Eco tour to Mt.Batur

This morning I was picked up by a small van to go biking. I am the last one being pick up and the mini-van is full. I can feel already I am in a good group. Our guide speaks good English and Dutch. He tells us a few interesting things. We had a good laugh when he talk about his childhood on a farm in Bali, the magic box came before the electricity in 1984. Everybody seems to know what was a magic box, I didn’t, so I asked, turns out no one knew what he meant, since they taught he was talking about the x box! Magic box was tv! Magic, because they still don’t understand how come there is live image there! The first one they had run on batteries. So electricity is a fairly recent modern change for Bali. Sanur,Ubud and Kuta were among the first to have electricity back in the 70”s. He tells us how he up end being a guide and that he is happy and married. We had a good laugh because he talks about how his wife didn’t get along with his mother, so he sent his wife to school, and now she is a teacher and very happy. She does not have to spend so many hours in the compound with her mother in law. Often a compound can have around 40 people living in it. With one kitchen, here they cook once a day only and that’s it's for the entire day. If you only saw how their kitchen are, you would want to cook only once a day. That’s one thing I must say, I could live the way they do, with raising animals, growing all my food, hunting for wood, harvest and all, but I would need a kitchen little more complete with more light and a sink. If they would saw our Western kitchen, they would not believe it, as the kitchens in North America are the center of every home, usually one that cost more than any other room in the house and in second are the fancy bathrooms, another room they would not recognized! In the bus we have a guy that works for KLM and from Holland. He is really funny, he decided to come to Bali last Friday and arrived here just a couple of days ago. A mother and her sister, from Finland visiting her daughter studying in Denpasar, she is learning Indonesian and business. Indonesian is her 7th language! She is a very pretty girl and very nice, we had some good conversation, like me, she eats well, looks for organic only, does Yoga and she told me David Wolf was here a couple of weeks ago! She has been in Bali for over three months, I wouldn’t be surprise she never leaves the island! The two girls in the back are from Sydney Australia, they are really funny to, also they have a different accent from the girl beside me, who is from Perth, every word she says I don’t get right away! But she is a sweetheart, she is here with her parents, they wouldn’t do the bike tour. We had great conversation and I learned a lot about Australians. I didn’t understand why they were so many here, as they have a beautiful country too, full of beautiful beaches for surfing or for sunbathing, plenty of sun and not as humid as it is here. For them it is cheaper to flight here for a holiday, rather than taking a holiday in Australia! She did admit that they have a bad reputation, because the young Australians, party hard, they mistreat the Balinese, they are rowdy and rude. She says not all Australians are like that, is just that those who are like that, all go to Kuta. I was explain that KUTA in Indonesian means K=KOTA(City), U=UNTUK(For), T=TAMU(guest), A=Australia, City of for the guest of Australia! We start our day with as breakfast at the Mountain View restaurant, who is perch on the side of the mountain, overlooking at a spectacular view of Mt Batur, and its crater. Mt Batur last explosion was in 1963, it is still an active volcano, with only faint traces of smoke. At the bottom of the volcano, is lake Batur, the view is spectacular. You can see the black lava, which nothing grows on it, not even moss. It imparts a more dramatic landscape. The breakfast is also very good, we are sitting on the edge of the cliff, with a beautiful view and magnificent sun! On the way here, I also experienced another stunning view, we made a stop to one of the most beautiful rice terrace I ever seen! I saw a lot of beautiful rice terrace, but I was starting to wonder, where were those on the post card?! Today I stand in front of the very one that is featured in many post card. It is stunning, with its shades of green. My photos will not be spectacular, as it was early in the morning and the sun was too bright! I have the camera to do it, but not the skills! I am surprise to find out, we are stopping at the LUWAX coffee place. I had plan to go there another day with Sang Made. I booked the Eco Tour cycling tour, because everyone I met said it was the only one to do, even the lonely planet, but there was no brochure at my hotel, so I had to find their number on internet and just reserve. I didn’t know all we were supposed to do. Before we saw the coffee, we walk through the organic gardens, I had learn a lot from Sang Made, but there is always something new to learn everywhere you go. I saw a tomatillo tree, it looks like a small plum tomato but taste like the Guava and a bit of tomatoes. Tomatillo is great in salsa, but here many people eat it just like that. Than we saw the animals that eats the coffee berries. Than they collect the excrements all over the forest.It looks more like a ferret than a fox. It is a timid animal, apparently it is a smelly one, so it really sounds like a ferret, but here they call it a civet. I am sure it is in the same category.A young lady who separates the male coffee from the female, sits patiently all day at the task. There is a lot less male coffee beans than females. They are highly prized by the coffee next to her is a man sitting beside the kitchen fire, who roast the coffee all day long. Sitting beside a fire all day long in this kind of heat must be very exhausting, he is roasting the coffee, which takes roughly half an hour with constant stirring. The coffee sits in a clay pan that looks like a wok.As for the Luwak coffee, Lukak is the name of the animal. The beans are rinse than wash, sun dried than roasted. I can’t believe it I did it, I ordered a cup of the Luwac coffee. Included in the tour we had a cup of each; Ginseng tea (different kind here, the one you eat the leaves) Ginger Tea, Hot chocolate, Bali coffee, Lemongrass Tea. The Luwax coffe was extra, $3 a cup. It actually comes with a small teapot of coffee. It’s a stronger coffee than the Bali coffee, not bitter at all, very smooth. I didn’t really enjoy my cup, here coffee is served without milk. If you want to have a degustation