everything back in the car, we still had many more pictures to take so everyone had their memory shot. Maedeh wanted some with us on the big leaves of the rhubarb plants which was sweet. Strawberries appeared from somewhere so there’s a picture of all of us holding up strawberries and then we all hopped into the car.

On the way back, we stopped at the field with pistachio plants. Flo had asked about it earlier as we both were unsure how the plant looks like and how pistachios are actually “made”. Here, we got a glimpse of tiny pistachios in the making.

The evening passed with more tea, conversation and then a serving of different fruits. Azemeh asked when we would like to have dinner but we had been eating the whole day and really didn’t need more food. Instead, she brought out her home-made baking. Full to the brim, we tried a small piece each and if we liked it, Azemeh packed a whole bag for us to take with us as snacks tomorrow. So, so kind and so, so yummy. I particularly liked small dough balls filled with chopped pistachios and probably dipped in a rosewater-honey blend (maybe).

At 9.30 pm, I nearly fell asleep on the couch so we went to bed which was earlier than any family member was accustomed to go to bed. It was a long day full of new experiences.

 

Day 269 – Meymand surprise

Didn't expect it to be so mountainous so soon...

Didn’t expect it to be so mountainous so soon…

Instead of going straight to Shiraz, we decided to go to at least one of the Lonely Planet suggestions for the east of Iran. Meymand sounded great and just like our thing. A slightly weird village in a quiet mountain region, sleepy and with a cool highlight (this is an ancient troglodyte village with 2500 rooms dug into the sandstone).

The ride looked a bit daunting for a day, with 450 km to go, but we thought to give it a try and stop if need be. At least we would leave the brutal heat of Bandar Abbas behind is. Even in the morning, the temperature went over 30 degrees. The landscape surprised us, with cool rock formations starting right outside of Bandar Abbas. As we got higher, the temperatures got more tolerable as well. With a decent two lane highway for almost the entire way, we made good progress.

Found a kebab shop where the owner assured me that they have nothing but meat...then Flo was served his kebab with bread and yogurt...

Found a kebab shop where the owner assured me that they have nothing but meat…then Flo was served his kebab with bread and yogurt…

During our lunch break we had our first encounter with a particular aspect of Iranian hospitality. Luckily our guidebook and friends prepared us for this: When we wanted to pay for our lunch, the shopkeeper said it was free. It is part of a polite game to refuse and insist on paying as a guest (three times). If they give in, it was politeness, if they insist it was a genuine offer. I like the dynamic of that – everything is very polite and done with a smile and it feels much nicer to spend money this way. Besides, the kebab was excellent.

Around 5 pm we were on the final kilometers towards Meymand, expecting a quiet night in a sleepy little town. Instead there was a greeting committee at the entrance to the village. With complementary drinks and cookies. We got swarmed and many smartphone photos got taken. Through much confusion, we found out that today of all days (Thursday is the first day of the weekend in Iran) they had a big festival going. The mountaineering club organized a big hike for Friday morning up one of the nearby peaks. This at least tripled the usual population of 40 with day trippers and camping hikers.

Posing with Mohsen

Posing with Mohsen

When we mentioned that we would like to stay in the towns only guesthouse (featuring a night in one of the many cave rooms of the town), smartphones got drawn all around and in no time we got ushered into the village and in front of the guesthouse keeper. People followed us all the way to get a chance to get a picture taken. We were village celebrates in no time, especially after some people translated the story behind our trip. At this point, Mohsen showed up with two girls in tow, being extremely nice and helpful as well. He is a local tour guide and invited us to come hiking with them in the morning – starting 6 am.

It's like a hobbit hole!

It’s like a hobbit hole!

A  bit overwhelmed, we unloaded our stuff into our little hobbit hole. After a little breather and a change of clothes, we had just enough time for a little stroll to explore the village before dinner in the guesthouse restaurant. We once again got stopped and asked for a picture at least every 5 meters. We heard rushed conversation all around with people explaining in Farsi what our deal was and where we were from to any newcomer. It was great fun and very sweet.

Azemeh asked for a picture with her and Maede before inviting us to her home. So lovely!

Azemeh asked for a picture with her and Maede before inviting us to her home. So lovely!

