Weekend Outing

On Saturday our family planned to go out into the countryside and get in touch with some people we met the last time we were out there. So, Friday we called one family and asked if they could meet and have lunch on Saturday. No problem. We told them we would be there by noon.


They called back and said we should come earlier, all go swimming together, eat lunch, then take a drive and see some "sights" - particularly a famous gate built between where we are and the country south of us.


HMMMMM.......well, we have some rules about public swimming......Chlorine, a must......Swimming pools out in the countryside? a little sketchy........probably going to be a Little House on the Prairie type of swimming hole and all I have to say about that is SNAKES!!! So, we told our friends we didn't think we could make it until noon, and that after lunch we would be glad to take a drive and see the famous gate. So....that was the plan, here is how it went.


We left the house at 8:30am to hopefully catch a 9 or 9:30 bus and arrive by 11:30. When we arrived the next two buses were full, so we had to wait for the 10:35 bus. Can you find us in the bus station? Here we are looking happy. On the bus I had filled my ipod with great listening entertainment for the 2 hour drive, but that was not to be. There was a young girl sitting in front of me who immediately began talking to me and I was able to share with her.....which was really cool. During the bus ride Rob got a text from our friends we were meeting. They said there was a typhoon blowing throw so our "drive" might be cancelled. However, by the time we arrived....no more storm. We ate a quick lunch, got some local "crack and peel" fruit for the road trip, (which apparently you can't eat too much of because it is a hot food and will make you sick.....haven't figured that one out yet) and hit the road.



Our hosts had borrowed a minivan from a friend, so we had a nice smooth ride. After about an hour, we arrived at our destination. As we all got out of the car our friends began asking about the gate fee. To avoid paying the fee, a guy standing by the road said we could follow him for a 10 minute walk and avoid the gate fee. Note: when all that is surrounding you is mountains....10 minute walk will be adventerous and probably isn't really 10 minutes.


Immediately we began climbing up. I had on flip-flops, but lest you pity me, my friend had on heels and a dress. (WOW) So, I really couldn't feel like a wimp. We went up and up and up. Climbing and climbing. Jungle, trees, rocks, small path. I will pause here to say I have the best children in the world. No complaining. I am a city girl, so small paths climbing over tree trunks in the paths, fear of snakes and other animals lurking in the mountains.......this is me. It is in these situations that I walk in front and Rob worries about the kids. (we are a good team) About half way up the mountain, our friend's son starts saying "shhh, shhh, shhh". Fear grips me. Is it a bear? a snake? WHAT!?!? He points through the trees. Oh, good just "men in camoflauge" loading a mortar pointing toward the border of the neighboring country. Just what they wanted to see.....a bunch of foreigners tromping close to their activities.


A few minutes later our guide, who is WAY in front of us calls to us to "HURRY!!!" Why?....remember the typhoon.....it is about to find us. How do 3 children, 2 men, a chic in flops and one in heels hurry? Especially when the terrain is steep and slow going? This pic is at the end of the trek when we finally got off the path and connected with the real path. We just had to walk down a huge amount of steep, uneven steps with thunder and lightning all around. Thankfully, we arrived just as the storm hit and were able to take cover in the gate. You can see Hannah and Hudson really enjoyed the strong winds and cool breezes.

We decided to wait out the storm in and under the gate. I have a great video to show, but blogger won't seem to let me post it.
After the fun of the storm, we took a few pictures to say we had been there and headed back. By this time it is about 5pm. Whew! What a day. We knew the last bus back home left at 7:40 so we really needed to start heading back. I was a little concerned about how we were going to get back....were we going to go back to the car the way we came in? After all there had been some damage from the storm. Who knew!?! Thankfully we were able to go through the main gate back to the car, guess they don't require a ticket to get out, and wouldn't you know.....it was just a few steps from where we were to the car.......still learning the culture.

On the way home, our hosts really wanted us to see the swimming hole. It is off the main road and belongs to some villages. My curiosity was piqued. As we got near, we saw a few signs, in English, that said "swimming pool". Another curious thing. We were suprised to find a big tiled swimming pool. Clean water from the mountains rushes down and fills the pool and the water exits the other side of the pool and continues to run down a creek. We were pleasantly suprised. We think we could swim here and live. It is not the Oberosa, which the O Fam is particulary found of, but could work in a pinch. Next time, we told our friends, we will have to go swimming together. (I forgot to mention, we are the only ones who actually know how to swim.)

We made it back to the bus station at 7pm. Enough time to buy bus tickets and have a quick meal at our favorite noodle shop, where we are all the rage. I am waiting for my picture to be put on the wall and be asked to sign it, that is how famous I am in there. And just to prove it to you, after we finished our standard bowl of noodles, the waitresses and owners brought us out a bowl of what they were eating. I would love to tell you what it was, but nothing in my 33 years of life has ever come in contact with it before. After a long day of travel, language, and culture, I didn't really feel like trying mystery dish and you know none of my family members did either. But, in order not to offend and continue to work on friendships......I took a bite, told my family it tasted a little like a potato, and we swallowed most of our bowl, and hid the rest under uneaten noodles. My waitress friends were happy and we scooted off to the bus. To reward my tired children for eating "local" food all day I had the foresight to pack a nice American snack for the ride home. We found some sort of chip combination at our Western import store which has Doritos, Sun Chips, Pretzels, and Cheetos in a bag together. (It has a name but I forget it) Quite a treat!! We arrived home at 10:30. All in all, it was a great day! We had such a fun time with our new friends!

If you have made it to the end of this post.....WOW! Sorry it was so long!