Adventures of a Tribe

The adventure continues

Posted on November 29, 2017 Updated on November 29, 2017

Before writing about today’s adventures, I wanted to answer a question I’ve been asked by a couple of people who read my blog. I figured it’s important enough to answer so everyone understands…The question is, why do I call my children, creatures. A few months, one reader expressed how he thought it was disrespectful to the kids.
I want you to know that along with Danny, my children are the most important people in my life. To me, the term, ‘creatures’, is a term of endearment. We do everything together! They are my sidekicks, my adventure partners, and my absolute treasures. I watch them husk coconuts, climb trees, dig holes, build rock towers, jump off cliffs, eat crazy foods we can’t identify in foreign countries…they are like little creatures exploring the earth with Danny and I, leaving no rock unturned. I adore them all. I hope that makes sense.

Our journey across Indonesia to Hong Kong, continues, and it’s been a blast and a half thus far.
When we awoke this morning we explored around Kuta in Lombok, and felt like we had been transported back in time.

Carts pulled by ponies made their way down the streets, and women sat selling fresh fish in a market place.

If a fish was too big, it was cut up right there and sold in chunks.

Lombok is roughly 1700 square miles, and is mostly Muslim and Hindu.

Not much is known about Lombok before the seventeenth century. Disunity was taken advantage of as it was governed by a Sasak Prince, and neighboring Bali took control by 1750. At this point Sasak and Balinese have intermarried.

Rice, soybeans, cloves, coffee, tobacco, cotton, cinnamon, cacao, cassava, corn, coconuts, bananas and vanilla are grown in the fertile soil of the island.

During down time, vendors sift rice to separate grains from husk. I love watching their skill!

We entered an area where many were seated, selling all sorts of things.

I loved watching people converse, chat and laugh together, and wished I could chat and hear their life stories.

The outskirts of the market were really muddy, but no one seemed to notice, and meandered through it regardless.

The market spread out deep into the muddy grounds,

then suddenly ended with a paved path to the beach. At the end was a pier in progress, being made from bamboo.

The water was still, and scattered with small fishing boats. Several that had seen many trips out onto the ocean were finally laid to rest close to shore.

Two fishermen were preparing their nets for the next catch, sorting through, unraveling and picking out pieces of seaweed.

Some children were playing on the beach, so we gave them a bag of fruit from the market. They thanked us in broken English with beautiful big smiles on their faces.

What a picturesque little island!

Lombok is definitely a place I’d love to spend more time exploring.

We kept checking the airport status because as the morning wore on, the ash cloud from Bali began heading our way and we thought it might close. Danny and I kept in contact through text, and finally it was time to take flight to Jakarta. As we flew over Bali, we could see the ash cloud emitted from Agung, as it now reaches over 5 km into the air and mixed with the clouds. The slightly darker ash can be seen right in the center of the photo. (Right behind the white cloud in the very middle)

Today our journey takes us to Jakarta, then on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where we will spend the night then continue on to Hong Kong tomorrow.
Our friend, Jack, who is taking care of our dogs back in Bali, sent us a picture and said the dogs are doing fine. Jude is loving sailing the coast of Australia while my mom is enjoying spending time with my Aunt in Queensland. Life is good, and we are so grateful for our adventures.