One of the encounters developed into something more though. We got asked for photos by a very nice lady. During our brief conversation, she invited us to visit her home. This, on it’s own is also not too unusual and is part of Iranian small talk when spoken lightly. We declined by explaining that we were staying in town this night, but Azemeh made clear that was a genuine offer. She and her family lived in the next proper city 35 km back. We had no firm plans and after some thinking, we agreed to call her once we got into town the next day (after maybe hiking in the morning). It was very touching to see that she was genuinely excited about this.

During dinner we met another kind couple from the Czech Republic. They had traveled a lot themselves and it was great to swap some travel stories. It also helped to ignore the rude behaviour of the big tour group from an unnamed neighboring country of Germany.

Exhausted, we retreated to our surprisingly cold room and crawled into our beds with an extra blanket each to snuggle up for the night.

Day 249 – Thunder and lightning

The morning started out sunny, in more than one way. The sun was actually up and we finally got a chance to really sleep as long as we want. Breakfast was good as well (and also cheap, thanks to the kitchen in our studio). We even fully caught up on blogging, to the point that I am just writing this on the day, as it happened.

Finally got it. Been driving through it for about five times by now!

Finally got it. Been driving through it for about five times by now!

We booked two nights in Muscat, so this was our day to go back to town to explore and take heaps of photos. Pretty much only take photos, because today is Friday and most museums are closed on Fridays. So we saddled our bike in the usual town setup with empty panniers and a ready backpack and got going some time after 9 am. The plan was to roughly follow a walking tour suggested in the lonely planet.

Since we were not feeling like going to the fish market and had done the Souq last night, we did the first km along the promenade on the bike until we were below Mutrah fort. We parked our bike in the shadow of this impressive piece of Portuguese heritage and made on our way around it to maybe find a way up and inside. We failed, but judging by the works that were going on near the entrance, future travelers might have better luck than us.

Looking out to the harbour

Looking out to the harbour

By this point, more and more clouds had gathered overhead. Good in principle because they keep the midday sun at bay, this time the sky looked a bit more serious. Sheets of rain could be seen over the sea and hills to the north-west. We still decided to keep walking a little bit more along the corniche towards Old Muscat. All around, police and workmen were busy preparing for some sort of event along the road. We saw at one point that there would be a show-run of the Red Bull F1 team tonight. Nothing that sparked our interest, though …

There was a bit of back and forth about how far we would walk when I saw another option in the guidebook. Apparently, there was a hiking path from Al-Riyam park back to where we had parked Rocinante. Once back, we could get on the bike and ride the remaining 3 km to Old Muscat and explore further. The guide book recommended sturdy shoes, but how bad could it be in the middle of town?

I'm mostly for scale

I’m mostly for scale

As it turned out – the track was really all out hiking. The path was well marked, but went up over steep steps and along a ridge. The last kilometer was down a narrow wadi. It was spectacular! Beautiful views of both the city and the hills, serene peace in little valleys and almost total quiet in some places. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit fickle at this point, with bits of light rain now and again. What really got to Nina though was the building up in the sky a couple of kilometers further, with regular thunder and lightning going. Although we were in a wadi, there was still not much to worry about. We were really close to town (although out of sight) and even in case of flooding could have climbed our way out.

About two thirds in, we were overtaken by a jolly group of four early-twenties Omani guys. They were real charmers and helped to calm Nina down a lot. We even got some wild sorrel they had found to try. It was really good. At one point we spotted a snake – something I had been looking forward to since Australia. It was not too big and pretty shy, so there is no photo, but wohoo!
From the end of the track (ending at the wall of a protective dam) it were only a couple of meters to our bike. We came out of the track just in time for lunch, so we hopped on and made our way to Old Muscat to a recommended cheap restaurant. Along the way, we saw that the preparations along the corniche had progressed a lot. One direction was now completely fenced in and police was setting up checkpoints along the route.

Iconic Muscat photo with Rocinante

Iconic Muscat photo with Rocinante

The sky got darker and darker during lunch. That led us to decide to modify the walking tour a bit more and do it on the bike instead. The Sultan’s Palace and two more forts framing the harbour were the highlights of this part. When the rain started for real, we were ready to call it a day and head back to the hotel. This time, the police was on the road and directed the traffic onto a back road. Seems the Red Bull party was about to start … shame about the weather.

