Minitrekking around Moni

07.01.19

One night in Ende should be enough. In a ShareCar (car), we, along with 12 people (without a baby), drove from Ende along the coast and zigzagged into the mountains to Moni. Luise wouldn't have survived the transportation on Flores without Ina's pills 🤤. This small town pleasantly surprised us. Mild climate, a few guesthouses and homestays, and as a highlight, 'Mopi's Place', a restaurant with a bar and amazing traveler food. We also met 'our Austrians' there. Ever since Kuta in Lombok, these two guys (men 😉) from Austria have been 'accompanying' us.

Outside of town, we settle into a basic bungalow surrounded by greenery (very basic 🤗). Paul sets off with the children (Kiko & Kino) from the neighborhood just a few minutes later. The day is still young, and we want to do something else. A short hike around Moni takes us across several bamboo bridges to two waterfalls. In the evening, Luise and Paul go to the nearby hot springs with the entire local 'neighborhood'. These hot springs turn out to be a large bathing area for locals, where they regularly take their baths.

The next day, we take a trip to Kokabeach, which is 40 km away. It's a popular small beach (about 300m) among the locals. Since we were there on a Sunday, it was quite crowded. On weekdays, we probably would have had the beach to ourselves. As the only tourists, we were an 'attraction' for the locals🤗. I don't know how many smartphones and cameras we've been 'immortalized' on. Paul, in particular, is in high demand (handsome).

5:30... the alarm goes off... time to get up. We're going on a trip to Gunung Kelimutu. The weather is good... no clouds. We are driven by car to the foot of the mountain. After about 20 minutes of climbing, we reach the summit. From the 1690m high peak, we can see three crater lakes, whose waters change colors in a fascinating way.

We hike back down the narrow paths, passing by small plantations and settlements... we may not have 'conquered' the mountain, but we have 'descended' it 😜.

When we arrive at the guesthouse, we quickly pack our things... Bye bye Kiko, bye bye Kino... Next stop, Maumere 🚘, our last destination in Indonesia.