to the volcano [bali day 4]

To show what a vacation-mind frame I was in, I don't even remember which day we went to see the volcano. They are kind of blurred together in a good kind of hazy-fun-filled way. But we will say it was day 4.

We hired a driver to take us up to see the volcano, something that Becca was super excited about. She is going to be doing a project later in the year on volcanoes. We knew that it was going to be a day long adventure. And with the windy, mountain roads, I just knew that one of the kids was going to have a problem with motion sickness. In Malaysia, it was Josh. Numerous times in China it has been Becca. Xi'an and Chengdu were Josh. And every time we fly back to the States, it is Becca. So you can understand my trepidation as we got into the car for a journey that no one could tell us exactly how long it was going to take. I did what I could, gave everyone dramamine, and hoped for the best.

Our first stop was to see some wood-carving. While the carvings were amazing, there was just a little too much pressure to buy so we didn't linger.

From there we continued onward to see the rice terraces. As we were almost there, Tori began complaining that her tummy hurt and sure enough as soon as we stopped, she got sick. Huh. Didn't see that one coming. Afterwards, I couldn't even remember if I had gave her any medicine. She never gets sick. But I think the driver was a little concerned because when we returned to the car, he gave each of the kids little plastic bags. Just in case.

The rice terrace was just a stop. Not really much else there. But what a breathtaking view.

When we got back in the car, our driver asked if we wanted to stop at a coffee plantation. We asked if it was on the way, and since it was decided to stop. I am SO glad that we did. This ended up being one of my favourite things we did.

In Bali, they grow some of the most expensive coffee in the world. Luwak Coffee. Know what makes it so pricey? The beans are processed by this animal.

Civet cat

The luwak, also known as the civet cat, eats coffee cherries [the fruit of the coffee tree, which once roasted we call beans]. Then he processes the beans. Which is just a fancy way of saying he poops them out whole. I kid you not. The coffee beans are then cleaned, shelled and roasted.

I try my hand at shelling the beans. It was much harder than it looked. And yes, these beans have been cleaned.

The beans are roasted over this stone oven. Josh takes a turn at stirring.

Trying the luwak coffee. We were able to smell and taste both, and there is a difference. According to the experts, the luwak coffee is less bitter with hints of a cocoa flavour. Hmm, not sure that I noticed that much detail, but it was indeed good!


Not good enough to spend big money on though!

To try the luwak coffee, we had to pay for it, but we were given all kinds of other free samples. We tried cocoa coffee, vanilla coffee, regular Bali coffee, straight cocoa (without sugar), ginseng tea, ginger tea and lemon tea.

And by we, I don't just mean Andy and I. Tori was a big fan of the vanilla coffee.

Josh is trying the cocoa coffee. To his right you can also see the cocoa.

After all our sampling, we got back in the car and headed the rest of the way to the volcano. Well, at least we headed to the place where we could see the volcano.

These two pictures were taken in succession. The wind was really strong. So strong that it carried away her hat. It is still somewhere up on the mountain.

We ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the volcanoes (there is another one just to the right, not in the picture).

And then began the journey back to our hotel.

This is how J spent all of the time in the car. Have kindle, will travel.

But we were not done adventuring. We stopped in the town of Ubud. This town is known for its handicrafts. And for the monkey sanctuary. Meaning that monkeys are free-roaming.

Tori was so excited about seeing the monkeys up close. Turns out she was excited about the idea of seeing the monkeys up close. Whenever there was a monkey nearby, this is where T was. 

But the older two were much braver.

This would be confession time. I was also not a fan of being up close and personal with the monkeys. We were told before going that we should remove our glasses because the monkeys were fond of them and often would steal them while you were wearing them. I much prefer to see animals in their natural habitat, but monkeys are just so unpredictable. So while I was carrying T, I was trying to be stealthy walking by the monkeys. "Please don't notice me" was a litany going through my head. And I breathed a sigh of relief when we left.

Truly, I am glad we went. It was one of the highlights for both of the younger two. Josh adores monkeys (and he wore his monkey shirt purposely). And when T listed out her highlights of the entire trip to Bali, seeing this monkey feeding its baby was in the top 3.

Our final stop was the handicraft bazaar. We bought a few things, but we were all tired and just ready to head back to the hotel by this point. A stop for gelato tamed the troops and enabled us to drive the remaining hour to the hotel without grumpiness.

And back at the hotel. Yes indeed, our kiddos are super-travelers!