Perfect! Well it was another thriller and it was directed by the master of suspense himself and so we settled down in our seats, stuck in our headphones and I hit play.
It took less than half an hour before TC pulled out her earphones and told me that she was finding it really annoying and irritating and that she couldn't bear to watch it anymore. (I have to say I agreed with her!) The characters and dialogue was so sickly sweet that we were both cringing in our seats and close to throwing up! I personally don't think it's a film that has lasted the test of time.
Anyway, I persevered til the end with a few cat naps in between and soon after we arrived in Kalibaru, at The Margo Utomo Agro Resort. (http://www.margoutomo.com)
Our faces lit up! It looked amazing! I mean it was amazing, but more so after our previous hotel. There were little terraced bungalows along a windy path that led to a large pool. But as per usual, it was raining and so I took the opportunity to re pack my ruck sack - and TC's! (Mainly so that I could work out how much of my stuff I could send home with her and clear up more space in mine!
Kalibaru is a small hill town in Banyuwangi and well known for its coffee, coco and rubber plantations and we were to visit one of them. That said the resort itself has a small one on its premises, including a couple of cows and chickens. A lot of the resorts produce is used in their restaurant and the food did taste lovely and fresh. It was just such a shame that apart from another couple and an abundance of mosquitoes, we were the only people staying there - it's out of season being the rainy season!!
We were all pretty shattered from our early start that day, so the evening was a quiet one; an early dinner, a nice shower (the first hot one in days!!) and off to bed. I had been feeling quite pleased that the swelling in my feet had finally gone down - it had only taken almost the whole trip but it was such a delight to see my ankles again - however, for some strange reason with the swelling gone, the mosquitoes were attacking left, right and centre and using TC as my decoy was no longer working!
The following morning was a rare treat whereby we had a lie in til about 9! Then TC and I compared mosquito bites and joined the two Jos for breakfast.
It was the best breakfast of the whole tour! A King's/Sultan's feast lay awaiting us in the dining room! Plates of fresh fruits (tropical of course), freshly made mozzarella (cows), freshly made butter and jams, even freshly made bread!! And for someone like me that struggles to eat breakfast I have to say it was delicious!!
My favourite was the purple Dragon Fruit. I had had the white one in Thailand and found it pretty bland, so on seeing the vibrant pink/purple version I had to give it a go and was not disappointed, even after seconds ... Ok thirds!
Sally was going to meet us around 10am to take us to the local plantation, however the night before she had gone on a rekkie for an Intrepid Adventure excursion that they are hoping to add to their itinerary; another volcano climb at sunrise. But it had gone ten and she still hadn't returned, even the hotel staff couldn't get a hold of her!
Obviously being the drama queen that I am, I was fearful that she may have fallen down the volcano having been overcome by the sulphur fumes spewing from it. I decided it was best to keep my fears to myself and it was lucky that I did because an hour later, Sally hurried in apologetic, unharmed but stressed and sulphuric, in need of food and a shower!
We reconvened a half hour later and took off for the plantation a short drive away.
As you can imagine, the acres (sorry hectares) were luscious and green and prior to be taken to see all the fruit, herbs and spices that were grown there, we were shown how the rubber tapped from the rubber trees, is turned into rubber sheets and mass marketed around the world. Every bit of rubber is used, even the discarded bits that have somehow been mulched together with grass and tree bark is used - for flip flops!
Next we were shown how the coffee beans (NOT the Luwak kind thank goodness) are harvested as well as the coco beans! Have you ever tried a raw coco bean? If not, I suggest you don't, unless, that is, you are partial to eating food that tastes like tree bark! It's hard to believe that delicious Cadburys is a by-product of such a disgusting tasting bean! Oh and before you get too concerned (as I'm sure you were!) for fear of a repercussion of 'The stinky bean incident' a week ago, we each pulled out a tissue from our respective bags and politely spat our chewed cacao beans into them, rather than discarding them onto the floor and therefore hopefully not offending anyone this time!
On route to the main house, we stopped off in the forest of rubber trees where one of the plantation workers showed us how the rubber is tapped. He had a smile on his face as he turned to us and said "The condom tree". Unsure of what to say, we all smiled back and nodded. Then the younger of the two men put his hand casually on my shoulder and repeated in my ear: "The condom tree" and sniggered.
I cleared my throat, slowly removed my shoulder from under his sweaty Palm and shuffled off over to TC.
Then it started raining! (Quelle surprise) and we were ushered onto the verandah of the main house where we were served fresh coffee (or tea), banana fritters and an assortment of fruit - including the pink dragon fruit - all grown on the plantation.
It was only after my second slice of Dragon Fruit and us all announcing how much we liked it that we were then informed: "Very good for constipation, will give you diarrhoea."
Considering all of us had already eaten an abundance of the 'laxative' fruit for breakfast, plus the Jamu a few days before, the chances of us all spending the next few hours on the toilet were pretty high! And so the plate was kindly pushed to the side of the table ...
Thankfully the rain didn't last long and we returned to our hotel, where an afternoon of R & R was required, (and probably best to be close to a toilet). TC had a foot and leg massage in the room, whilst I sat on the verandah writing and the two Jos went for a swim ... It was Paradise.
That night as I was getting ready for bed, the itching started, I went for a shower and found that not only did my legs now have a smattering of mozzie bites but so did the lower part of my back and top of my buttocks!
It seems that if one is going to use anti mosquito devices in the bedroom, then they all hang out in the bathroom and enjoy an absolute feast on any unsuspecting victims curled up on the loo from eating too much Pink Dragon fruit!!
I informed TC that the blood sucking bastards were no longer just dining out on her. She was genuinely shocked at how many bites I now had, though I have to admit she did seem to have a tiny bit of a mischievous smile on her face ... As competitive as we both can be, that was one competition she was happy not to win and to finally be able to step down as 'Mosquito Decoy'!
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