Slightly soaked we arrived at the hotel. Even though it was only just 3 pm, we called it there. I only went out one more time to pick up fresh veg from the supermarket for a dinner of delicious sandwiches and fresh strawberries with yoghurt for dessert. Tomorrow will be an early start to make it to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque by 8 am.

Once again, the day was filled with unforgettable moments – amazing and terrifying alike. Although we have been doing this for 8 month now, we are still surprised by how these things work out. Most importantly, we are humbled by the unending friendliness and hospitality of the people we encounter along the way.

Day 148 – Falling, water

We will be so lost in any without translation from the Thai script

We will be so lost in any without translation from the Thai script

Right – today was day trip time. There has been talk of waterfalls for a while and we felt like some light hiking. The hubies (New phrase we invented for my dad and his partner Silvia) promised that we would get that at the Khao Phanombencha National Park.

Getting there got much easier once we took over navigation entirely – but we shall not talk about these things. The park entrance is about 40 km away from our hotel. It took us less than an hour on the scooters to get there. There were some complaints about my Indonesia inspired driving afterwards …

Did not look too bad in the beginning

Did not look too bad in the beginning

At the park we got on a path to a set of 7 cascading watefalls. About 500m in we came upon a turn of to what was labeled “Back to the nature trail”. It looked so harmless, and was supposed to be only 1700m long, so we got going. The first half was true to the expectations: A narrow path through the flat jungle. But then the track started to climb. A pretty hefty climb, actually. Last time Nina and I did a track like this was on Rarotonga, but this time we had my dad and his partner with us. Let’s say we operate on slightly different fitness levels 😉 – and so it took us two hours to ascend the remaining 800m. To be fair, we also went up almost 500m in the process.

the 2nd and 3rd level waterfalls

the 2nd and 3rd level waterfalls

We reaped the reward after another climb, this time down another 200m to the top one of the 7 waterfalls. We cooled down in the pool before making our descent back to the normal path.

Completely knackered we arrived back at the car around 3 pm. We were starving, too, so we dropped down at the first place in sight. Surprisingly, the food was neither bad nor expensive.

After getting home, the rest of the day was set aside for laying low and recovering (for the most of us). Nina and I tackled another movie. Good times.

 

Day 139 – Surprises, good and bad

We had a lovely breakfast with Boston Cream donuts but couldn't help to notice that "Durian" is a regular flavour...

We had a lovely breakfast with Boston Cream donuts but couldn’t help to notice that “Durian” is a regular flavour…

The trip to Bukit Lawang, although only 80 km, took us all morning. This may have had to do with our extremely lazy getting up, or with the decadently long breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts. But it surely had to do with the fact that it was Sunday, as well. Sunday meant that although Medan itself was quiet, the only road out that way was not. The region and Bukit Lawang are a common day trip for smog chocked Medanese.

Not even 10 meters beyond the welcome sign of Bukit Lawang we were swarmed by hawkers. “Can I help you?” “Which hotel?” … my tolerance for rubbish has worn mighty thin after 50 days in Indonesia, so we left it to brisk answers and avoided eye contact. For some reason the sale’s pitch under the pretence of altruism gets me extra riled up. Luckily, we got left alone after a couple of moments of our silence treatment to sort out accommodation ourselves.

The place that caught our fancy the most was called “Back to Nature”, supposedly sitting within 80 ha of privately preserved rainforest on the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park. The Lonely Planet was a bit vague whether a road would lead to the place, so we called to find out. No, no road would lead there, but we could park our bike in town and a guide would pick us up from there. Hmm …

Suria, our guide, arrived just a couple of minutes later. He suggested we should have a bite to eat before heading out (it was noon by now). Hmm … How long to the place? Just 30 to 45 min. Ok … still, food sounded right. During lunch we tried to find out a bit more about what, where and how. The big ticket item, at least for Westerners, is the daily Orangutan feeding, a little bit into the park on the other side of the river. Thus hit the bombshell – not quite willing to get it out right away, we prodded Suria to find out that the feeding is closed until further notice. A big flood hit the village a week ago and the boat to ferry visitors across got washed away (more on that flood to come). Wow … what now?

