The ship was approaching the port of Lembar on Lombok Island when we woke, but it soon stopped and dropped the tenders. Mum wasn’t ready for breakfast so early, as we had to be in the excursion room by 6.45, so I had a quick brekky and then we headed off to get our bus numbers.
Well if Bali was full of temples and frangipanis, then Lombok is full of rice and coconut trees. It is an agricultural island because of the freshwater lake at the top of the volcano we were heading for. Lots of water in the lowlands for rice, peanuts, maize, chillis, coconuts, cashews, etc. Very green though the rainy season hasn’t started yet. Our 3 buses had a police escort, who drove in front of us with lights and sirens the whole way there and back. Apparently cruise tours only get this treatment on weekends because of wedding parties who block the roads causing massive traffic jams. Also discovered how you can make a 2 lane road into 3 lanes, very easily, the bus just drives down the middle of it! Not sure how anyone else on the roads survived the our passage but I think they all did, LOL. Mind you sitting at the front was a bit nerve wracking, especially when we nearly kissed the bus in front of us a few times!
It was a 4 hour drive up to the waterfall, as we had a comfort stop along the way, with the souvenir shop to go with it.
Lots of countryside and villages & towns? along the way to see and listen to the tour guide. The waterfall was of course near the base of the volcano, and the stopping place was at the top of the fall, so 385 steps later we got to the bottom, then had to climb them all again. We were both pretty exhausted by the time we got to the top and lunch, with a nice view form the top. There is a fine haze over everything in the distance probably all this humidity LOL. It took us 3 hours to get back, and the 2nd half of the return trip we drove through the monkey forest, and they were all along the side of the road, using the safety barrier as their own highway.
We didn’t go to the formal dining room tonight, I grabbed a little something for Mum and brought it back for her, it had been a hard climb. I grabbed dinner then came back here to write this and then early bed.