17.02.20 - 24.02.20 from Gorontalo to Tomohon

So we managed to get onto the ferry, which was supposed to take us to Gorontalo in a few hours. It took us a while to find a somewhat comfortable place where it wasn't too crowded, so we wouldn't attract too much attention, where it didn't smell like durian, and where there was a breeze. With mostly pleasant conversations (eventually, the alcohol level of some participants became somewhat tiresome), the hours passed quickly. When we arrived in Gorontalo, we had ourselves driven to the nearest hotel and fell tired into bed. It was a really long exhausting day.

Therefore, we took it easy the next day in Gorontalo. However, Mathias and Lisi still managed to take a short walk around the city. After the internet abstinence on the Togian Islands, Lea had some work to catch up on.

We also organized our onward journey the next day. We reserved four seats in a minibus and were very pleased the next day when we found out that the other 3 passengers would not be coming. However, our driver was not very happy with the situation because we still would not pay more, and he complained about it to people on the phone for the next 10 hours. We arrived in the city of Tomohon late in the evening after an otherwise uneventful journey.

Tomohon is a small town in the highlands of North Sulawesi and is known for its location between two volcanoes and for the somewhat special market in the city. We had planned to visit all of these. Julie and Lisi decided to travel further north to the island of Bunaken after 2 days in Tomohon. Mathias and Lea wanted to stay in cool Tomohon for 4 days because we had had enough of island life after the Togians, but we wanted to meet again on the island. Therefore, our daily activities were slightly different.

Lisi and Julie therefore set off on the first day to the first volcano 'Mahawu' - with, let's say, moderate success. Great view.

Mathias and Lea took it easy at first and started with a visit to the market. The market in Tomohon is known as the 'Extreme Market' or 'Horror Market', but we think that such names should be critically questioned because they impose an image of 'barbarism' on the local population. In addition to a large fruit, vegetable and spice section, there is also a large meat section. And in the Minahasa cuisine of North Sulawesi, not only the usual animals are processed, but also rats, bats, snakes, and sometimes even dogs on special occasions. It was fascinating to see these animals. Lea doesn't generally find meat sections in markets very appealing, so this was no exception. The way the live dogs were treated, kept in cages on the edge, didn't make it any better... she did, however, find the other sections of the market even more beautiful, and we treated ourselves to some fruits once again.

The rest of the day we spent together in the nice little town and in different cafes. Unfortunately, the highlands brought a few rain showers again, which couldn't be predicted here, but simply poured down. Since Julie and Lisi had not yet tried durian, also known as the smelly fruit, they bought one on the way home and ate it on the rooftop terrace. Unlike some others, it didn't taste so much like raw onions and was found to be delicious.

The next morning, we were picked up by a taxi at 5 in the morning and driven to the nearby Lokon volcano, or rather to the starting point of the hike. This was where Julie's highlight was finally fulfilled - a hike to an active volcano. After about 1.5 km, it started to rain here as well, and Lea had to realize that her current footwear was not suitable for a slippery river or lava bed, so she decided to turn back. She walked back to the city and couldn't see the volcano until the end, as it was hidden behind a layer of fog.

The other three continued their way up. The path through the lava bed was very beautiful, but slippery in some places due to the wetness, so slippery that both Lisi and Mathias landed on their buttocks once. An hour and a half later, they stood near the place where the crater should be. However, due to the fog, this was not very easy to see. In addition, one should proceed very carefully on an active volcano when the visibility is so poor. Eventually, the view of the steaming crater opened up. A beautiful sight that especially Julie found it hard to tear herself away from. After a snack of fruit, they went back down. They were happy that the rain had stopped and the path was much drier than on the way up, but after a few minutes, that changed and a light rain moistened the rock again with a slippery layer. However, they managed to make it down very carefully more or less unscathed.

We spent the rest of the day very relaxed and went out to dinner together in the evening before we would say goodbye the next morning and our paths would temporarily separate.

Just the two of us spent two more pleasant days in Tomohon. On one of them, we also made an attempt to see the view from Mahawu and got up extra early, motivated because the sky in the city was clear. However, after just 10 minutes in the taxi, the sky had already clouded over again and hope dwindled. Then our taxi couldn't drive us all the way to the top because a tree had fallen onto the road, so we had to walk the last 30 minutes uphill. The Mahawu crater is very well developed and can be reached from a parking lot via stairs. Since the road was blocked, we initially saved ourselves the entrance fee and walked up to the crater. And tadaa, the view was just like two days before with Lisi and Julie. After taking two photos into nothingness, we decided to leave and were glad with our decision, as it started to rain again. Unfortunately, no means of transportation passed us for the next 5 km, so we had to walk all the way back to the city. But it wasn't too bad, just a little wet.

We spent the rest of the time strolling through the city, looking for internet so that Lea could do some work, and apparently Sunday is taken very seriously in this Christian-influenced area, so many cafes were closed, and Mathias finally was able to have dinner at the delicious smelling satay stands.

Although there would have been more to explore in the Tomohon area, we were satisfied with our choice, and we keep learning that we simply don't have to see everything. After 4 days in this cool region, we were looking forward to the warmth again and especially to the reunion with Julie and Lisi.