There were two things we could do to still get a chance on seeing Orangutans here. One would be a guided hike into the national park, which would be way out of our budget and probably our available time as well. The other, with a small chance of a sighting, would be to still go to “Back to Nature”. Their garden has attracted some of the big apes and they get visited 2-3 times a week. Plus, it would still be a night in the jungle, something I had not done as of yet. Nina was doubtful to sad, but in the end went along. Maybe it was Suria’s inexhaustible cheerfulness filled with catchy one-liners that pushed her over the edge.

We went down this way just after a motorcycle came up. No way Rocinante would have made this

We went down this way just after a motorcycle came up. No way Rocinante would have made this

So we stored our bike and our gear at a place in the village and started walking along the river. We had what we thought we needed distributed between our and another borrowed backpack. Spoiler alert, we would have needed different things. A couple of hundred meters in I accepted that I would not have gotten Rocinante through here. A small bike coming up a staircase tipped me over the edge (if only I’d known). The path follows behind a row of houses and the wall of the gorge. The houses are strung along on the river’s edge. Where the houses ended, the walkway turned into a hiking path – ok, surely no way to get the bike here.

Behind the next bend, the hiking path abruptly ended in a broken staircase and the brown river hitting a cliff face on our side. This was the place where the boat over to the feeding station was moored until last week. Someone with a lorry’s inner tube had joined us a moment ago. With continued cheerfulness we were told that the tube is for us, the only way forward is through the water and it is about chest high. Great! Remember the things we packed for the day? Guess what, swim trunks and a change of pants were not among them! Our gear was carried over and we made it with newly soaked butts. It was warm alright, but having your only change of clothes wet is not the most charming of starts. “Is this the only place where we cross?” “Sure brother, don’t worry be happy! Welcome to the jungle!” On we went, but I had a certain suspicion. The map to the place showed two river crossings via cable bridges ahead. Rubber tube guy kept on following us …

Our two guys bringing our backpacks to safety first

Our two guys bringing our backpacks to safety first

Soon, we came upon the first cable – but instead of spanning the brown floods, it was blocking the path on our side, ending somewhere behind us in the water. Last bit through the water, yeah right! The flood that hit the village also destroyed sections of the path from here on and both cable bridges. To get there, we would need to cross 20m of river twice. I am still not sure what kept Nina from snapping right there. Instead we both embraced the sheer weirdness of the whole thing and went along. Down to our underwear we went. My only worry, and it was a huge one, was about our packs. Mine held all our major electronics – laptop, camera etc. and we had brought no waterproofing.  Turned out that my worries were well founded. Suria, while carrying the pack across, stepped into a hole and sunk in to the chest, holding the pack over his head for dear life. He made it …

Before we plonked ourselves into the rubber tube, we saw a couple of tourists (recognizable by the white skin) getting ready to raft down the river in a make-shift raft out of four inner tubes tied together. It looked like considerably more fun than trying to hike upstream through the river. We stored that information in the back of our minds for the way back tomorrow.

I was already on land again when the guys went back to get Flo

I was already on land again when the guys went back to get Flo

Then Nina, who was struggling with the strong current even in knee-high water, was dragged to the other side. It took both guys and some floating through the strongest current to make it. I was next and though I made it further than Nina on my own, the current was something to be wary off. Again, we both had wet undies and, this time, also wet shirts. Afterwards, Suria and Mekah (tube guy) needed a smoking break.

From here, it really wasn’t too far to the guest house anymore. It looked very charming with all the furniture made out of (drift)wood, overlooking the river. We got a welcome tea which tasted a lot like Christmas with spices like clove and aniseed. After already being dragged through the river three times, we didn’t feel like going for a swim and, instead, had a shower under the waterfall which turned out to be very, very cold.

Macaques taking a bath

Macaques taking a bath

Sitting around, reading, we were called by one of the staff as a group of macaques climbed along the other river side. It was cool to see monkeys in the wild. They even went for a swim in a separated puddle which had almost no current; surprisingly good swimmers, all of them.

I felt a bit restless so I went through the gardens on a little guided tour but without seeing any apes or monkeys. Ikbal, another staff guy, arrived with some supplies and stories about his own motorcycle.

It got dark when we had dinner so the generator was turned on. The whole place lit up beautifully!

Day 103 – Waterfalls

We had booked a half day hike for this morning. It was supposed to start at 8am but our guide turned up early so we left early as well. We started with the hike to the waterfall. There is an official path to get there but we took the unofficial road which leads along the artificial waterway and gave us great views over the valley with rice fields.

