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Published: November 30th -0001
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sape
nasty little town. Sengiggi, it sure is crazy.
After the hardship of Rinjani it actually was very nice to spend a few days in this weird deserted Asian-Muslim version of Acapulco. We spent 5 days there eating mediocre banana pancakes, watching Indonesian soaps, saying "no, thank you" to rupiah starved salesman and enjoying the cheapest happy hour (or "crazy time" as it is known here) that we have encountered on our travels. We also spent a lot of time on the old i-net and someone called me Elton John-Harry-Potter. Pretty acurate i would say.
After 5 days, Sengiggi had given us the Sen-giggles. We wanted out. Direction Flores.
Looking at the map it doesnt look so far but it sure takes a long time to get there. It took a little over 2 days of Jeeps, buses, boat, and ferries.
We also had the privilege to stay in Sape one night. Lonely Planet describes it in the following manner. "Not a pretty place, Sape is a shambolic little port of tottering wooden houses with a distinct odour caused by squid and cuttle fish drying under locals house and the extensive salt pans nearby". I would certaily add manure to the list of olfactory
fetching water
for our lovely bungalow delights.
We then left Sape for Lanbuanbajo. On the ferry we had awesome views of Komodo island and other rugged islands of this part of the world.
Indonesian ferries are highly entertaining affairs. People smoking clove scented cigarettes everywhere, Karaoke blaring our heads off, random people coming to chat with you all the time, trying to get to the mandi (squat toilet) without slipping on peanut shells or stepping on someones head.
Arrived in LBJO ate some squid then crashed. Jen had veggies or something...
Next day we decided to go check out a nearby island with beach bungalows. The island is called Seraya island. Truly a beautiful, peaceful place with great snorkeling and killer sunsets. We spent a few days there drinking Binneys and hanging out with a couple Germans. We also spent some time chasing the mini Indonesian deers that populate the island.
After that we bounced to Ruteng by bus. 100km away means 5 hours. Flores is one mountainous motha. Arrived in Ruteng and had dinner in a lovely little resto that had a delightful musical selection of 90s R'n'B ( think-"i believe i can fly").After downing my bowl of spongey meat ball soup
cathing some rays
a nice way to spend an afternoon, or a week. and after Jenny finished eating her grilled fish we made our way back to the hotel in the relative darkness of the night and managed not to fall in the gaping holes in the sidewalk that gives way to the open sewers below. That night we slept in this crazy looking hotel where our room looked like a grandmas attic.
We left in the morning by bus for Bajawa. 4 hours later we had arrived. Great little town with stunning countryside of lush volcanic mountains and one mean looking volcano, Gunnung Inerie. Had a relaxing day, chatted with locals, we worked on our bahasa Indonesia and went to bed early.
Next day we hired a guide, Emanuel (everyone has Christian names here) and went to explore the countryside on the backs of motorcycles. We made our way through rice paddies and blossoming gardens filled with papaya trees and pineaple plants. Before reaching the villages that the region is known for we had heard from a friend that today was a special day.
It sure was.
We got to witness multiple animal sacrifices. 1 buffalo and 2 boars. Man was it gory!!
The atmosphere in the village was really intense.
seraya island
view from the top Tribal music, arak (moonshine) drinking. Jen and I were really drunk by 10am. It is impossible to refuse arak when it is offered to you. You just accept it, drink it and try your hardest not to cringe too much while downing it. Hmm moonshine in the morning!
On our way back to Bajawa I arranged with our guide, Emmanuel, a trek to the top of the volcano Inerie for the next morning.
We agreed to meet infront of our hotel at 5 am to start the trek nice and early to enjoy the cool morning air for the climb. As luck would have it..a massive wedding party set up 20 meters infront of our hotel. Equipped with gigantic stadium sized speakers, and sub-woofers the size of a refridgerator, they blared Indonesian Christian country/pop music through the night.
Groggy and without having slept a single minute, I went to meet my guide infront of the hotel.
We drove through the cold morning air, our only light being the moon and the stars of the southern hemisphere. The silouhette of the volcano loomed large in the foreground. Once in a while we would cross path with farmers equipped with rudimentary farming
yaaa
happy happy tools walking to their fields dressed in hand-woven ikat, that the region is known for. After 40 minutes on the motorbike we arrived at the start of the climb.
Pathless and incredibly steep the going was very difficult, after approx. an hour and a half I threw in the towel. I just couldn't do it..all i could think about was sleep, sleep, sleep.
I had to put aside my male ego and go back to the bottom.
On the way down two things happened.
First Emmanuel announced to me that his wife had given birth to a baby girl about 12 hours previously,
and secondly....I got stung by a massive, airplane-sized bee inside my ear.
That sucked.
After a short stop in a nearby village, for a ginger-flavored coffee, we made our way back to the hotel. Emmanuel invited us back to his house to see his new baby, we accepted happily.
It was the smallest baby we had ever seen..and get this...
we got to name the baby!!
I blurted out Laurie, the name of one of my cousin.
They liked it, gave it a Christian spin...therefore turning it into "Florentina".
We had just named our first baby..sort of.
still
very happy. Pretty wild feeling.
His mother then cooked us some lunch, though it was only 10am.
Goat satay, goat curry, and rice...and wash it down with plenty of arak. Of course.
His 67 year old mom drank it down like apple juice.
The food was delicious...so delicious infact that when I looked over at Jenny she was sucking back a stick of goat satay!
I couldnt believe it...she claims to have done it out of politeness..but i will have none of it!
We left Bajawa a few days later...
to begin
PART TWO of FLores...
coming soon.
For now..we are sick of sitting infront of this computer and desperately need to drink a fresh soursop juice.....
until next time....
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