Paradise

Day 24- We left Jogjakarta for our next destination at 6 am in the morning.  Our next spot came highly recommended from two separate friends in Calgary who raved about the snorkelling and beauty of the island called Maratua, in Borneo.  In both cases we were told to book early and the hotel would send us all and any information we could possibly need to get to this place. We were warned that it was hard to get to and this was no lie. It's crazy because we're not talking about going great distances, we would be staying in Indonesia, just changing islands. It took three plane rides, a 2.5 hour taxi through the mountains and a 1.5 hour boat ride. Lucky for us the ocean Gods were happy when we arrived and we were able to complete the journey in one day, 13 hours later. It would be insanity to risk crossing the ocean in poor conditions on their small 40 horse power speed boats so we were thankful we had good weather. We arrived to Maratua guesthouse around 7:30 in the evening and we're welcomed by the owner June and a lovely pasta meal. We were taken to our eco room and after a few bug discoveries, we slept with the help of our secure mosquito net.

Windows surrounded the room, which made it feel like we were sleeping outside and it allowed the forest to serenade to sleep. An open air bathroom with cold showers to cool us down after a hot day were the perfect compliment to our eco style room.

Day 25/26- When we woke up in the morning we were happy to find out that we'd arrived in paradise. The water was blue and crystal clear.  When the tide goes out, you can walk in ankle deep water for 100 meters before an abrupt 100 meter drop into the deep ocean.

We also took a 5 minute drive to one of the three villages on the island to find Paradise Resort. Their view was no less spectacular.

The next two days were booked for snorkelling. We stayed within the area of our guesthouse and it really was amazing. Lots of turtles, trigger fish, lion fish, clown fish, baracuda, parrot fish and many many more. 

Here is a video of me trying to swim alongside a turtle. He was my friend and I called him Murtle.

                                    

Although our homeade sunscreen has been working wonders until this point, nothing beats the heat this close to the equator and we had to pay for it. Mike and I both had terrible burns for the next week and they are just now starting to get better. 

                                 

Day 27/28- Indonesia is one of two places in the world that has stingless jelly fish and this has been on my bucket list since I first heard of it years ago. There are day trips that go to jelly fish lake on Kakaban island but these day trips are very weather dependant, as is many of the activities available on Maratua. The ocean calls the shots. We had planned to go there on this day but the night before we had a wicked storm and the sea was angry. So we weren't going anywhere. Unfortunately for us and a few other travellers, the ocean chose not to cooperate for the next 3 days and we were unable to go. :( I was very disappointed but it was out of our hands. I guess we will just have to go to Palau (Philippines) to see the jelly fish there.

When it rains in the jungle, the creepy crawlies like to stay dry, so many of them decided to join us in our room. If I would have known we'd be sharing our room with so many unwanted guests I would have put out some hors d'oeuvres! 

There are no dangerous insects or animals on Maratua but the owner June warned us to be cautious of centipedes. He said "they are not poisonous but their bite hurts like hell, so look out for the big ones, they come in when it rains".  When he said "big", Mike and I were thinking an inch or so in size... but when I woke up in the morning to see this thing crawling into our room, I knew what he meant by BIG.

                            

It was the length of a 1.5 litre water bottle and finger thick around. Needless to say continual bag and clothing checks became part of our daily... hourly routine. Have you ever seen a daddy long leg spider at home and thought, "Eww, who can I get to remove this massive creature from my home!?". A few nights in the jungle will have you begging to hang out with our bugs back home. (Dear Mike, I will still require you to capture and remove all bugs from our home in Calgary, the previous was just an expression)

Since our plans were thwarted, we spent the next few days reading our books, playing our many games with our new dutch friends and enjoying the beautiful sunsets. I finished reading my second book of the trip.. and I must recommend them both. The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion will have you laughing out loud and on the edge of your seat in the same sitting. It was hard to put them down and I was very sad when it was over. 

When the sun begins to set, the bats come out to get there share of mosquitos. I sat back for a while and captured a great photo of our sunset with a bat flying in the orange and blue sky.

Day 29- Maratua has a lagoon on the east side that always has calm water and on the outer edge of the lagoon sits a private island called Nabucco. It is owned by a German who turned it into a beautiful resort island. It takes 7 minutes to walk around the island and there are free boat rides to the island in the morning and evening. We went to enjoy an delicious expensive meal and the powdery white sands.

This photo shows the entire island in one picture. We were two of eight people on the island so we virtually had all of this sand to ourselves. We turned on the speakers and played a game of mini bocce ball. I won.  

We headed back to the guesthouse for dinner. We had arranged with our new Dutch friends to pick up some fresh lobster while they explored the island on a scooter. This night, the Dutch, the Australians and us Canadians enjoyed a fresh and succulent lobster dinner with rice and an expensive bottle of gin with tonic (provided by the Australians). Dinner was consumed overlooking another dreamy sunset.  

Then, Bali bound baby!