Beautiful place and enormous ...

Beautiful place and enormous …

We basically stayed on the same height line until we could see and hear the first waterfall. Apart from the waterfall, we could also hear something resembling thunder. Rani told us that those are eruptions within Rinjani, though, when the magma hits the water of the crater lakes. That was not the most reassuring of all explanations.

Going down to Air Tejung Sendang Gile, the view was lovely. The water falls down in two steps from a steep wall that is completely covered in green; ferns and jungle creepers. It has been ages since we saw the last waterfall…probably back in NZ.

You shouldn’t go underneath the water (it is falling down about 60 meters) but you can still get close enough to get wet from the spray. A couple of photos and a biscuit break later, we started for the second and more important waterfall. Again, you follow the artificial waterway and even cross an aqueduct with a drop on both sides before you have to cross the river twice to get to the place. The river is quite cold and the water is so clear that you can see everything. Rani helped me through the crossings; it’s just a bit hard crossing with bare feet rather than in water shoes as the rocks make footing uneven. It was much fun nevertheless. Continue reading →

Day 93 – Mon-three-versary!

cool fruit

cool fruit

What a day this was! It started golden already, waking up as the fishermen returned with their morning catch. The surf was still there, the view was too and the hills gave us shade from the sun long enough to get all our gear packed before the sun hits the beach. As promised our breakfast was waiting for us at Blasius’ place at 7 am. Dried banana baked in a dough mantle that looked a bit like croissants, tea and “kopi” to go with them. I love the local coffee, by the way. A lot like greek coffee, the ground and sugar are all mixed together and served unfiltered. To round it off we got offered sawo. The green fruit is eaten like a fig, broken apart and the inside that tastes a bit like sour banana with the texture of ripe pear is then nibbled out. The fruit was good, but it left a bizarre gum-like residue on the lips, like sap.

Very welcoming.

Very welcoming.

After breakfast Blasius took us and his middle son with him to his parents’ house to introduce us. We had a lovely welcome there, another round of coffee and a round of family photos. When Blasius told us that his dad is growing cocoa, amongst other things, I asked him if he had ever tried the cocoa (knowing that a lot of producers don’t know how the end product, chocolate, tastes like). He was a bit confused, nodded and wandered off. He came back with two fresh ripe cocoa pods, opened one and took a segment with bean in his mouth. We did the same and started munching away, chewing the bitter bean … when he spit the cleaned bean right back out! Turns out that one can eat the sweet sour fruity skin of the bean, which is quite good. The bean is disgusting of course, until dried, roasted and mixed with heaps of sugar …

After the visit it was time to leave and I asked what we owed for the dinner and breakfast and he said whatever we were ok to give. Ah, what a terrible burden! I gave 100k rupiah, and he seemed genuinely happy with this. After a sec, I added another 50k (all together $17.50 NZ). We did not have to pay for accommodation and the food was excellent, plus the kindness we received!

On our way down we saw 15 calmly crossing the road. Magical!

On our way down we saw 15 calmly crossing the road. Magical!

The road to Moni and on up Kelimutu was a beautiful mountain road. We had to stop for 15 minutes at a work site, but it was only a couple of turns and we could move to the shade to sit it out. The Trans-Flores Highway is great, reminding me a lot of NZ roads (although a tad less repaired). After a brief lunch in Moni, we headed up the volcano(es). From the car park it is only a 1.5 km walk to the viewing platforms. It is all about the three candela lakes here, each one a different colour and all visible from a single point. On the way we spotted macaques, shy as they should be, on the track. Wohoo, wild monkeys!

Up top we met Lili and Sebastian, a couple of French backpackers. We had a good chat and were able to fully NZ-geek-out when Lili told us about her working holiday visa and her soon to start NZ year 🙂

satisfyingly green

satisfyingly green

The road down from here to Ende leads through a super narrow valley, beautiful rice fields or rivers at the bottom of them and overall a riding highlight on this trip so far. One of these roads that deserve a youtube GoPro clip. The only downside was another road closure for half an hour and two work sites with muddy roads, but nothing too wild. When the road opened again, we got spilled through the work site in a frantic rush of motorcycles and down and out towards dusky Ende. Once there, a wrong turn got us into a police station, and after we got swarmed by officers we got a final escort through the one-way jungle to our guesthouse.