Tag #38 to #41

hello,

The last blog entry ended with our stay in Senggigi. We spent another day there for relaxation, meaning sleeping in and enjoying civilization again. In the afternoon, we were picked up and went back to Tetebatu, I think we just like it there. The transfer was part of the main event of the last two days: Rinjani trekking.

Rinjani is the second highest mountain in Indonesia with an altitude of about 3700 meters and it's an active volcano on Lombok. By the way, there was a small eruption there just two weeks ago. (see google)

However, the goal of our two-day trekking was only the crater rim at slightly more than 3000m. From Tetebatu, we started early in the morning with a combination of TukTuk and pickup to the entrance of Rinjani National Park. Besides us, there were only three 'Sasak Sherpas' (the Sasak are the original ethnic group in the region). The ride in this vehicle was already an adventure, because as we found out the next day, it crashed with loaded wood several meters into the ditch... in these muddy and bumpy roads, it's almost a miracle...

The ascent started in a sparse monkey forest with the special black monkeys. Soon, the vegetation turned into a consistently humid rainforest. The higher we climbed, the colder and moister it became, until we finally descended into the clouds. This fog (actually clouds) surrounded us for the rest of the day. We were thinking about how to shoot a horror film in the woods... The ascent was physically quite relaxing, as our carriers took regular smoke breaks ('no smoking, no energy'). After the freshly cooked lunch over the fire, the path became more muddy and steep. Finally, we arrived at the camp around five o'clock. Well, actually it was just a makeshift shelter....

The problem was that due to the constant humidity and the poor jackets we had (we only brought summer clothes and sneakers) we slowly got really cold. Neither the campfire nor tea and dinner could warm us up, so we got into our tent fully clothed with freezing feet and wet clothes. Unfortunately, the sleeping bags did little to help, and the rainy night was anything but relaxing.... we have never been so cold.

In the morning, we quickly forgot the hardships of the night, because a starry sky was awaiting us. After a banana pancake, we set off in the dark towards the crater rim to watch the sunrise from there. The way up was really a climbing and it really pushed Jakob, who had a hard time with the altitude, to his limits....

But the reward was waiting for us: the view and the beautiful sunrise were simply worth the efforts.

The way back was really great. Our guides had somehow decided to break the record of the trekking company, so we jogged the whole way down from the camp in just four hours. For comparison: we returned at 12 o'clock, normal tours arrive at the bottom around 3 to 4. We secretly believe that our carriers simply ran out of cigarettes and wanted to go down as quickly as possible (the long breaks were also skipped!). Well, we had no objection, as we ourselves just wanted a hot shower.

Even though we didn't think so on the first day, the ascent was truly a unique experience. Especially because hardly any tours start from Tetebatu and the path is still original. Most tourists are guided in groups on the easy paths to another crater. And so we were the only ones at the crater rim! So the description as an eco-tourism trip was true: the food was always freshly and traditionally cooked just for us, and even the trash was taken away (or at least burned...)!

Now we are sitting among many tourists on Gili Trawangan, also known as Party-Gili, and are looking forward to enjoying a market in the evening again. Long live civilization.

Tomorrow, still with muscle soreness in our legs, we will start our diving courses. Teri open water and Jakob advanced open water.

Your Teri Yaki

P.S. pictures will follow, unfortunately the wifi is really bad, but at least the accommodation was cheap.