We were to go to Ujung Genteng the next day~ to see the most amazing scene of a mother sea turtle laying eggs, and actually releasing the babies into the sea.
I arrived on the night before, and as I was the last to arrive, I ran into stories of the night before, playing truth or dare and the things that always come from it!
We left for the open air mall in Bandung to spend our time, and ended up meeting the famour Bandung soccer player, who was eating dinner with his son and wife, and afterwards we all went ice skating together on the top of the mall and as I took pictures instead of skating, we all spoke in Bahasa Indonesia. It was perfect because the famour soccer player is from brazil, which is why we were hanging out with them- since we have two brazilian guys who knew him and were not afraid to go up to him and become friends.
After experiencng a great time of meeting people from different countries, including another girl from Russia. We ended up back at Ibu Mita (a rotarian, and Kelsey's third host mother in Bandung) around midnight and got to bed by 1am.
Waking up early to skype Alan, I got things ready and we were on our way out the door by 6am.
I never realized that multiple holes of mud and rock could be called roads until we were on the way to Ujung Genteng, where the entire 12 hour journey consisted of holes so deep that many time I thought the bus would tip over.
We stopped along the way for kareoke (too many times!) and drinking juices, eating buffets, and talking before falling asleep.
We arrived at our hotel in Ujung Genteng- which was right off the beach around 6pm, where we waited until midnight~ eating dinner at the restaurant, which had the worst nasi goreng I've tasted, and swimming in a pool that we didn't realize was green until the day after~ until the sea turtle was ready to lay the eggs.
When it started, we each rode on the back of a motorcycle- driven by an Indonesian, called an ojek, and made our way quickly 20 minutes away to the beach where the sea turtle was.
Right before we started the long walk to the sea turtle, we were able to hold baby sea turtles- which is illegal in the USA but NOT in Indonesia! After pictures, we were on our way through a beach that was untouched by humans so that there was the best habitat for these beautiful turtles. It took around 30-45 minutes to walk through the sand to the spot where the sea turtle was. But the way was not as much of a burden as was beautiful.
The waves were not hindered by any ways, so they crashed HIGHER than any waves i've ever seen. We have no idea how big, but I would call them 5 meters, the way they crashed was outrageous.
When we finally arrived to see the mother, there was a huge tree branch sticking out of the ground right next to her to mark the area, and there was a large crowd surrounding her. So as a sneaky girl, I crawled my way to the front, coming in from the side, so that I wasn't in the way but able to see her face and take pictures from there. Because Alan told me that sea turtles cry when giving birth, and i needed to see it for myself.
And there she was, with flashlights shining around her, you could see the tears falling down her rugged face.
I flashed pictures, and when i realized you could take a picture with the beautiful turtle, I looked around and saw no one there.
Everyone had gone, all 20 people, except Ibu Mita. Who was sitting in the sand, looking at the waves, and texting :)
So, we started walking back after contemplating where the people were and found Ibu Melly (Diego, an exchange from Brazil's, host mother) waiting for us. Everyone had gone back with the crowds, and while I waited around for the true shots of the seaturtle getting up and out of the place where she laid her eggs, everyone else had gone back.
So, we then followed suit and ended up at our bungaloo.
Our rooms were double, and I shared with Sarah, and exchange from Alaska. Sharing a bed, a broken fan, one mirror, and a bathroom with no shower- but a bucket and a ladel you could use~ or toilet paper.
Coming back to my room- while the Brazilians stayed up, the Americans went to bed, as tomorrow morning at 5am we were going to see the sunrise.
And see the sunrise we did, after discovering the beauty of my camera and my skill with taking okay photos, Mariana and I went to work soaking up the beauty of the sunrise with our camera.
It looked exactly like in the photos i've always wanted to get.
The boats on the water were wooden and small, just what a poor farmer would own, and the beauty behind it was so rich and exotic, that with such a contradiction, the beauty was so overwhelming :) The sun spread to the sky slowly, just like God's plan for us is revealed slowly one piece at a time, and the colors were so classy. the greys, blues, greens, teals.. all mixing to paint a beautiful sunrise, in a way that I didn't even have to be good at taking pictures to embrace the beauty through my camera.
Afterwards, we headed back to the hotels and were on our way to waterfalls! The road to get there was the same, but the river that really took you there was different.
We were actually able to ride those old, wooden, third-world boats that I took pictures of in the morning ,that have a lawn mower motor for the boat, which took us to the waterfalls.
There were three, and as the water cascaded, the wind blew your hair in all directions. They were not Niagra Falls, but big enough to blow your hair and look amazing, while small enough to swim underneath.
Kelsey, Ailin, and I burned in the sun, as we forgot sunscreen and were taken aback by the beauty once again surrounding us, our skin didn't matter much (which we learned a great lesson from).
The waterfalls made me realize how beautiful the colours God made truly are- did you ever realize that? How COLORFUL God is? it rattles my brain :)
and then when we were letting the baby sea turtles go, i was crying- thinking i was giving them a death sentence, because i knew many of them would not survive, and couldn't contain my sorrow, until Kelsey said, "Sinikka, it's a chance for SURVIVAL! that's what your giving them" and that changed my thinking from half-empty to half-full. I thank you kelsey, for that input, because my mind wasn't on right that day :P
The colours of this trip, through the nature, the events, and the people~ made this trip (as Adrien from Belgium would call it) a perfect appetizer for the Big Bali Trip that is on April 30- May 13.
Until then!