"Let the Road Pave Itself"

That is the title of a new cd that I bought on Itunes a few days ago. His name is Phillip LaRue. I really like his sound, and the lyrics are fresh.

This weekend we really did let the road pave itself. Our friends invited us to go to the beach with them. They forewarned us that this "wouldn't be the "normal beach trip" that most Westerners take. It's not the "touristy" beach trip. We're going to a village with our househelper, and we have no idea what it might be like. It'll only be for the day, you can come or not, it's up to you." We were undecided until Friday. We committed to this adventure. Saturday morning welcomed us with rain. I thought this was our scape-goat! I called," Are we still going, even with the rain?" My answer was "Yep!". So we loaded up and met up for an adventure.

We got into two cars, about an hour behind our schedule,

***Side note***
Schedules really carry no importance with most Indonesians. They value relationship more than schedule, so being an hour behind is still "on schedule" for our friends. :) ***end of side note***

a car for the girls and car for the boys. After about an hour or so, we pulled up to a dock parked with boats. This is where would catch our "taxi" that would take us to Ibu Dina (our friend's househelper)'s village. We load up all of our stuff, bags, cooler, sunscreen, hats, and head to our destination. We left this dock and saw some amazing things along the way!



Here are some shots from the boat trip.

This was one of the many beautiful beaches we saw. It looked pretty deserted to us. At one point, all of our friends were yelling at people that lived on the very top of the mountain. They had a garden up on the top. We had no idea! So, we started yelling too!



We bought these hats to protect our face from the harsh sunlight that blesses us everyday! We felt a little goofy, but our faces are safe! Years later our faces will thank us!



Our half-way point was a stop at another village along the way. This small village had a school that one of Ibu Dina's boys went to. So, we dropped off a nurse that lived in the village and picked up her son and his school teacher and headed on our way. This was the water that we saw when we pulled up! Sooooo clear!



When we pulled up, a group of boys were swimming in the ocean. They were having a great time!


The village.


So we "docked".


This boy was hanging from the boat. He had the right idea and wanted to come along. It didn't last long, because the driver yelled at him to get off.


We unloaded, reloaded, and set off again.


Once we got to our destination, Bukisi, we unloaded and headed straight for the water! This is Bukisi.



It was soooo refreshing after being on the boat for about an hour. The kids all stripped down and ran for the water. They loved rubbing the sand all over themselves and then running to the water.



I made some friends with some of the older girls. We swam together and took a walk through the village. Frila (the girl on the right) had a relative that lived in the village. As we walked through the village, I noticed that people not only stared but when I waved or said hi they got very shy and either turned their heads or ran away! Then my new friends told me that I was the first Westerner that had come to their village. How amazing!





I just couldn't handle that these kids were just watching our group. Why didn't they join in? I was so confused. They were shy. So I asked if we could play together. We tossed around a soccerball for a little bit. At first they were very serious, but the first time one of their friends got hit in the back of the head with the plastic ball everyone started laughing! Everyone was watching- people from the boat, and people from the village!



The day was coming to an end, and we needed to get back. So we loaded up on the boat again after a great day at the beach! Here are some photos from the boat on the way back.