Sulawesi Trip--Day 3--to Parigi
Tuesday, March 8
2nd cycle day 82 km
Palu - Parigi
The route takes us up a scenic mountainous ascent to Kebun Kopi (Coffee Garden) where we’ll lunch followed by a ‘payback’ descent to the coast and swimming and Yoga at Parigi
Accommodation in family guest house by the sea
We rode about 10k out of Palu the other way on the busy road from the previous day before turning inland onto a small country road. The tranquility was instant and amazing. It was still cool in the early morning, and there were people out in the fields, planting or tilling rice by hand, or walking behind cows.
The day was supposed to include a 15k climb followed by a descent. Or maybe the climb was longer? I can't remember. Anyway, before the ascent started we stopped at a little roadside warung (restaurant / rest stop) for some tea and bananas. It was by a river. I liked the spot because you know those ramps you drive your car up onto to change the oil or whatever? They had installed a set made of stones mortared together with concrete, right next to the house.
And they had some cute goats. So we had our tea, and even did a few minutes of yoga on the floor before getting back on our bikes and starting to climb.
It was a long climb, but compared to some that came later in the trip, really not too arduous. I never even got down to my lowest gear. There were a number of "breathers"-brief descents following a long ascent-that made riding easier.
But once again, our group got separated. When those of us at the back of the group got to the top of the mountain, we found that the larger pack of 6 riders had gone ahead of us after waiting for a while. Lunch was actually to be at the end of the ride, not at Kebun Kopi, because it was only about 11:30 when we reached the top. So we took a good rest at the top of the hill where there was a vegetable market and I met a motorcycle gang and Sylvia bought a cabbage and some carrots-much-needed roughage. I also got a bag of homegrown sugar-coated peanuts and a bottle of Pocari Sweat (yes they have it in Indonesia too!) for the next day's long ride.
We met up with the others at the bottom of the hill and rode on to our night's accommodations. It was a Muslim-run hotel, which meant high-ceilinged windowless rooms, marble-type floors, middle-east style colonnades and balconies, and goats and chickens in the yard.
There was an affiliated restaurant, the Lebo Café (which I kept misreading as the "Lesbo Café" which would have been funny) across the street. We had lunch in the restaurant and then went across to get cleaned up and rest or have a swim before yoga. Sylvia and I were on the top floor in a room that was full of mosquitoes! So I told the hotel and they handed me this spray pump of stuff called "Baygon" which is probably like straight DDT.
Anyway, Sylvia got out (she is the type of person who doesn't even like to apply insect repellent, or breathe cigarette smoke, etc.) and I sprayed the room with the stuff while holding my breath, and then we went down to the restaurant (an open room on stilts that is out in the sea) to do yoga. It was hot and there were mosquitoes (although I had slathered on the bug spray so none of them bit me) and some construction workers were very blatantly ogling us and little kids were running around giggling and imitating us. But the yoga was good. We did (OK, well, tried to do) a couple poses I had only read about. But the beginners were really struggling. Hopefully we all felt good afterward.
Back at the hotel, we entered the room to find it filled with a weird greasy smell and a carpet of dead mosquitoes. But at least the air conditioning worked! We strung up our washed underwear on a line in the room stretching from TV to wardrobe, then went back to the restaurant for dinner. I don't remember what we ate, but slept fitfully knowing that the next day was going to be a long ride.
2nd cycle day 82 km
Palu - Parigi
The route takes us up a scenic mountainous ascent to Kebun Kopi (Coffee Garden) where we’ll lunch followed by a ‘payback’ descent to the coast and swimming and Yoga at Parigi
Accommodation in family guest house by the sea
We rode about 10k out of Palu the other way on the busy road from the previous day before turning inland onto a small country road. The tranquility was instant and amazing. It was still cool in the early morning, and there were people out in the fields, planting or tilling rice by hand, or walking behind cows.
The day was supposed to include a 15k climb followed by a descent. Or maybe the climb was longer? I can't remember. Anyway, before the ascent started we stopped at a little roadside warung (restaurant / rest stop) for some tea and bananas. It was by a river. I liked the spot because you know those ramps you drive your car up onto to change the oil or whatever? They had installed a set made of stones mortared together with concrete, right next to the house.
And they had some cute goats. So we had our tea, and even did a few minutes of yoga on the floor before getting back on our bikes and starting to climb.
It was a long climb, but compared to some that came later in the trip, really not too arduous. I never even got down to my lowest gear. There were a number of "breathers"-brief descents following a long ascent-that made riding easier.
But once again, our group got separated. When those of us at the back of the group got to the top of the mountain, we found that the larger pack of 6 riders had gone ahead of us after waiting for a while. Lunch was actually to be at the end of the ride, not at Kebun Kopi, because it was only about 11:30 when we reached the top. So we took a good rest at the top of the hill where there was a vegetable market and I met a motorcycle gang and Sylvia bought a cabbage and some carrots-much-needed roughage. I also got a bag of homegrown sugar-coated peanuts and a bottle of Pocari Sweat (yes they have it in Indonesia too!) for the next day's long ride.
We met up with the others at the bottom of the hill and rode on to our night's accommodations. It was a Muslim-run hotel, which meant high-ceilinged windowless rooms, marble-type floors, middle-east style colonnades and balconies, and goats and chickens in the yard.
There was an affiliated restaurant, the Lebo Café (which I kept misreading as the "Lesbo Café" which would have been funny) across the street. We had lunch in the restaurant and then went across to get cleaned up and rest or have a swim before yoga. Sylvia and I were on the top floor in a room that was full of mosquitoes! So I told the hotel and they handed me this spray pump of stuff called "Baygon" which is probably like straight DDT.
Anyway, Sylvia got out (she is the type of person who doesn't even like to apply insect repellent, or breathe cigarette smoke, etc.) and I sprayed the room with the stuff while holding my breath, and then we went down to the restaurant (an open room on stilts that is out in the sea) to do yoga. It was hot and there were mosquitoes (although I had slathered on the bug spray so none of them bit me) and some construction workers were very blatantly ogling us and little kids were running around giggling and imitating us. But the yoga was good. We did (OK, well, tried to do) a couple poses I had only read about. But the beginners were really struggling. Hopefully we all felt good afterward.
Back at the hotel, we entered the room to find it filled with a weird greasy smell and a carpet of dead mosquitoes. But at least the air conditioning worked! We strung up our washed underwear on a line in the room stretching from TV to wardrobe, then went back to the restaurant for dinner. I don't remember what we ate, but slept fitfully knowing that the next day was going to be a long ride.