We got back from our vacation the day before last. It was quite a little adventure.
The beach we went to was only about 200 km from us, in a straight line. Unfortunately, we are in the mountains and we had to make some pit stops. the road there was beautiful. We got more into the wilderness as we went and the road we took gave plenty of scenic places. I took quite a few pictures, something others in the van weren't able to do. The trip had been planned by the Town Leader, which didn't bode well, but we had been told that nothng had been planned and that held true, for better or worse. The van we had was a 12 seater max. In Indonesia, seatbelts are rarely provided, almost a luxury. This van was not a luxury vehicle. We crammed about 23 people into it. I spent the first half of the trip in the front with another participant 2 children and the driver. The second half I was hanging on the side of the van, some of it sitting some not. I kind of enjoyed it but others were pressed in against each other folded up on themselves. Not the most comfortable ride.
This ride then lasted about 6 hrs. We lost about an hr to prayer as it was Friday and we were traveling around noon. We lost another 2 or so when we stopped for to buy food and they realized that a tire may need to be changed. People weren't particularly pleased by the length or the lack of foresight in these matters, but we eventually reached the beach and were glad to do so.
The lace we were camping was (they said) 4km from where we were dropped off. We had to haul our gear across the beach to get there. This part didn't bother me as much as others because I'm usually ready to carry my own weight, and the beach was gorgeous. Composed of white coral and sand, the waves were breaking about half a km away on the reef. Very picturesque.
We got there when the tide was coming in for some reasn, and the full mkoon ensured it wa\ould be coming up high. Some people weren't as fast as the others and a few things got trapped by the waves, to picked up later. This included a our tents.
The good news was that we had enough space for everyone to sleep in a tent unless they wanted to sleep outside. The bad news was that both were declared women only, despite having enough room for the girls who wished to sleep alone to have their own tent. That cause some dissent on the first night. I ended up with a few other Canadians sleeping on a small porch covered in ants (they were everywhere, and in force) that wasn't big enough for all of us to lie down properly. With those distractions, a small animal living under our roof who called out occasionally, and the people who didn't seem to understand that others were sleeping nearby, it was one of the worst sleeps in memory.
That was balanced by the beauty of the place. I went for a midnight walk on the beach at low tide under the light of the full moon, it was quite magnificent. The next morning, Jon woke me up with "Justin, I found monkeys!". We went exploring in the jungle, played in the water, collected shells, generally had a grand time in the sun. And yes their were monkeys. Most of Java is to over populated to allow much wildlife, so there wasn't a lot to see on that front. And what was there either had to be avoided or avoided us. When we went to where the waves were breaking we had to cross a coral reef, very hard on the feet, and we couldn't swim because of a strong undertow. I got to experience that last one, but still here. It was nice to be away from the town, not have anything planned, and just have to deal with our own stuff. We had some problems though. Some of the people weren't happy about the food and seeping situation, but most of that was avoidable and their own responsibility. Including the sun.
We put on sunscreen. Multiple times. Didn't do a lot of good, in the end. A bit of sunstroke, a lot of burns, still waiting on the tan. Yesterday was not comfortable. Most of my torso is burnt, as well as the back of my knees. Others had it worse, and even some of the Indos got burnt. Damn equatorial sun. But even with the drama, the sun burns, fire ants, lack of real swimming etc. It was still a great way to spend the weekend. I'm glad we went.
This week is when Steph and Putri lead the Compost Revolution, along with a few others in the group. We are introducing waste management to the community, and they have been leading the revelation. So far they seem very receptive, though the energy levels going into these things are always higher then when the work starts. We'll see. After the weekend, people seem to be in slightly better spirits. Many of us haven't started work, or are finding the placements rather dull when they so work. In 2 months we'll be back home, which seems both long and short. A month hasn't seen much change yet, but I guess we're still in the wait and see stage. Either way, we seem more positive now that we've crossed the 1 month mark, so that's positive.