Day 25 - Starfish Beach, Pepperfarm

My destination today is about 16 km away from my hotel. The path that Google Maps suggested to me looked more like a dirt road than a street. I drove through clay, gravel, and rocks, surrounded by dense forest. The rain of the past nights had left its mark, carving small channels in the ground. If I followed the track of the motorcyclists who had already traveled this route and which was clearly distinguishable from the surrounding gravel, I could reach the destination safely and at a reasonable speed. However, despite that, my arms and neck were sore from the shaking. The play of colors of yellow and red clay, the bluish-gray of the gravel, and the deep green of the surrounding forest was beautiful.

At one point, I even saw a group of monkeys crossing the road in front of me. Colorful butterflies flew past me time and again. The short sections consisting only of sand were more challenging. I had to be careful not to lose control of the moped. What was it again in physics class? If the thrust is greater than the centrifugal force, the object moves forward. So: give it more gas and off we go!

After about an hour, the end of the road was in sight. I parked the moped and continued on foot. There was also the option to be chauffeured by motorboat for €16, but I was too stingy for that. I wanted to try to make my way on foot as far as possible. I continued walking barefoot along a dreamy white sandy beach next to the clear turquoise sea. Sometimes it was through soft sand, sometimes over overturned trees bleached by the sun, sometimes thigh-deep in lukewarm water.

After about 2.5 kilometers, which didn't seem so long to me because of the sensational scenery and the varied path, I saw them for the first time, the animals after which this long beach was named: starfish. About 10-15 thick red starfish were floating in the shallow water near the seabed. I took a few pictures and enjoyed the view before making my way back.

I took a short break in the shade of a pine tree before returning to my starting point for lunch at one of the restaurants.

During my walk along the beach, I thought about how Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe would be different in today's time. With all the flotsam that the sea incessantly washes ashore, one could craft quite a bit for survival with a bit of skill, a little creativity, and a lot of patience.

About 100 meters further from the restaurant, I waded through the shallow water, past starfish, into slightly deeper water for a quick cool down before drying off in the sun with a fresh smoothie.

My return journey took me to where the pepper grows. Left and right of the road - calling it a street would be too much considering this sandy track as well - there were plenty of pepper plantations. I stopped at one of them and had the friendly farmer explain pepper cultivation to me using a translation app.

The green, still unripe berries are dried in the sun. They become black pepper. The ripe, red berries are also dried. They have a more intense aroma. According to the farmer, when the dried red pepper berries are peeled - by hand - they become white pepper. When you bend down low over the pepper berries spread out to dry, you can perceive an almost sweet-warm aroma.

I said goodbye to the friendly farmer with a small packet of black pepper and began the approximately 40-minute journey back to the hotel, where I made myself comfortable on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.