Day 51-52, February 23 & 24, Sunday & Monday - Java Sea & Semarang, Indonesia

I have no photos or really anything to report for Sunday, the 23rd.  It was a quiet sea-day and the weather was a continuation of the cloudy, misty weather we have been experiencing.  There was no heavy rain like we experienced in Bali, but there were numerous showers

Monday morning looks more promising.  The sun rises around 5:00 AM but the clouds didn't look too threatening.  

We have a long 8.5 hour tour today to the Gedong Songo Temple.  It is a group of Hindu temples located near Bandungan, Semarang Regency, in north Central Java, Indonesia.  The temple was built on a hill near Mount Ungarant is variously dated between the 8th and 9th-century.  The site was rediscovered by colonial era Dutch archaeologists during the 19th century. All temples then were badly damaged and ruins scattered around the hill. The Gedong Songo complex has been considerably restored in recent decades.

An Indonesia's family's normal mode of transportation.

We passed a school, it appears they were on a break, enjoying refreshments.

After a bus change and a steep walk, we arrived at the horse corral where we got our mount.

Kay riding ahead of me.

Here we are about half way to the top.  Another rider and horse tender had passed me.  They seemed to move at their own individual pace.  You can see Kay just ahead.  Just a few dozen yards farther, as we began another fairly steep ascent, Kay's horse stumbled.  It tried to remain errect, but went down on both front knees.  When Kay realized the horse was going to go completely down, she managed to bail our without injury.  It certainly gave us a scare.  The guide wanted her to get back on the horse, but she refused.  Another guide gave her his horse instead.

Kay finally making it to the top with her new horse and new guide.

While waiting for Kay to arrive, I spoke with the lady directly behind her when she fell.  She said the horse had stumbled a couple of times and she thought it's left front leg was lame.  The poor animal had no business making that difficult climb.

The view was nice at 4500 feet, but would have been better if it were clear.

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 This lady broke my heart.  She was carrying a case of water and drinks in a makeshift carrier on her back along with bags of snacks for sale.  She was unobtrusive, unlike many of the peddlers.  She did not approach anyone, just walked around so people would know she was available.  I didn't need anything but I gave her a couple of dollars.  You should have seen her face light-up.  As we were leaving the area, she shyly gave me a wave.  We often forget just how blessed we are and it takes a trip like this to remind us.

Kay looking off into the distance.  As you can guess it started to rain, fortunately it was never as hard as in Semarang. 

You can see the smoke.  We thought something was burning and someone asked our guide about it.  He said, "oh, that's just the volcano.  Don't worry, there only a couple of active vents".

As we drew closer, there was no doubt to it's origin, due to the sulfurous odor.

On our trip down the mountain we encountered several groups of school children, I assume they were on a field trip.  They were as anxious to take our photos as we were theirs.  On Carl and Janet's excursion (Carl again was not able to do the horses due to his back), their guide told them that many of the people in the interior of Indonesia had never seen a white person, thus the interest.

Another of the many temples in the wide spread complex.

I finally got a photo of my horse guide.  He seemed to know only two words of English "Ready?" and "OK".  He was young but very contentious.  I have no idea what his name was.

After getting back to the mini-buses, we drove about 5 miles to "The Susan Spa and Resort" for lunch.  This was a very nice resort and the lunch was delicious.  Several in our group, including us, had eaten last evening at the Chef's Table on the ship.  As mentioned before, the fixed menu changes every 3 days.  The theme was Indonesian.  We all agreed that the meals at The Susan was far better than the exclusive dinner onboard, excluding the wine parings, of course :).

The Susan Spa and Resort

We were glad to get back to port, get hot showers and have dinner.  We have a half day at sea tomorrow and are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta at Noon.  We have an included 5 1/2 hour excursion which doesn't leave until 1:30.  We will be late for dinner!