Tag 75 - perforated

14.07.19

There is sandwich for breakfast - not necessarily balanced, but quick to make and delicious. Since our banknotes are slowly running out, we are looking for the nearest ATM, which unfortunately is empty. So we have to rent a scooter first to drive 15 minutes to the next town and try our luck at another ATM - it works there. With money in our pocket, we only stay at home for a few minutes and pack the essentials needed for a day trip - we want to visit some attractions of the island.

The majority of the route is beautiful. Good roads, amazing views, little traffic, and authentic local life. However, it looks different shortly before our destination (We were already wondering why our navigation system indicates a travel time of 1 hour 30 minutes for a distance of 14 kilometers. The road turns into an absolute catastrophe. Potholes so deep that we regularly get "stuck" on the remaining pieces of asphalt and can only continue with leg power. In addition, the road is only 3 meters wide, which means that oncoming cars (of which there are countless here, as we are on our way to a tourist attraction) can only pass in the slightly wider curves, which leads to a very, very slow traffic jam - that's why the navigation forecast! We weave past very expensive cars, over bumpy roads, until we finally have a clear path and reach our destination much faster.

Parking the scooter, we hike along the signposted path to the coast and are immediately greeted with an amazing view of the cliffs.

Unfortunately, as expected, it is very crowded. Taking photos in peace is impossible, as you have to queue up for the only good positions. First, we reach the 'Angels Billabong', a clear saltwater pool that is also referred to as a 'natural infinity pool' (a pool that does not have a proper edge and seamlessly merges into a panorama).

We then continue to the second attraction, the 'Broken Bay'. This is a huge circular hole that is flushed through an opening - very impressive!

We stroll through the coastal landscape and take a short break in a restaurant. We observe a group of tourists (we suspect Eastern Europeans/Russians). A six-month-old child, who is on his mother's arm, holds a selfie stick in his hand. At the end of the selfie stick is an attached plastic phone. I leave this observation uncommented. We return to the parking lot and continue on our scooter.

We choose a viewpoint on the map and when we arrive there, we are the only ones. After a short walk through a bush, we stand on the edge of a cliff, from which a stone staircase leads down. The steps are so narrow and the wind is so strong that the descent leaves a very uncomfortable feeling in the stomach. The path clings closely to the cliff wall until it eventually ends in a staircase - after three steps, it just stops.

So we go back the same way, hop on our scooter, and rush towards our accommodation, after a few initial difficulties. On the way home, we unfortunately have to drive on a very damaged road again. After another deep, unavoidable pothole, the scooter makes a very loud, clattering noise. We get off, inspect the device, and then see that the exhaust has loosened. Since it is not possible to tighten the screws by hand, we continue driving. After a few kilometers, we stop in front of a garage where three men (two young ones, one very old) are tinkering with scooters. I take out my phone and enter the words 'loose exhaust' in my translation app and get an Indonesian translation: 'Knalpot longgar' - I show it to the older gentleman. He looks understanding, shakes the screw, and then pushes the scooter into the garage. Immediately, a young colleague uses an air-powered impact wrench and the defect is fixed within seconds. The older man pushes the scooter out of the garage again and waves us goodbye - how nice.

After driving a bit further, we stop at a warung and have a small snack. When we arrive at the harbor, Jonna goes to the beach to read; I dedicate myself to the blog.

To end the day, we enjoy the sunset again, have dinner, and then go to bed.

- Alex