#just know thy that is a 50/50 mix of coffee and cream

[blackwood-library]

No dream last night, so I’m enjoying my morning coffee before I get on the promised tarot readings.

[jacks-tracks]

snorkeling to the volcanoe

Pretty catchy title eh?  That’s what been happening for the last week where there has been no WiFi.  Ileft the dumpy Siola hotel in Luabanbajo at 6 am, picked up by the public car, which although it was a bus, had aircon, comfy seats,and a sane driver. En route to anovernight stay at Bajawa. Only one very near miss by uphill passing van on blind corner. And it was uphill! We left the steamy 35 degree seaside and began climbing up a ridge onto the backbone of the island. Endless switchbacks, really a one and a half lane road, but well paved. Low gear grinder up into increa

singly cooler altitudinal forest. First came timber bamboo in the gullys, then a multitude of tall trees with broad leaves that were green underneath and a very pale almost white upper. By 5000 feet there were 50 foot trees that looked manicured into topiary towers, natural form.  After the advertised 3 hours we suddenly topped the ridge, stopped at a crossroads where the  view widened out, then plunged down into Reung, a large one story market town. Here is where the nun from the snorkel tour had her  demo coffee plantation, teaching the locals how to produce better coffee. She used labour from the next door prison to clear the land and fence it, studied how to grow, prune, process and sell the coffee. Once the locals  saw how to they all got onboard, doubling their profits. Even won an award. No time to visit there as I was told that we would get another bus soon. Yeah, like 3 hours.

     Smelling food I wandered some backstreets and found a tiny warung(food booth) where  a dozen Mummys and school kids were ordering takeout. They kindly showed me which of the fried bits were tofu in batter, which were veg in batter, assuredme that the peanut sauce was not spicy. I quickly gulped a blender drink of ice mixed with soursop fruit. Anice man bought me a stick of meatballs to try,( think hotdog meat). Swarms of teenage and elementary school kids had to have me in their selfies. I cruised the block and found another warung with tasty pastry tofu, doughnuts(!) and Walls ice cream. Everyone is puzzled to see a falang (foreigner) but are universally friendly. I  stocked up on tofu fritters at the first place, ate my takeout at the bus depot, and had more chats with kids. They teach tourism here so everyone is eager to try their English.

   Next bus was a downgrade, no A.C., busted seats, packed with locals. More Switchbacking uphills, much cooler(25) and after 4 more hours of alternating rugged tree clad hills anf ricepaddy anywhere there was a flat spot we clanked  to a stop outside Bajawa. Here a swarm of motorcycle taxis called Ojeks hussled me for custom. 50 cents got me and me and my bags to the Silverin Hotel, a lovely big place overlooking the jungle valley we had just climbed out of. The helpful manager put me in an A.C. room, hot shower, comfy bed, quiet, cool. My room was front onto a big covered patio, couches with Egyptian motifs, a porch swing, nice plants. The rear valley view patio was larger with dinning tables. The forest ran from timber bamboo 100 feet tall to acacia like flat topped trees, and the same dual coloured  big green trees. All framed by a perfect volcanic cone. and a flat topped hill. Tranquil, and most welcome after a too long bus trip. I ate my takeout, showered and crashed, actually needing the duvet at dawn. This place was heaven after hellish bus ride.

   Got an email about Mike and I am shocked and saddened. Losing too many friends. Then microsoft froze my account, since I had used skype from Indonesia.? I can unlock it, just send and receive a text, everbody has a phone but me. Sigh, techno dinosaur.

Complimentary breakfast , usual here, was a lovely rice and veg blend, fried egg. toast, tea, and a fruit plate. The helpful manager and staff tried to get me a bus ride with responses ranging from 10 am, 11am, 12 oclock or ? The bus actually did pick me up and thy were all right. Pickup at 10, drive around town picking upparcels and freight for 2 hours, gathered some passengers. loaded 1000 pounds of cement, 3 shhets of roofing, four giant sacka of? that took me and 3 guys to load onto the roof, ans a bag of betel nut and lime leaves. A few sacks of rice, two ols codgers, a woman and kid(shared my oreo cookies) and a couple of German travelers. Off we went, stopping roadside for fresh boiled cow corn, peanuts banannas etc. Only a couple of hours late, and a beater bus driven by a manic driver, but I’ve learned to trust  and go with the flow, however slow. We dropped people and freight off up terrible side roads, broke down, push started, haywired electrical, and pounded off the pavement onto a broken gullied wasshouted out trail at 10 kph. At 6 pm the driver went up another side road, stopped and announced in the gatthering dusk that he had no headlights, all out. He flagged a pickup who providentially was going to Riung ,our destination. A 1 hour much better ride, better music, and headlights he dropped us at his friends-Nirvana guest house, where the jovial manager Sam ushered me into an A.C. bungalow, private bath, quiet,,, ah! It was dark, I did not know where I was, or care after 2 days of 8 hour buss rides. Tea and flop!   Next chapter will detail sleepy Riung and some of the best snorkeling in the world, and yes I will climb a volcanoe.