Wonosobo Part 2 (1-25)

Saturday morning I slept in until 6:30 Saturday morning since we weren’t leaving until 7:00 and we were having breakfast in the city. When I woke up, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. I could see the mountain behind the guesthouse. I guessed that we missed a nice sunrise. Oh, well.

The guesthouse owners drove Desi and me into the city for breakfast since Danny was stuck in the morning traffic jam of children going to school. Thus I learned that school is in session 5.5 days a week. On the way to Wonosobo, the mountains and blue sky were beautiful. We met Danny at a roadside food stall in the center of town where we had bubur ayam—chicken cooked with thick rice porridge. I was glad to be introduced to this. 

After eating, Danny, Desi, and I walked around the park where several groups of school children were running on the track and playing football. Boys and girls were in separate groups. There were also other people walking on the track. Desi pointed out that the track is a foot massage track made with pebbles like I’ve seen in China.

Next we drove to the top of another mountain to enjoy the view. After an hour, the clouds were rolling in, and when we arrived at the viewpoint at 10:00, the mountains were no longer visible. 

This mountain is a coffee growing area. We passed a lot of coffee plants on the way up. Desi and I walked around a loop trail, which was nice. The trail is made with rocks and is pretty level; so it was nice to walk on. The middle section is in the process of being completed, and we saw several men laying the rocks. I realized that they all have to be carried in, a difficult job. 

Crops on this part of the mountain are onions, cabbage, and tobacco. 

After walking, we sat to rest and have a snack. Desi had bought a jar of carica for me. They also ordered fried tofu and cabbage and had it delivered. During our walk, the clouds rolled in and less of the valley was visible.

Next we drove for over an hour to a lake that is surrounded by mountains. We passed a sign advertising “Country in the Clouds.” I was certainly experiencing that. When we arrived at the lake, the mountains, of course, were in the clouds, but the lake was nice. It is used for fish farming. No fish are swimming freely in the lake; all are in the netted areas. 

After leaving the lake, we went to a traditional market in a nearby village. As always, I enjoyed walking through the market. When looking at sarongs in one stall, I chose one that was very long. It turned out to be a baby carrier, not a sarong. In the market I saw women using these to carry their purchases in addition to women carrying babies. 

I purchased a batik sarong with a traditional design. I love the traditional designs in brown and black. Desi purchased a big—half a kilo—bag of cassava chips that she later gave to me. I learned that cassava is used for making chips as well as steamed and eaten. They taste very much like potato chips.

Side note: When I asked Desi about washing the batik sarong, she said it should be hand washed. I then asked if she washes clothes by hand or machine and learned that she washes clothes for her family of four by hand because she thinks machines don’t get them clean enough.

The last destination of the day was a tea plantation that is up another mountain. This is the largest tea plantation I’ve ever seen. It covers the side of the mountain. The tea plants are the tallest I’ve seen, some coming almost to my shoulders. The tops of the plants are the same height; so the area is a flat sea of green. There is a path to walk down the mountain, but the paths between rows which people walk along to pick the tea leaves are almost non-existent. We had fun taking photos with the tea plants.

Carrots are abundant on this mountain. They are grown with cabbage between the rows of carrots.

Before returning me to the guesthouse, we went back to Wonosobo to eat. Desi introduced me to another vegetable dish with peanut sauce that is like gado-gado but is served with rice. It’s really nice that Indonesian is written with the Western alphabet because I can read the food names, which helps me remember them. On the way to the food court, it started to rain. While we were eating, the rain became very heavy and continued as we drove to the guesthouse. I knew it was the rainy season when I made plans; so this wasn’t a surprise. I had read that the rain is usually in the late afternoon, but I hadn’t realized that this area is an exception and gets more rain. An advantage of traveling during the rainy season is that the sights are not crowded.

Then it was time to return me to the guesthouse and say “good-bye.”  I enjoyed my time with both Desi and Danny and felt like they are friends, not just a guide and driver. Danny showed me his photo of us among the tea plants and said he’ll always keep it on his phone to remember me. That was sweet.

I followed my daily routine and relaxed in the room before going to the common area for tea. I skipped an evening walk because we returned at 4:30 and it rained until about 6:30. Anna brought my evening snack: a bowl of warm fruit soup with cariba, banana, and jackfruit. (I think cariba must have another name in English, as I can’t find a reference to it on the Internet.)

Sunday morning the sky above was cloudy and blue, but the lower half over the mountains was solid clouds. Not a mountain in sight, but it was a lovely morning. When I left, the owners drove me to the shuttle station. Anna hugged me and kissed my cheek and told me to come back.