we are safe!

Iron Man and the desert Ninja are here to protect us!!!

 

It was a great playdate.. oh yeah, except where they wanted to save the girls that didn't need saving.

More signs

We found some more good ones..

 

name your restaurant d'Smut

 

name your charity organization Nurul Islam Assholihun

 

and this is a hospital specializing in respiratory problems..

and these are lungs, just to be clear.

More fresh air

We sadly said good bye to Tirzah and Bill, and unpacked our own suitcases.  We had a great time adventuring all over the islands, and it seemed much too short.  And, they were flying home in business class instead of first class this time, so we felt very bad for them. (hah!) 

 

We miss them!!!!!

 

But, because we can't sit still (and because the French school doesn't really believe in having very many consecutive school days), we had a four-day weekend the following weekend and decided to head to the mountains again.  So, we packed up the car.. including the very classy roof bags and put the dogs in the trunk.. and off we went at 11pm on Wednesday night.  We got there by 2am and it was perfect - cool and breezy and fresh.  I always like going there, as it's relaxing and I can talk with Theda and O a bit more too, as part of their ashes are there and so many good memories of them being so very happy.

 

Back in dog paradise, we had a number of human friends join us.. and Zeric was sure to keep the fireplace going.  We roasted tons of marshmallows (thanks, memere!!), played outside, and watched movies when it rained. 

 

 

 

Mercy even got a manicure!  Pink!!!

 

We went on a walk up the hill, as we do when we feel that we need to move a little (and not just eat, drink, and do dishes).. and we found a flower that we had never seen before.  Very soft..

We also found a beautiful pixie..

and a mysterious trap for some kind of animal..

We were wondering what kind of animal it could be for, and how unfortunate it would be for it to get caught given all the spikey sticks. Fast forward to the next morning when we found what was left of the Nerf football...

 

 

...with small pieces of it in piles in three places all around the huge yard.  Perhaps those spikey sticks might have a purpose after all!  The kids thought it was a fox that did it.. but the grown-ups were pretty sure it was a musong (like a ferret), as they are the naughty ones around here.

 

We ended our weekend with a good round of tye-dying, thanks to Uncle Reuben.  We had a great time!!! All the kids love their shirts, and when they wear them to school, their friends ask if they've just been to Bali.  Nope --Puncak!!

 

Felix, Eben, Diane, Blu, Jaffa, and Mercy..

missing were Alex, Andrew, Maddy and Bianca. 

Grown-ups were outnumbered!!!

Offerings

The Balinese are mostly Hindu, and so multiple times a day, they make offerings to the g-ds.  These are usually in beautiful little shallow square baskets, or on monuments.  They include flowers and rice and sometimes cookies or cigarettes.  All the good stuff. 

No surprise then, I guess, that the guy who made up our room knows how to make things look special! Note woots and piggy pillow on the bottom..

Maniac macaques

One of our favorite places in Ubud is the Monkey Forest, so we had to show Tirz and Bill!

 

Just in last couple of years, since we first went to Ubud, I think the monkeys have gotten crazier and braver with people.  You saw the pictures from last time (with the Oleksiuks) where one stole my mosquito spray?  This time was no different.. only she was all about Bill.  And holding on to his ears. But he liked it.

 

There was lots going on that day,

and so it was important to be able to keep your kid from getting away from you.

 

Also a nice time to hang out with your girlfriend and watch the crowds.

No one get weird here about public breastfeeding.

Finally, a spotting of some really crazy monkeys

 

 

 

Ubud shopping

I've already posted lots of great pictures of the streets and restaurants of Ubud.  And our good times at Sugars Villas.  Yep, we did it all again with Tirz and Bill.. lots of eating and shopping.  And shopping.  And shopping.  The kids were patient, and got some pool and friend time for sure. 

 

But here's something I hadn't ever shopped for before:

 

souvenirs from Bali!!!

If course, Jaffa and Eben had to ask what it was.  "It's a penis bottle opener"  "Oh... why would you make that?"  "Some people think it's funny"  "Oh... can I buy the mask over here.... ?"

Phew.

Dragon (non) action

Another nice, long, beautiful, breezy boat ride and we found ourselves on Rinca, an island still in the national park with Komodo dragons.  It was late afternoon, so they weren't running around dancing, but we did see some.  And we were happy that they weren't in "active" mode.

 

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang, and Padar. A member of the monitor lizard family (Varanidae), it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 metres (10 ft) in rare cases and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms (150 lb).  Recent research suggests the large size of Komodo dragons may be understood as representative of a relict population of very large varanid lizards that once lived across Indonesia and Australia, most of which, along with other megafauna,^[1] died out after the Pleistocene. Fossils very similar to V. komodoensis have been found in Australia dating to greater than 3.8 million years ago, and its body size remained stable on Flores, one of the handful of Indonesian islands where it is currently found, over the last 900,000 years, "a time marked by major faunal turnovers, extinction of the island's megafauna, and the arrival of early hominids by 880 ka [kiloannums]." As a result of their size, these lizards dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. It has been claimed that they have a venomous bite; there are two glands in the lower jaw which secrete several toxic proteins. The biological significance of these proteins is disputed, but the glands have been shown to secrete an anticoagulant. Komodo dragon group behaviour in hunting is exceptional in the reptile world. The diet of big Komodo dragons mainly consists of deer, though they also eat considerable amounts of carrion. Komodo dragons also occasionally attack humans in the area of West Manggarai Regency where they live in Indonesia.  (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon)

They like meat, so they hang out near the rangers' kitchen house.  Notice how the houses are on stilts.  Yeah. Uh huh.  The big one was probably 7 feet long.  And apparently they are quite fast when they decided to move and the sound of crying babies/screaming kids agitates them.  And so, it really agitated me too.. as I sure didn't want to see one running towards our whiny selves (which we were)!!!  We also heard stories about how they grab macaque monkeys out of the trees in the morning - they grab them and the monkeys scream, and get eaten.  Glad we didn't see any of that. 

beautiful scenery.. in the morning, the dragons sun themselves on these hills.. but we had them all to ourselves (and the buffalo) this afternoon

so happy to be in paradise together!

