Waerebo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
We started our trip to Waerebo village by going out to get some lunch to fill up our hungry stomachs from the early flights. So we were taken to a nearby restaurant that served seafood by the bus that was organized, as we were travelling in a rather large group (a total of 20 people). The group consisted of my family(four including me), and my parent’s high-school friend’s families. So after we had a good lunch, tasting the local East Nusa Tenggara cuisines, we hopped back on the bus and journeyed for 6 hours to a lodge which served as our checkpoint before going up to Waerebo, the village in the mountains.
6 hours in the bus to the lodge wasn’t actually because of the distance, rather the conditions of the road. On the way, we went mostly off road after a certain distance, so we had to move slowly through the terrain.
The roads are very windy, and when we had to go off road, it really is offroad, and what made it worse was the road was damaged because it was crossing the sea, so the water made a huge pot hole, and in addition it was raining, so it was slippery, which made the hike up really hard.
After 6hours-ish we finally made it to the lodge, and it was dark by then. Yet, the starlight lit up the sky.
There we met up with Martin, a local from the Waerebo Village who would be our tour guide for the next 2 days. That night he told us that from the lodge we would still need to take a 30min bus to an area which then we would need to hop on a motor bike for 15mins which then leads us to the final starting point, and from that starting point we would hike for about 3hrs through the forest to the village. So after the briefing we went to sleep ASAP.
The next day, the daylight brought the area we were at to scene as the night before everything was cloaked in the dark of the night. It turns out that behind us was what seemed to be rice fields. As I saw the buffalo feeding the the fields I decided to snap a photo of the scene, as in the city we only see cars and hear busy noises. That’s right the here, the morning was very peaceful, just the rustling of the wind against the dry leaves, the chickens chatting, and the sound of the waves in a distance, because it turns out that the front or the side view of the lodge was directly to a bay with a mountain in the background.
Now this is a morning I can get very used to, a slow and peaceful morning, gathering my life essence upon waking up, staring into the distance maybe having a cup of tea or just reading a book(I don’t read that often, I’m writing it just for the sake of writing). So then we gathered in the main hall where we had the briefing the night before to have breakfast before setting out for the village, the breakfast was very simple which just consisted of rice, tempe(a traditional Indonesian dish made of fermented soybeans, usually fried), chicken and egg if I remember correctly(pardon me, I’m writing this 2 years after the trip).
So at about 9am we went out to the motor point, where we too the bikes to the actual starting point. When we all gathered, the hike started. As we went up, we saw a lot of people coming down of all ages, youngsters to some old people who brought walking canes along. So seeing so, we thought to ourselves, if old people can also do this hike, it shouldn’t be a problem for us right? So as we progressed further into the trail we started going higher in altitude, luckily the path was paved which made hiking easier. Some of us started to say “Damn man if this is the trail all the way its gonna be pretty tiring.” Because although it was paved, it was still pretty though
After an hour or such, the paved roads stared to disappear. Some of us panicked, me being the adventurous, person I am stayed chill, as I was confident. Despite the unpaved and raw roads, the trail surprisingly wasn’t as hard as the beginning in the first hours where I think we did most of the climbing. The trail started to decline, we hiked beside cliffs where we couldn’t see the bottom, until we saw a glimpse of the village for the first time. As I pulled out my phone and tried to post a photo, NO CONNECTION!!! It turns out, at the lodge we already had no phone reception. Luckily I brought my camera, so I snapped photos with my tele(zoom) lens.
With a blanket of clouds passing by, it made the view seem very fantasy-like. After some a photo break, we were fired up to finish the hike, as we thought we were near already. Turns out we were probably just halfway or more than half by a little. By the time we approached the village, we heard sounds, Martin then asked me to follow him to a different passage because he said that there was an on going wedding ritual happening amongst the locals. So we rushed as he said that it was almost done.
This is the only photo that I managed to capture, the locals gathering and waiting in front of one of the huts as the couple were inside getting the chiefs blessing if I’m not mistaken.
We were specifically told not to take photos when entering the village for the first time before getting the chief’s blessing but Martin gave me permission to do so because he thought that I could snap the rare moment of the traditional wedding. We also learnt that they eat dogs on special occasions and for ritual, hence the reason why we can see several dogs around.
Not having reception made us live a very simple life, just chilling in the huts, watching the local kids run around, socializing with the local people and animals. From wearing the traditional attire and taking photos with the locals to learning how to do certain chores or tasks we lived like them for a day.
As the minutes ticked, the sun started to sink, making the light softer and softer, and eventually the locals set up a net and started playing volleyball. At first we just watched, but overtime one by one we started to join in the fun. So there we were, finding ourselves playing a match of volleyball on the grass, against the village locals.
As the fresh and clean air rushed through my lungs, and through my veins, I was playing non-stop, tirelessly. Before you knew it the dark night was just above our heads, and it started to drizzle. So in the hut I rushed to seek shelter, a bit disappointed because I was kind of hoping to see the stars outside. After waiting a while the rain subsided so out I went to look at the stars.
In the next post I will share about how the night sky sparkled in my eyes. So do look forward to it, because it was a dazzling view!