Nice to get some trekking in today. Up early for a two hour jaunt around Danau Tamblingan (tahm-blee-ngan) through the jungle with a local guide. Usually I prefer solitude on such missions but the paths were myriad and what's more the lad had some good insights regarding local flora. I particularly enjoyed sights of wild ginger, scarlet in the undergrowth. As well, a parasitic root system that eventually outgrows its host, becoming a massive tree in its own right.
We came across a temple that until recently had been flooded for the last year or so when the lake overflowed its banks. What was once an unsealed parking area has now become a swamp. My guide has coordinated with other locals and we're now ferrying across the lake in an old, and odd, double canoe. We moor at a sweet little village and close the circuit not long after.
Back at Munduk Lexy takes me on a trek down steep, slippery trails through clove forests under cultivation by the local populace. Canals built alongside the trail to service villagers with running water are overgrown with jungle foliage. Spiders have taken up residence, lacing the spans with their diaphanous nets. The dragonflies that flirt by the water are perhaps too clever for capture. I spot one interrupted in flight by a sticky thread, but his powerful wings pull him to safety.
Along the way Lexy points out some of the cash crops of the area. There's plenty of spikey durian (tastes like the smell of human rectum); bumpy, amorphous jackfruit (surprisingly dry, much better flavor); and brilliant, red kakao (kah-ka-o, cocoa, chocolate.) Neat how the livelihood of villagers mingles completely with jungle flora. Usually a place of harvest has the look of cultivation. Not so on the outskirts of Munduk. Love it here.
The paths lead to a brace of waterfalls. The first is over tended with built up concrete construction that ruins the scenery. I consider a swim but the pool is tiny and the air here is dingin (dee-ngeen, cold.) The second is entirely natural, completely secluded, and ripe for a dip. The pool proves shallow, good only for wading, and the cascade is well strong, too powerful to bear for long. Nonetheless, nice to take in a soak with this heat.
Back at the top it's late lunch and hit the road. I'm starting to feel sleepy but I notice a few of the awesome carvings which we passed last night after battery's death. With renewed vigor I leap at the opportunity, scrambling crumbly brick walls to capture that perfect angle. Local kids laugh as I teeter on the edge. Silly bule.
We race towards tonight's stay, a coast town that promises snorkeling adventure on the morrow. Brief stops at two puras of passing interest. The last is swarming with monkeys who have littered the place with their excrement and funk. How strange to consider this holy.
Room this eve is vast, sparsely furnished, clean, and cheap. I'm particularly fond of the open air washroom.
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