Senaru Falls.

A little break in the routine today. We decided to go to Lombok and hike to Senaru falls. Once we get there, it's about a 45 min walk through the forest. First big decision.....flip flops or shoes? Marv recommends flip flops because we have to walk through streams to get there but as we all know, I am not big on exposed feet so I'm leaning toward shoes. Once wet, my shoes will never dry out which kills my morning running routine.  (hmmmm that does have some advantages!) Then Marv pulls the "I've been doing this for 19 years so trust me" card. Ouch, I have no choice but to fold and slip on my flip flops. 

We have breakfast and get picked up on the beach by a little speed boat that will take us across the water to Lombok. 

Once on shore, it's a 90 minute "drive" to the trailhead. I wish there was something else to call it because driving does not adequately describe the activity. I thought the roads in Bali were crazy, but that was orderly compared to what we experienced in Lombok. Narrow roads with scooters everywhere swerving in between the cars and trucks. There was also the occasional group of kids on the side of the road for the driver to avoid and the stray dog darting across the road from behind a tree.  Our driver continued to engage in conversation with us as he occasionally tapped the horn or narrowly missed a family of 4 piled on a scooter. All in a day's work I guess. 

We arrived at the trailhead and immediately encountered stairs "for days." 

I was mumbling to myself that shoes would feel terrific right about now, but it wasn't long before we were traversing in and out of the water and I quickly realized Marv's 19 years of experience had paid off and he was right. 

Senaru falls was incredible. With the ivy growing on the rocks and water flowing in multiple directions, I felt like I was in a Jurrasic Park movie and that T Rex might come out of the trees at any moment. I was ready. ("don't move Tim, he can't see you if you don't move...")

The falls are about 120 feet tall and you can really feel the power of the water as you approach the impact area.  Of course we had to get a close up look.

It wasn't until after we came back to shore that our tour guide told us that 3 people died last year from getting hit by falling rocks under the waterfall. Oh thanks for telling us now bro. How do you say "no tip" in Indonesian?  That's OK. It was a blast being up close for a brief moment.

On the way black our guide got his tip back and then some when he took us through the irrigation tunnel. Again, not sure how safe it was walking knee deep in water in a pitch black tunnel with only a small iPhone light, but it was so much fun. It was the Lombok version of splash mountain without the mechanical people and the line of people. We even got a bonus when a bat started buzzing us. The screaming women only added to the experience (no mechanical people going on there)  

Of course no trip through the Indonesian forest would be complete without seeing a few monkeys and, of course we did.  They were up in the trees quite a ways but it was cool seeing wild monkeys jumping from tree to tree. 

There is a huge active volcano with a lake within it in this area.  It is called Mt Rinjani. It's sort of like a combination between crater lake and Mt St Helens. We stopped at a resort for lunch uniquely named Mt Rinjani Lodge that was located on a hillside looking up to the mountain. It was a spectacular location and view with delicious food so we stopped for a dip in the pool and a bite to eat (oh and a beer of course)

On the way back, we felt the urge to stop at the local market to buy some fresh fruit and taste some "street food."  Our driver was a friend a Marvs and said he would lead the way and make sure we got good fruit at a good price. I didn't recognize anything except the grapes, limes and pineapple so it's a good thing he came with us. 

The fruit is fairly safe but the cooked battered fish we sampled was like tightrope walking without a net but Patrick and I took the risk. It was delicious but the entire way home I kept waiting for my stomach to erupt like Mt Rinjani but fortunately I lucked out. 

We got home and of course headed to the west side of the island for sunset.  They are so beautiful here (#nofilter)

Only a couple more days here on Gili Trawangan then to Bali and on to Komoto. Time is flying but having lots of fun.