August 12th
We got a local taxsi to the port, Padang Bai. Actually not so much of a port as a collection of small shacks and a few buildings on a beach with two jetties. One for the ferry and one for the 'fast' boats. It's definitely where all the cool folk hang out. The boats go to the Gilli Islands which are very 'in' with the French and Germans or all the 'whities', as Amie calls tourists. There is a bar with hammocks, big bean bags and shock, horror ...cappuccinos!!! Amie and Alex loved the hammocks and sunned themselves while I got food.
Boarding our boat was bizarre. Around 30 cases were stacked and toppling on the road with a bunch of whities waiting anxiously outside a travel shop quite a way from the boats. Suddenly a little cart appeared and four men loaded said cases - precariously, piling them high on the cart, stacking and re-stacking all those that fell off the otherside...hilarious. Then the cart set off... this is a bit odd I said to Amie. Yes, she replied.. follow that cart !! and off she charged through this crowded mass of tourists with the whities following behind..that's my girl!
We made it onto the boat - with the cases. It was awful, so rough...the kids were green. I spent the whole trip holding their heads out of the port window - focusing them on the horizon (to stop the sickness). Anyway, we arrived in Lombok at the port...a wooden jetty and hut....I was slightly nervous (having done everything by internet) that no one would be there. But we were met by ..soon to be known as ...funky boy.
As we unloaded there were lots of kids leaping off juking boats into the sea, shouting 'HELLO' to the children. Alex loved it and soon there was HELLO ...HELLO ..HELLO backwards and forwards with Amie whispering 'mummy, those boys are naked.....
Off we went in the funk mobile...jazz funk (I think) at full pelt.. Seat belts kids I yelled (like any good Wimbledon mum)...mummy there are no seatbelts...ah..oh well. hold on then......here we go...
Lombok is totally different from Bali. Bali is Hindu and the Balinese are craftsmen. There are wooden and/or stone carvings of Hindu gods everywhere. The houses, shops and streets all have statues with printed fabric skirts in black and whit,golden sashes and sparkling parasols. The women dress in sarongs with brightly coloured lace tops once a day, everyday, to bring banana leaf parcels filled with fruit and flowers and also burning incense. There is water everywhere, most houses have ponds and fountains surrounded with bougainvillea, Lillies and other tropical flowers. It is also comparatively wealthy in the south with fast growing tourism and the associated traffic and chaos.
Lombok is Muslim, with mosques in all towns/villages, women in scarfs etc. It is poorer, much drier and quieter. Anyway - we motored (with the kids bopping away) round Lombok and started climbing up into the mountains. We saw some hills in the distance and Alex asked if it was Rinjani...no..no..not Rinjani said funk boy. We turned a corner and he said ...'that is Rinjani...'
Alex took one look and screamed ..O...M...G ('oh my goodness' I am told..) we are going to climb THAT !!!
We arrived in Senaru at our guide's cousin's Pondok (hotel). Mr Dee gave us a little room behind the main building. It was mattress on the floor for Alex, cold water, no air con - the kids loved it. The view was incredible. We looked out onto the vast foothills of Rinjani. Miles of tropical rainforest - in the distance we could see a vast waterfall gushing out of the mountain side. Much to the kids delight there were rare black monkeys in the trees around us. These were beautiful creatures, very far removed from mad temple monkeys.
We were met by Katni our guide.
I had done so much research for this trek, weeks and weeks. I asked many trekking companies about whether it was suitable for a 7 (just turned 7) and 8 year old. They all came back and said fine no problem we do what ever you want. Up the summit, no problem, kids no problem. No, I kept thinking that is not the right answer. You are supposed to know this mountain and advise us on what is best. They also, almost all, came back with inflated prices and things like for extra dollars US you can have better food and a Tshirt. hummmmm.
Anyway, I found one small post on trip advisor about Rinjani women's trekking. It talked about how this lady was the first women guide up the mountain and now she in training other women. I emailed her and we started a dialogue. She was honest and sensible. No she said, kids should not go to the summit that would be ridiculous. She recommended a four day, three night trek to the crater rim. Over the weeks I deliberated and also looked at a simple jungle camping trip instead. It was my sister that convinced me, she said 'what an amazing achievement it would be for them'. I had such confidence in Katni that I decided to go for it. The kids were really excited.
Katni is has 7 brothers and 6 sisters. There was no money for school so she was set for a life in the paddy fields. However, she saw the men in the village working as trekking guides and decided it was something she could do. She started following them up the mountain at the age of 15. At first the local community was very against it. Women would spit at her in the market and would have nothing to do with her. It was considered very bad for a women to be up on the mountain with men and in particular foreigners who were said to drink and party. But, in time the others saw how respected she had become within the guiding community and that she was able to earn money for her family. She has now over the last 20 year trained 40 guides for local trips on the mountain.
So, we met Katni that night and packed our back packs for our adventure. A 7am start the next morning....
next post to follow..
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