Full of Surprises

Wow – where has our time gone? It’s now day 4 and we have covered some territory!

After we arrived at the hotel on day one we dropped our bags, ate lunch, then headed off to Baluran National Park. Known as “The Little Africa” of East Java, this park landscape is largely savannah. We climbed a watch tower to get some incredible photos of the Baluran Volcano. There were many deer and peacocks, and of course monkeys. Got to put our feet in the ocean. Lovely, unexpected scenery.

You can read more about this park here: https://www.indonesia.travel/us/en/destinations/java/baluran-national-park

On day two we were serenaded at 3:30 am by not one but at least FIVE mosques competing for air-time. This went on for at least a half an hour, canceling my plan to sleep a bit more before observing the sunrise at 5. Everything starts early in Java due to early prayer and sunrise. By 5:30 am everyone in the hotel was out of their rooms, enjoying the hotel grounds, pool, etc. It always amazes me how awake people look at this time of day – with the time and sunrise change from Bali time, this scene was a bit surreal to me.

I was pretty exhausted from the day before, so opted out of the trip to the fishing port. I’m happy I did, as the report was it was VERY chaotic and smelly. But David and another group member went and got some fantastic photos. Their descriptions of the scene were great – and that was enough for me. I enjoyed resting and catching up on my blog at the beautiful Solong Hotel.

After lunch our fifth group member arrived we were on the road to Alas Purwo.

https://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en/destinations/java/banyuwangi/alas-purwo-national-park

One thing that’s great about traveling with two photographers is that they are always on the lookout for “special” scenes, and we certainly found one on this day. We were on our way to our accommodation to watch sunset, when someone spotted a small group of young women practicing a traditional dance in the forest, next to a very important temple. Of course we had to stop, watch, and take photos and videos.

We were then on our way to take in sunset, which we could spy through the forest. It looked like a massive red sun setting into the ocean… we did all we could to get there in time, but were ultimately disappointed to miss it.

I was surprised to find out that we were spending this night in the famous G-Land surf spot. I’ve heard about this place for years from friends from Bali who surf, and have always wanted to go there because of their descriptions and stories of this place. And here we were!

We spent the night here amongst the deer and the super-cheeky monkeys.

After a morning of shell gathering and photos, we hit the road back to the temple where we had seen the dancers the day before. This temple is actually called Pura Luhur Giri Salaka, and it’s a very important one in Hindu culture. We had a blessing here from a mangku and enjoyed the mystic beauty of the area. Definitely a very special place.

We had a quick look at the savannah in this park (not nearly as impressive as Baluran!), then got on the road again to our next destination: Red Island, or Pulau Merah. https://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en/destinations/java/banyuwangi/pulau-merah-beach

After a quick bag drop at our cozy hotel, we headed down to the beach for sunset. The beach was packed with locals enjoying their Sunday.

This is another place I’d been told about many times but never seen, so it was a treat to have this be a destination on this tour. The sand was SO clean and soft, and it really is a picturesque place.

While relaxing here, David happened to meet a man who is a bit of a legend in the community. He lives in the area with his family, but lived and worked in Bali for many years. Here he supports local surfers and helps keep the beach clean. But he also protests the copper and gold mine that is a stone’s throw away from this beach, and has been arrested six times. Apparently the mine owners regularly offer locals who protest sums of money to “go away” and relocate their families elsewhere. While this man has refused this payout, he relayed that many protestors had taken up the offer and left the area. A little bit of research about the mine led me to this: https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/indonesian-mine-stolen-from-intrepid-could-come-back-to-the-asx-20170809-gxsfau

So, although it has improved the lives of many in the area, similar to all projects like it, the mine is full of controversy.

Back to the hotel for dinner and sleep. It was a long but great day.