August 2011 .
Selamat Siang
We arrived at the island of Lembata and anchored by the sleepy town of Mawa. For some reason we decided to climb the smoking volcano( Why?) The locals were happy to take us. Off at 7am on motor scooters (which I vowed never to ride in a in a 'first world country let alone a third world!) On the back of a scooter no helmet and we were off for the hour ride to the trail head .The road was paved at first but then we hit the the " Dust and "Rut" leg. 
Upon our arrival in a tiny village, people came out to the road to see what the commotion was about. They gathered around.--curious why we were there
The trek was basically straight up a trail for 45minutes. Next we were climing up rocks which gave way to dry grasses and dirt. We all moved at a good pace. About 2 hours into it we came upon a bush section. The vegetation was thick like a brick wall and as tall as Peter! Our local guide took out his machete and started to hack down a trail! Another guide stepped in front of me and layed into the elephant grass with his whole boddy. This made a smoall impression so I could take a step forward. It is similar to elephant grass. Long reed type grass anywhere from 1 to 3 inches wide with sharp edges. (causing many cuts and scratches) I was thinking this was a good place to have lunch then head back. (silly me! we didnt pack a lunch.) I didn't want to be the weak link so on we went.
We greeted the elders with "Salamat Pagi" and a small bow. Thank heaven for our Kiwi crew member Joanne. She speaks some Bahasa and explained we wanted to climb the volcano. They did not understand. Who would want to do this? We finally communicated. After much discussions among the local men we were given 3 " guides" and off we went. ( One young man had been up the volcano, another never and the third was barefoot!
The trek was basically straight up a trail for 45minutes. Next we were climing up rocks which gave way to dry grasses and dirt. We all moved at a good pace. About 2 hours into it we came upon a bush section. The vegetation was thick like a brick wall and as tall as Peter! Our local guide took out his machete and started to hack down a trail! Another guide stepped in front of me and layed into the elephant grass with his whole boddy. This made a smoall impression so I could take a step forward. It is similar to elephant grass. Long reed type grass anywhere from 1 to 3 inches wide with sharp edges. (causing many cuts and scratches) I was thinking this was a good place to have lunch then head back. (silly me! we didnt pack a lunch.) I didn't want to be the weak link so on we went.
It took us about an hour to forge our way through a section of this dense foliage. We moved upward the entire climb. No switchbacks in Indonesia! At a small clearing we stopped while one of the guides scaled a palm tree and cut down 6 coconuts. He deftly cut them open with his crude machete and we slurped it down. Doesn't taste much like coconut. Looks more like water. And closer to warm watered down lemon. It was refreshing after our last 3 hours. Enough rest! Time to wade our way through more jungle. It was slow going as the machete cleared our path. We moved over thick vegetation with roots tangling up our feet. We used our hands to pull ourselves along. We could not see where we were going. I could see Peter's large sun hat up ahead bouncing across the foliage. I knew I wasn't the only nut out here! This section was in the stark sunlight and the air was still. I was drenched with perspiration.
Two of the guides kept asking "OK"? I'm sure they thought they might have to carry me down the mountain! At last we hit an open space! We looked up and saw 300 a meter rock face above us. (Surely it was time to go back!!!!) The 3 locals guys easily climbed up. Peter, Joanne and myself found ourselves needing to stop every 25 yards. Breathing hard and wearing down. I like to hike but this was grueling. We kept loosing our purchase and sliding back. We were coated with a film of dust. Our hands roughed up from rocks we grabbed trying to pull ourselves up the volcano. We finally made it to a huge open space with panoramic views of the islands and iridescent sea. Above we could see the edge of the volcano where the smoke spewed continuously. Outside the cone a giant yellow "paint splotch" covered the grey rumpled surface. The smell of sulphur was in the air. Quite a sight! We stopped guzzled water and took pictures to confirm we had actually made it up. I was proud to have reached the cone of the volcano. Peter wanted to climb up farther to the ridge. I opted out.(I still had my sanity). Everyone left me to climb to the ridge. I layed down on a large flat boulder to rest. It was wonderful after the climb. An hour and a half later delirious they returned. The saw more sulphur and a dry lake bed. (So who was smarter?) Exhausted we headed back. The downhill trudge was taxing. You had to place your feet carefully to keep from sliding. We all had several falls on the way down. At a certain point I hit the wall. Eight hours of trekking had broken my 'Fun' meter. We were in zombie mode just trying to get off the mountain. the descent was a breeze compared to the uphill. It was dark when we got to the village. Again the local people came out to see us. The women really looked bewildered. We were dirty, cut and scratched and dragging. One woman behind me touched my shirt which was soaked with perspiration. I turned and smiled at her. She just looked back at me with sympathetic eyes. I'm sure she thought I was suffering from Dengue fever. We all dragged ourselves back on the motor scooters for our hour long return ride in the dark of night.
Two of the guides kept asking "OK"? I'm sure they thought they might have to carry me down the mountain! At last we hit an open space! We looked up and saw 300 a meter rock face above us. (Surely it was time to go back!!!!) The 3 locals guys easily climbed up. Peter, Joanne and myself found ourselves needing to stop every 25 yards. Breathing hard and wearing down. I like to hike but this was grueling. We kept loosing our purchase and sliding back. We were coated with a film of dust. Our hands roughed up from rocks we grabbed trying to pull ourselves up the volcano. We finally made it to a huge open space with panoramic views of the islands and iridescent sea. Above we could see the edge of the volcano where the smoke spewed continuously. Outside the cone a giant yellow "paint splotch" covered the grey rumpled surface. The smell of sulphur was in the air. Quite a sight! We stopped guzzled water and took pictures to confirm we had actually made it up. I was proud to have reached the cone of the volcano. Peter wanted to climb up farther to the ridge. I opted out.(I still had my sanity). Everyone left me to climb to the ridge. I layed down on a large flat boulder to rest. It was wonderful after the climb. An hour and a half later delirious they returned. The saw more sulphur and a dry lake bed. (So who was smarter?) Exhausted we headed back. The downhill trudge was taxing. You had to place your feet carefully to keep from sliding. We all had several falls on the way down. At a certain point I hit the wall. Eight hours of trekking had broken my 'Fun' meter. We were in zombie mode just trying to get off the mountain. the descent was a breeze compared to the uphill. It was dark when we got to the village. Again the local people came out to see us. The women really looked bewildered. We were dirty, cut and scratched and dragging. One woman behind me touched my shirt which was soaked with perspiration. I turned and smiled at her. She just looked back at me with sympathetic eyes. I'm sure she thought I was suffering from Dengue fever. We all dragged ourselves back on the motor scooters for our hour long return ride in the dark of night. Selemat Jalan!
Trail Blazer Molly and my Sherpa Peter!!!
