7/9/13

Mt. Batur

2:45 am came very fast. I woke up before my alarm, nervous I wouldn't hear it. Christina and I jumped out of bed, grabbed our backpacks and got to the lobby. Everyone was gathering there still half asleep. The only one who didn't join us was Rita and I envied her for being able to sleep in.

We got into our cars and headed about 25 mins. to the base of the mountain. We got out and met our guides- 3 men and 3 teenage girls. We got our flashlights, bottles of water and headed up the mountain.

The first 30 mins. was flat. I thought that it would be a breeze to get up the mountain. Ha! That was dumb of me.

All of a sudden the terrain got rocky and very steep. The young girls were very easily heading up the mountain while I was tripping and sliding on rocks but still keeping a good pace. Side note- hiking shoes, not hiking sandals, would have been a better thing to wear.

I was pulling myself up and trying not to slip and fall in the dark whole holding a flashlight and trying to keep a pace. Every 20-30 mins. we would stop for a water break. I quickly shed my sweatshirt and had sweat drilling down my back. I felt okay at least because I was up toward the front of the group and wasn't lagging behind.

After about 2 hours of grueling uphill hiking, we made it to the sunrise lookout spot. We still had about 40-50 minutes until sunrise so we got some breakfast (just an orange and tea for me... Geetl had given me a granola bar for the way up) and hung out and took pictures. Eventually at almost 6:30, the sun rose and we took some awesome pictures of the colors and the clouds on the other nearby volcanos.

We then had the option to go to the top of the mountain or to the crater and I chose the crater. We hiked down not too far and felt and saw the steam from the volcano coming out of a crevasse. We then saw some monkeys that one of the guides was giving some nuts too. When we climbed back out of the crater there were more monkeys surrounding us and a ton more coming down from the mountain. Some were carrying babies and they were so cute! We fed them nuts and some guides gave them bread. They were really fun to watch.

After about 10 mins. we began our trek back down the mountain. It had gotten really cold so I was glad to have my sweatshirt back on. Going down the mountain was faster bug tough because I kept slipping on the rocks. I never fell but I came close.

It only took about an hour and 20 mins. to get down. It was such a relief! We tipped the guides and headed back to the hotel.

I went and has breakfast with Jade and Tanya right away. The views of the mountain during breakfast were stunning. I then went back to the room to pack. I didn't bother with a shower because I knew I would stink throughout the day anyway.

We loaded the bus around 11 and made our way toward Candidasa- the beach! We stopped at a temple on the way that was located way up on a hill. We had to wear sarongs to go there so I got a green one with a yellow ribbon (duh!) I was tempted to hire a motorbike for $1 to bring me up the hill but I didn't. We walked up the hill and saw a very impressive temple. There were different temples also for the different kinds of families in Bali. The views from the top of the temple were great, too.

On the way to the bus I decided to buy an adaptor for my chargers because I couldn't find mine. I either packed it away or left it in a hotel room. I bartered with a lady and got one for $6, down from $8. We then boarded our bus to head to the beach resort.

We got in the afternoon around 4. We got our welcome drinks and then checked out our rooms. We noticed right away the great service of the staff and the attention to detail. They had flowers all over the room and the towels were folded into animals. The pool and restaurant overlooked the beach. I knew I would enjoy staying here for 2 nights.

After relaxing in the restaurant and using the wifi, I decided to shower and get ready for dinner. We met in the restaurant at 8:00. I ordered a spicy basil chicken (like the one I made in Thailand at my cooking class) and it was okay (mine was better.) They also had 2 dancers perform 2 dances in traditional costumes to traditional music. Afterwards they took pictures with everybody then shook everyone's hands and thanked us for coming.

After the dances I ordered dessert with Martina. We shared a brownie with chocolate ice cream and strawberry and vanilla sauce. It was delish!

Feeling full, I decided to go to bed. I had a long day of lying on the beach ahead of me!

Until next time!