Isn't she pretty?  Her and her nice long tongue.. ugh.  Apparently, one of the rangers had been bitten a few weeks before on his calf. They couldn't clear the infection after three weeks of antibiotics, so he's looking at getting his leg amputated below the knee.  Can't say we were too sad to say good bye to the dragons.

Senayur - Komodo

Amazing the numbers of high hills and volcanos there are in Indonesia.. you really notice when you look from the plane!

After a few days in Jakarta (enough for everyone to get their fill of Mexican food from nearby Amigos), we headed off to Komodo National Park.  Yes, it has the dragons, but it also has some really, really good diving. 

We landed in Labuan Bajo, then headed to our resort (on its own island called Senayur) by boat.. for an hour and a half.

We arrived (some of us were sick, but nevermind..) and it was so so so beautiful.  As Jaffa said, "it's so beautiful here, it has to be fake."  So true!  Take a look at their website to see how fab a PR person can make it look: http://www.komodoresort.com/  But, it really is that amazing!!

they had sea kayaks for us to play in..

our bungalow, looking out into the ocean

the beach, the dock, the big island far away

the sunset

the starfish.. see my feet for scale.  up to your ankles in the water, and you saw all kinds of fish.. all colors.. all shapes. snorkel 20 feet out? angel fish and clown fish and.. sometimes turtles -- but not for us this time :(

view from the restaurant

ready for action!!

Holding a place here for Tirzah and Bill's pictures of swimming with the manta rays.  Wow!!  We didn't go because I didn't want to spend 5 hours on ta diving boat with the kids (I had the flu), but we'll go next year, before we leave Indonesia.  Promise!!

Back to Kalimantan for lots of orangs

For those of you who don't know, my sister Tirzah loves animals.  So, of course, her husband Bill does too.  We have lots of animals in Indonesia, so we planned their trip so that they could see bunches of them. We started off with the boat trip in Kalimantan, with my favorite ranger and guide, Yusuf.  Hard to believe, but this trip was even better than the first one.  We saw SO MANY orangutans. AND the tail of a nine-foot crocodile, AND proboscis monkeys, AND a gibbon, AND a big monitor lizard, AND a tarantula.

 

Like before, we flew into southern Kalimantan (Borneo).  Then off to the boat and on our way..

 

We got fed lunch on the boats, then off to the first feeding station.. where loads of orangs had their lunch too.

At one of the feeding stations, the male (note cheek flaps) wasn't letting the other orangs come to feed--except for his lady--so the ranger took some bananas and brought them back to a few of the young moms with babies.  I think you'd have a hard time convincing me to go up and take his bananas!!

Here's our crew! Our friends also joined us for this adventure - Pascal (far right), his son Felix next to him, and daughter Diane in pink on the right.  We had a great time together, in both French and English.  See Yusuf the most fabulous guide, far left.  He and his crew did a great job taking care of us.  After our very long and rigorous (not!) hikes to see the orangs, there was Coca Cola and banana beignets waiting for us.   Sugar rush!!

...and here is the lady in her kitchen, who prepared all of the meals for us and the crew. 

Proboscis monkey in the tree.. they have big round bellies (I felt connected to them suddenly, when I learned that), and they all crowd in one tree at sunset to sleep together.  They don't make nests, they just rest on the branches so every once in awhile, in the middle of the night, you hear one come crashing down.. having fallen out of the tree.  Hope there's no crocodile waiting below!

ah, love on vacation....

This is Mario, Eben's best friend.  They are both 7 years old.  Eben spent a long time feeding Mario bananas and oranges.  They touched each other's hands, and Eben saw how Mario had hands and fingernails just like humans.  This experience really touched Eben.  He talks about Mario all the time, and wants to go back and see him.  We talk a lot about what we can do to save the planet so animals like Mario can keep living in the wild.

Just about human.. we're so close to each other.  This mama was holding her week-old baby..

This is Boy. We met him last time.  He likes to join in for the feedings, and is quick enough to take what he wants.  He's careful, too, not to make anyone angry.  Look at how very long his arms are!

This is Tom.  He is the king of this part of the jungle.  He weights 120 kilos (265 pounds).  Suddenly, he just came walking down the same path we had used, looking at everyone in the eyes.. checking us out. It really felt like the king was walking in.  Wow.  The rangers were ready, though, just in case, and had put themselves between him and us.  He came to the feeding station, not to eat, but to find a mate.  Turns out the girl he was looking at was not interested in him, and quickly left.  He followed but apparently didn't find her, because we saw him.. about 500 meters away.. pull down a medium sized tree.  He was mad!  And so he came back to check again, but no luck that day. 

 

A group of school kids came late to the action, so I showed them some of the pictures on my camera.

 

A good way to carry your banana stash..

Flights delayed, as usual, so time for some antics in the airport..

 

After an amazing three days, we got home and got showered.  Ready for the next adventure!