that is the proper way!The best was the hot chocolate made from the cacao on the farm. Each table was also supplied with rolling paper, pure tobacco and matches. This spice farm also grows organic tobacco, and they want you to try it. I asked my guide to roll a cigarette for me, the paper as no glue so you must hold it. The cigarette as a sweet taste, the paper is made of sugar cane. Very natural, but I only took a couple of puff, just to try it, it does taste much better, if anyone has doubt cigarettes are full of chemicals beside tobacco, have a cigarette of real tobacco. The tobacco does not even look like the loose tobacco sold in Canada. The taste is very different. Natural or not I got an instant headache, and one that kept getting worst, just from a couple of puffs! I haven’t had tobacco in a long time, it will be even longer before I try that again! I shared my coffee with the guide, I can only drink one cup,too much coffee would mean doing many pie stop! it would be a shame to waste such a rare coffee! After, we enter a shop, which at first sight, looked small, it was in fact huge. They sold all kinds of spices, pure essential oils and natural product. I bought organic coconut oil and essential oils that I can get in Canada, great for making perfume. The essential oils are made with rare flowers and one of my preferate is Lotus flower, a rare oil. I also got a few scrubs for my body . This was a really nice stop. I also asked a lot of questions about the oils, they are distilled with steam not alcohol, a sure sign of it's good quality. We hop back into the mini van, at the next stop our bikes await for us. They give us helmets and we all said; is that really mandatory? I probably had the worst mountain bike of all, squeaking everytime I push the pedals, but amazingly for three hours I barely had to pedal. Once my chain came off, right away the van behind us fix it. It is downhill the only time, rarely going up. We stop three time in between. Once to visit a family compound of 40 people, this was not a beautiful compound like Sang Made’s family, but we still learned more details. The life of Balinese is truly unique. I will keep these details for the last blogs. When you see an old person here, no one knows how old they are, as no records were kept! The next stop was at a Temple. I have seen many temples but this one is going under a very special celebration. Once per generation , approx. every fifty year, the Temple must be purified. It is a very costly celebration and the amount of preparations that goes into it is gigantic! I mean, you cannot understand, until you see the temporary shed, built with Bamboo. The shed contains all the offerings they have been handcrafting since December 19th 2009, everyday they are making new offerings, there are rows and rows of them, stacked on shelfs 4 storey high! Today, they were making natural play dough, rolling in it in their hands and shaping the dough into all sorts of offerings. At least 20 women’s have been working at crafting these offerings daily since December. They have another two weeks or so to go. The Balinese think about everything when it comes to spirits. I saw this in every temple but just thought it was a decoration, it is a piece of bamboo, that's stands high and other pieces turn in the wind, making a nice hollow sound, all made from bamboo. The wind turbine, if I may call it that way, is actually a radar for the spirits, so they know how to find the Temple without getting lost! Pretty good. We make one last stop before we eat and we divide the group, at this point we have the choice, those who wish to do the last 45 minutes downhill and those that want to go uphill. I do not want to go uphill, it is too hot and my headache is pounding so bad, I feel like throwing up. So I take the easy ride. The three hours of biking were absolutely easy, beautiful scenery and I wish we could of stop to take pictures of these woods carvers. An entire village is busy every day carving doors, with intricate flowers and animals. The massive doors are carved so beautiful, there is not one inches of wood left uncarved! Than with the doors, the matching overhead. Than the mini van pick us up, gave us some fresh cold towel and water. The guide had everything possible for any illness in his little bag, so he gave me something for headache, I don’t recognize the name but the Australian girl said yes it is like Tylenol. I never take pills but at this point I must try something. In our $36 excursion is also included a really nice lunch. Actually I believe it is the best lunch I have had so far! In a very nice setting, in the middle of the rice fields. I wanted to take a picture of the buffet, again my chip is full. I had ask for vegetarian, and what we had was fantastic. Conversation around the table were great, every one talking to each other. The group that went up hill, arrive last and soaked! It was one of my best days along with the rafting. I am really lucky everytime, I am with a great group, we are a great group. I was looking at the other group from another company eating their lunch, no one was talking to each other. Also, this tour keeps their groups small, 6-8 maximum. The 7 of us, had a great time, we all exchange e-mails and as we drop everyone of, we had a good laugh, as the Dutch guy said, now I can go try my avocado face mask? In the shop at the coffee place, you didn’t hold your shopping basket, someone follows you everywhere with the basket. He had ask the girl what would be good for him and she had suggested avocado facial mask for his beautiful face! We had a great time, I am ready to go nap, my headache still there but I don’t feel as bad, everyone looks like they are heading for a nap, we all agree it is a good thing it is a really easy bike ride, as it is really hard to bike in this kind of heat. I must say the cute little villages we cycled through were fun, kids returning from school, would be so happy to say hi, stand on the side of the road with their hand out, so we can give them a high five! I don’t know how many hands I clap but made a lot of kids happy. For them we were the entertainment of the day! What was touching was, they were so genuinely happy to see us!All the girls in this groups are going to Seminyak, and me too, too funny! I am heading for the white sand beaches, I was promess a sea breeze there. I only have a few days left, as the last days will be hard working days sitting all days, I really need some fresh breeze on my sticky body. It gets so hot, my keypad does not recognise my skin!I wish I had brought a nice!