With our guide at 10:00 we began to walk past rice fields, where Emma and Alex scared the birds away by rattling old cans and plastic bottles attached to lines.
We also passed pumpkins, tomatoes, sugarcane, cocoa, lemon trees and rubber trees where they were collecting the rubber in coconut shells with dry leaves. Soon we came to a beach where there was a hot spring and a rock to jump off. We were told the heat was caused by a volcano. within 2 minutes Alex found a small dog who was afraid of water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn-mRmrPB_o?rel=0
After about an hour swimming we walked to a bigger part of the river where we tubed down. The dog overcame its fear of water just to follow us as far as it could but soon the current took us far away from the dog. Alex was very sad when he had to say good bye to him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owCe0gejNtk?rel=0
Emma gets stuck once and we soon land near a little stream. We walk up it and lunch is waiting for us in a little pond area with a waterfall. Lunch includes heart of the banana plant stewed in coconut milk which is delectable.
The rocks here are really soft and you can write on them or rub them together to make them stick. You can stand under the waterfall and have a shower. We all get our hair washed with simpur fruit (this is the local name).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNzzBRZJ4-k?rel=0
There are little fish as well and the guide makes Alex and Emma a crown. Alex thinks he is King Julian the 1st.
We continue tubing through some fast bits of the river and finally park next to the plantation. Jane and Alex got stuck somewhere up river, and turn up a few minutes later. Gerd runs aground a few times.
The tubes are stored on a big pile and will be picked up by motorbike later. We walk back through the palm plantation after many offers of motorbike transport. This plantation is village owned. We saw loads of chickens, goats and Laurie said there were some pigs as well, since the village is half christian – half muslim. Just after we arrive in the village it starts raining and we spot a snake in the bamboo!
The restaurant is basically a tiled floor with a roof, a bar and lighting. The lighting will turn off occasionally, especially when there is thunder and lighting or when it rains hard. The standard cry when the power fails is “Welcome to the Jungle!”. Sometimes repeated many times on a night.
The staff are super friendly and Alex seems to be very popular. Alex spends quite some time stroking the cat. The staff do card tricks and spend a lot of time playing old songs on the guitar.
There are families from the Netherlands, England, Spain and Germany. Most people started in Sumatra and will continue to the Lake Toba.
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