Lombok- the Gilis

A sea turtle- I saw and swam with 3 of these just on one trip to the sea from the beach and even more on a snorkelling trip. Amazing!

Ifon takes a stroll on the beach

Local guys off to surf

Enjoying the sunset with the girls

Another beautiful sunset, this one on the Gilis

The beach on Gili Air

Boats on the stunning Gili Trawangan

Local porters carrying equipment up Mt Rinjani

The sun rising over the caldera of Mt Rinjani

As you can see, I've moved on from Bali to Lombok. I took the ferry, the cheapest option, taking about 4 hours and stayed for a couple of nights in a place called Sengiggi which was largely uneventful, apart from the fact I got a deal to climb Indonesia's second highest volcano and in doing this got included a couple of nights at a nice hotel with a pool! I had met two Canadian girls, Paige and Erin, on the ferry over and they too were keen to do the trek. We got picked up early in the morning to drive a couple of hours to the point we would start. I have to say, I don't think I expected how difficult it was going to be. Mount Rinjani is 3726m high and a place of pilgrimage for many Indonesians. Whilst climbing up, we made regular stops but it was incredibly steep in places and the heat to begin with left you sweating profusely. This then went cold as the air started to get cooler higher up and then the rain started. We had finished the first day by about 3pm and would be sleeping in tents that our porters (see picture) were carrying, along with food and cooking equipment.  Knowing a shower was not an option, you just had to make do. I didn't sleep terribly well the first night despite being totally exhausted. A group of locals arrived at some point after dark ( we were wrapped up in our tents at shortly after 7.30pm) and proceeded to have some kind of party until well after midnight. Not fun when we knew we were getting up at 4.15 am! The second day was hard due to this early start and lack of sleep, although  the views made up for it! See pictures below.

A view of the caldera at 2600 m 

Climbing this volcano was a real achievement for me as I feel that I haven't really done anything so adventurous for ages. I have suffered for it though as the blisters and aching legs have taken up to a week to recover and at one point I thought I was going to lose a toenail! The Canadian girls and I have chatted about our shared experiences (and suffering )which have made us laugh since but at the time we didn't do much laughing. But my memories of this climb will far outlast the pain so it was well worth it..

After the climb we were taken straight to the port for a short boat trip to the Gil islands. For decades travellers have come to these islands off  Lombok for the deepwater coral reefs, beachfront bungalows and long stretches of white sand. There are 3 islands in total:- Gili Air is closest to the mainland, Gili Meno is the smallest and quietest and Gili Trawangan known as the busiest and in high season a 'party' island. As it is low season, it has been pleasant on Gili Trawangan where I chose to stay and not too busy. First impressions were of a stunningly beautiful island without transport, the only way of travelling is on foot (you can walk the whole island in less than 2 hours), by bike or taking a 'cidomo' - a horse-drawn cart which is very popular. It is truly something here and many people stay longer than they planned. I've been here for a week today and love the pace of hanging out on the beach, wandering to one of the many cool beach and cafe bars, lots of snorkelling- I have seen an amazing array of tropical fish, including a sword fish, and the highlight for me was the huge sea turtles and dolphins that are regular sights in the water. I've also met some great people, particularly Janine (from Germany) and two Dutch women, Ifon and Stephanie. Sometimes it's the people you meet that help shape your experiences and I couldn't have hoped to have better company while here on the Gilis. We have truly had the best, best time. Before I head to Java for the final leg of my Indonesian journey,  I still have a few more days in paradise.

The stunning sky at sunset