Indonesia, country of over 17,000 islands, hides quite a few treasures. Our two months there only gave us a small taste of it and some hot springs. Each island host a rich array of ethnic and linguistic groups. Back in Canada I just kept dreaming of returning there.
After a ten-hour drive across Sumbawa Island we made it to Lakey Beach in Hu’u. Cory and I with big backpacks on one scooter wasn’t the most comfortable but we made it to a surfer’s paradise. After plenty of surfing and snorkeling I was itching for a new adventure.Talking with some locals we heard about some hot springs located on a beach.
We drove through a little community which had algae scattered on the road to dry. Six kids stacked on a pedal bike smiled at us. The pavement turned into loose rocks and cliffs on our right. Holding tight I watched the dramatic landscape of blue never ending sea. The road narrowed into a jungle path in which we progressed for only a few hundred meters before having to leave the scooter to continue by foot.
Roasted by the sun, we followed butterflies. Up and down and around the jungle we finally made it to a quaint beach. Only one local fisherman was there. Big smile and missing a tooth. He hurried us over to the hot springs which were bubbling out of the sand right onto the beach. We seemed to connect with our sign language and smiles despite my French and his Indonesian.
A smell of rotten eggs lingered around. Bubbles were forming and exploding while leaving behind metallic rings of various colours. Ouch, standing barefoot beside the hot spring forced me to quickly slip back into my sandals.
A rising tide couldn’t even cool down the scalding springs. The ocean was boiling up until ankle deep and slowly got colder as I walked deeper. “Shark” yelled Cory. We both studied the surface of the sea and only managed to get a quick glance at what seemed to be a black-tip reef shark. Too bad. So we swam for a while to cool down before the uphill walk back to the scooter. We walked away as the high tide submerged entirely the hot springs. Our two litres of water weren’t enough. Always bring more in the tropics. 35-40 degrees celsius makes you sweat.
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Live Wildly Intrepid!
Carpe Diem
Alex
