The next step of our Flores journey was to do a road trip from Labuanbajo, in the far west of Flores, to Maumere, towards the north east, a trip which would take 6 days. We had three options for transport - local buses (nope - we've done our fair share of these and it would take forever), hire motorbikes (not keen on this option) or hire a car. We soon learned that you can't hire a car here without hiring a driver. This isn't something we've done before but the price was very cheap so we decided to do it. It turned out to be a great decision.
We got onto Yance (pronounced Yarnche), our driver, through our accommodation and he was great. The icing on the cake was the car had great aircon! We arranged to do a day trip with him first, before we did the big road trip.
First stop was a cave. It was very interesting - it had fossilised fish and even a fossilised turtle in it! We had to bend down low to squeeze through some parts and that's when Connor told us he's a bit claustrophobic. To his credit, he got through it all. I'm not claustrophobic, but even I struggled in one part. We were standing in a room in the cave and there was no fresh air at all. It was very muggy. Needless to say, we didn't stay long. The cave began with an open section before venturing further underground.
Next stop was another cave, however this one was accessed from the beach which we had to get to by boat. We were approaching the village where the boats go from and suddenly a guy on a motorbike pulled up alongside us and gave us a huge smile. I know everyone's really friendly here but this smile was rather bizarre. It turns out that he was touting for a boat. We pulled up at the village and the guy came over to the car. Yance negotiated for us and soon we were on our way.
There were cute kids hanging out at the shore. The population of Flores is largely Catholic but there are also many Muslims. This village was a Muslim one.
It was only a 10 minute ride to the cave. We clambered inside it and jumped into the cool water. It was fairly dark but we could make out some great stalagtites and a couple of huge stalagmites. We had the water to ourselves for a short while until more people jumped in. It was great fun!
Back at Labuanbajo we chilled out with a great Mexican lunch with a fabuous view over the town's rusty rooftops to the harbour.
The juices were great!
We had tried to have dinner at this restaurant the night before but it was the end of Ramadan and the mosque next door was in full flight. The restaurant had a sign up explaining that the mosque would be louder than usual that night. They weren't kidding. As soon as it started up, the whole restaurant emptied.
We had asked a few people if there would be any special parties happening for the end of Ramadan but were told there wasn't. It turns out there was. That night, a couple of hours after we had gone to sleep, the loudest 'street parade' you've ever heard drove slowly around the town. I really believe they removed mufflers from the motorbikes for the occassion. There were fireworks and lots of yelling. Connor's room overlooked the street so he got out of bed and watched the bedlam go by.
The food in Labuanbajo had been great but the town was way to hot for us. We were glad to climb into Yance's car the next day and leave the place.
Day 1: We drove for most of the day, but the driving is slow so it probably wasn't that far. The scenery was amazing - volcanoes towered over lush green views.
We stopped at the famous spiderweb rice fields. They way they are laid out looks like a giant spiderweb. Most of the rice has been harvested now so it's not so lush and green.
Yance was great at pointing things out to us. He spotted fruits and nuts growing in trees and answered all our questions patiently. He found cloves drying on the side of the road. We later saw coffee, rice and all sorts of nuts being dried on plastic sheets or bamboo trays this way.
We arrived at Ruteng, our night's destination, and had a great hotel room there. Connor had a rotten cold so it was nice for him to just chill. John and I had fun checking out the local market with Yance. This little girl was adorable.
Day 2: Another long drive took us through more beautiful scenery. We dropped a few activities because Connor was quite crook with his cold. At one stage we stopped under these enormous trees with incredible trunks - or are they roots? I'm guessing they're some type of fig. They were spectacular.
We arrived at our destination of Bajawa and had very basic accommodation at the Hotel Happy Happy. From our rooms we could hear a lot of noise so Connor and I checked it out. It was a local volleyball match. Everyone was really into it, madly cheering their team on.
Meanwhile, John was madly cheering his own team on as the Tiges beat the Pussies in a very wet Melbourne. Connor and I got takeaways for dinner so John could keep watching the game on his laptop. We weren't sure if we could get takeaways here but we asked at a restaurant and it was no problem. The restaurant was advertising live music so John and I went back later that night and enjoyed hanging out there listening to some very good singers.
