Selamat Siang! This morning we got woken up very early by the sound of waves, coming from outside our room. That is right, we stayed one night in the cute Musa Homestay, which is right on Kerawe Beach. After having breakfast we cleaned up, said goodbye to our lovely hosts and got in the pickup truck that had come to bring us all the way to Waikabubak. This way of transport was an experience in itself. On the way, everybody we passed looked, smiled and waved. On top of that, the views on the way were amazing.
When we arrived at our destination, we first had a meeting with the supervisors to discuss the progress we made in our research since the previous meeting. After this, the real adventure began. Nike had arranged a driver, and we would join her for 3 days to visit the east of the island. Our first stop was probably the most beautiful one; the Lapopu waterfall. This waterfall is well hidden and only accessible by a small, unsteady path and a bridge made out of bamboo, but it is absolutely worth the struggle. We took a swim in the clear water and took way too many pictures. After spending some time in this beautiful place, we decided to get moving again.
Our next stop was Dewa Beach. Picture the following; white sand, blue water, palm trees, chalk cliffs and no other tourists around. That is what we saw when we arrived. Suddenly I could see a small opening in one of the rocks and decided to investigate it. I could see light coming from the other side, so I crawled through the opening and discovered a whole other beach hidden within a cave, which was so cool.
After our visit to the beach, we continued our trip back to Waikabubak where we had lunch/dinner at DʼSumba Ate. This is a really cool restaurant, owned by a guy from Bali, who was also willing to answer some questions for our research project about the impact of the food & beverage sector on the Environment of Sumba. After we had finished our vegetarian pizzas, we got back in the car and continued our roadtrip to the capital of the island; Waingapu. We talked, sang along to the radio and ate KitKat-like chocolate bars while going from West to East on dark, winding roads. At one point our driver told us to look left, and out of the window we could see Waingapu and all its lights in the distance. We were back in the civilized world! We drove for a while through the city centre and arrived at our hotel for two nights; Tanto Hotel Waingapu – from where Iʼm typing this blog because the WiFi actually works.
Now we need to go to sleep, since we need to get up early again tomorrow.
Thank you for reading my blogpost and Selamat malam!
Written by: Lorea
