July 18 - Waterfalls and Queasiness

July 18 Day 154

                I got up well before most of my compatriots and staked out a prime spot on a bench to do reading.  Breakfast was the one meal where food was brought to you individually since everyone got up at their leisure.  Coffee and tea were self-serve and we chugged along throughout the morning.  We chatted with more of our boatmates, including a Romanian couple that included a social worker and a guy with the largest mutton chop sideburns I'd ever seen and two British guys who kept to themselves (surprising, since many of the single women aboard spent the day in tiny bikinis which let you know the exact shape of their buttocks whether you wanted to or not) but were friendly and interesting, having made money by working in a mine in Australia.

                Meg was feeling a little better but this was again a day of chugging along and making time.  We had one major stop, where we jumped off the boat and swam to the shore.  One of our crew brought shoes, cameras and clothes that we wanted to keep dry and we put them on.  We hiked to a waterfall along a well-worn trail but weren't told that it crossed a stream several times.  I had my sandals but Meg wore sneakers and socks, which were soon soaked to the point where the sneakers contracted a stink she was unfamiliar with.

                The trail itself was nice and the waterfall was notable for the tub-like pools the water collected in created by volcanic formation.  The groups were led up and across the waterfall through hand over hand climbing on wet rocks.  If I were 25 I would have quickly joined he queue but at this point the risk didn't seem to outweigh the benefit and we enjoyed the view from below with a group of like-minded tourists.

                Everywhere we went we were joined by 3 other boats, probably mad eup of the other people in that cafe we started in.  We traveled the same route and probably paid the same price but the other boats seemed to be newer and better outfitted than ours.  people noticed this but didn't seem too upset.  They probably weren't surprised, as when we first got on the boat, about half of the passengers told about being promised cabins when they paid to be told they only had deck accommodations upon arrival.  We booked two weeks in advance and were told that no cabins were available.  The boat only had space for 4 people in one cabin and that went on a first come first served arrangement.  Such is the way of Indonesian travel.

                Most of the day was spent following the coastline, and we went by many lovely beaches with tropical forests and distant mountains behind.  Often though, one's attention went to the large amount of trash floating by us in the water even when we were far away from shore.

                Our second stop on day two was to do some snorkeling in an area frequented by manta rays.  Again, all of our cluster of boats were there and the water was crowded with swimmers.  Once I jumped in, I immediately saw two of the giants swimming beneath me and a group of us followed them along their path.  They were barely moving their fins but you had to swim hard to keep up with them and eventually they got away from us.

                I followed the largest pack of swimmers and found they were following nothing so looked for split off groups heading in an odd direction and managed to spot another one.  Following it became more difficult as the waves picked up and word soon got around that we were to get pack into our boats as the sea was too rough.  I was swimming back to ours when a motorboat from another ship insisted I grab ob with a group from another ship.  A few of us hopped into the boat but many of the swimmers couldn't.  We chatted about what we saw and eventually I was able to spot my boat and got dropped off, the last one of our entourage.

                The rest of the day was sent making time and the constant rocking started to get to me.  Meg was able to come down for  dinner and  I remembered that the day before choking some food down made me feel better.  It didn't work this time and I was sick over the side.  I immediately felt better and was able to eat some watermelon and plain rice before retiring to bed early.  I was glad for my earbuds and the rocking of the boat eventually allowed me to get some sleep.  Our guide on the ship (the only crew member with any English) Ishan, said that after the first two days we would be in calmer waters and the ride would get much smoother.  I  hoped so and so did my many fellow passengers who also headed to bed early to sleep off their seasickness.

Our boat!

The waterfall!

A sunset!