Day 3: This day was the best day of the trip. Leaving Connor to nurse his cold, Yance took us to the start of a trail. The plan was that locals hang out there to guide tourists to a viewpoint. When we got there there was only a couple of young kids though. Yance did a deal with them to be our guides and that was fine with us. The older boy, Jano, (or something like that) was about 13 and the younger one, Charles (pronounced Char Les - English words are pronounced phonetically) was only about 7 or 8. Charles was the talker though. He would point things out and say the word in Bahasa Indonesian. John's been studying up on his Bahasa so they could talk a little.
Coffee was the big crop around here and we had great chats with locals along the track who were on their way to work in the coffee plantations. (The chats consisted of us all saying hello in Bahasa and laughing a lot!) We've found the locals to be so friendly everywhere. We feel like rock stars sometimes - people always smile and wave to us. They always seem so happy.
Along the track we came to a new building and a complete stranger took us in and showed us around. It was the local coffee processing place where the coffee is spread out to dry.
Coffee hung from trees all along the track.
The views along the trail, and along the road getting there, were fabulous. There were a number of stunning volcanoes.
A lot of people carry these big knives around with them. Even our boys had one. The boys climbed trees to get fruit for us - we ate an unusual type of passionfruit which was delicious. And I don't usually like passsionfruit! Note the dust at Charles' feet - the only time we don't have dust is after it rains, and then it turns to mud.
We returned to town, took Connor out to lunch, then dropped him back to his room. He was happy just to chill. On our way to our next destination we passed through huge bamboo forests.
Yance joined us for some photos. Like most Indonesians, he was always smiling.
The bamboo plants shed these huge pieces of bark. John thought they made very fashionable hats!
We then headed out to a traditional village. These villages are one of the main features of this road trip. We came to the first one and were blown away. This is what greeted us.
These traditional villages are very much lived in. The locals open the whole village up to tourism. We can wander around where we want and can take photos (after getting permission). People in this area weave ikat, a type of cloth. Lots of places were weaving and selling it.
This old lady was the mother of a weaving lady and grandmother of the girl above. Her cataracts were terrible. We were curious about the betelnut she was chewing so Yance spoke to her and she showed us how she mixes the nut, lime and leaves and chews it. Many women chew this. It apparently gives a bit of a buzz but it makes their mouths all red. In the villages, only men are allowed to smoke so the women chew betelnut. Many older people were missing most of their teeth.
Houses are arranged around the outside of a communal area. In the centre are special buildings that symbolise men and women. There is one male and female structure for each family in the village. Sacrifices are made here at ceremonial times. Yance and John are with the male structures here.
This village has the best example of a local type of grave where they stand stones up in a really striking way. This grave was like the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. It was ok to sit here - this was the back of the grave. John's being very Joffrey-like here. Or is he more like Tywin? Either way, John and I both want graves like this when the time comes!
When we first arrived, they gave us these ikat scarves to wear around. It's a shame we had to give them back!
At many places we go, locals get very excited to see fair-skinned tourists like us. These Indonesian Muslim girls wanted to have their photo taken with me. It's the rock star thing again.......
We moved onto another village. We learned how they display the skulls, jawbones or horns of animals they have sacrficed and eaten as a display of wealth.
This village had a lot less happening than the last one so John and Yance just hung out while I wandered around.
The buildings here were a slighly different style but the set-up was exactly the same. There always seem to be volcanoes hovering in the distance everywhere we go!
The female structures are like small houses. Offerings are made inside them.
There always seem to be grubby, snotty-nosed kids around who are absolutely adorable!
Back on the road we were constantly amazed by the number of people that could be crammed onto public transport vehicles. It was hard to photograph these but this one gives you an idea.
I've also been quite surprised by how poor people are. I expected there to be some poorer areas but it seems to me that everybody is poor. There are few private vehicles. Old men and women with babies have to clamber into vehicles like this and endure long journeys on rough roads. Most houses we pass are very basic. They usually have electricity but often have no running water and some rooms have dirt floors. Pigs and chickens wander through kitchens and dust is everywhere. Bathrooms (for washing) are often a basic screen around the local irrigation channel. Yet everyone seems so happy. I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere!
Our last stop for the day was at some hot springs. There are quite a few hot springs in the area thanks to the abundance of volcanic activity. We went to a place where a hot river joins up with a cold one. Both rivers approached a series of pools from different directions and tumbled down small rocky ledges to form one new river. If you sat on the left, the water was cold. On the right it was hot. So people just sat somewhere in the middle at whatever temperature suited them. It was great!
We returned to Hotel Happy Happy, picked up Connor, had dinner and listened to the band again. It was a good ending to a great day!
I'll leave you with one last volcano shot.
Bye for now.
Heather, John and Connor.
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