17th September - Lombok tour - Medana marina cont'd

Tuesday 17^th September

We had about 25 people on our comfy blue bus (pale turquoise frilled antimacassars this time) yesterday, for a tour of beautiful Lombok.  This was not a Sail Indonesia extravaganza  - we paid the princely sum of $20 each (approx.)  It was a wonderful day; we enjoyed every minute.  But oh dear how do people do three week bus tours??  We were exhausted from all the sitting, all the getting on and off, all the absorbing of this and that bit of information…

Our guide, Sam - seen here about to demonstrate the safety of the Summer Palace flying fox -  was a local (Sasak) bloke, very bright and cheerful for the whole long long day.  He managed to fit in three prayer sessions, darting off to approved holy locations for five minutes every few hours while we looked at whatever he had taken us to look at.  He said that 80% of the population of Lombok is Muslim; 80% of them are what he called “normal,” ie not fundamental or fanatical.  We love tourists, not terrorists!! he said, with a happy smile.

(Jackfruit growing along the way...so impressive!)

We went along the (beautiful) coastline, through the capital city, Mataram, and then back through the be-jungled  (beautiful) mountains.  Basically.  Occasionally we got a glimpse of awe-inspiring Gunung Rinjani, the fabulous volcano in the centre of the island.  No I am not attracted to walking to the top; it is, apparently, a three day hike… But at the top is a beautiful lake, hot springs, many wonders of nature… There is no way of getting there other than on foot and…it is just too hot.

I really expected to see David Attenborough emerging from the undergrowth, telling us about some rare and fabulous animal...but no...he didn't...

Some of our stops were, of course, Buying Opportunities.  

The woven cotton sarongs were gorgeous, and Sam made sure we understood that each one took three months to complete.  I wanted one, with blue and silver tones, to make new cushion covers for the boat.  Pete was not so sure – “The cushion have covers already,” he said, brow wrinkled.  “But if you want to get one, make sure you negotiate and don’t pay the 500,000 rupiyah they are asking!”  I hate haggling but I made my way to the cash desk.  Peter from Swara II (UK) had heard my conversation with Pete from 2XS (Aus) and he hissed, “Marguerite, remember that each sarong took three months of work!”  Margaret smiled at me with great sympathy…

I didn’t haggle much; I just asked if I could have a lower price and the manager immediate said, 450,000 so I got this beautiful bit of material for $45.  Happiness all round!  I now so wish I had brought my sewing machine on this trip…maybe I will find a small, nifty, cheap one somewhere along the line…most people do have sewing machines, even on much smaller boats.  They don’t regard this as a luxury item.

We wandered around the village for a bit, watching the women clean up the site of a wedding celebration the day before.  This little girl gazed at us intensely, while clutching her unwilling catfriend.  (It did eventually escape, you will be pleased to know.)

The women carried the pots, pans, plates, water containers on their heads, very competently and cheerfully.  I have spent this morning lugging buckets of fresh water from the tap, only about 50 metres away, and lugging it back to the boat.  I so wished I could balance a bucket neatly on my head!  One of the young village boys, lying on a bamboo mat, watched me with great admiration, after my fifth or sixth trip.  “You are strong woman, Mom!”  Not as strong as these small Indonesian woman, I can assure you!  And not as uncomplaining – the whole effort nearly killed me!  And why was I carrying water?  Well, Captain Pete has been in a cleaning frenzy, scrubbing the decks with enormous energy and vigour.  For this he needed, clean fresh water…lots of it.  Yes I could have scrubbed while he carried but…sadly, I am better at lugging than scrubbing…

Another stop was – a pottery warehouse.  I didn’t know Lombok was famous for pottery and I was very impressed.  I went so far as to buy a little earthy ceramic bowl with a woven raffia edge.  I could show a photo except…it got wrapped up in many layers of cardboard, shredded, paper, gaffer tape, along with a few metres of strong string.

They have done clever things with their earthenware, eg reinforcing it with batik fabric so it is strong and gloriously patterned

Did we visit temples?  Yes of course!  And a renovated summer palace, built originally in 1727 for a king and his harem.  I took lots of photos but this is my favourite, at the Hindu temple:

It is possible the internet will allow me to connect for a brief moment or two so I won’t write any more, will put this up ASAP!

But first...my very favourite little girl, totally oblivious to us,in the weaving village...

I hope this afternoon affords us just an hour or two of rest time…tonight is Blues Night again and it promises to be bigger than big, at the marina… Pete and I have assured our friends we will be much livelier than last time.  We will not fade away at 9pm; we will dance and be merry!!!