We found hundreds of tide pools in Batu Lecen. They were full of life. Brittle sea star, skipping fish, conch, and hermit crab were the most abundant.
We were also amazed by the oysters that grew on the rocks. They were abundant. My dad and used a big rock to smash the oysters off the rock and collected them for lunch. My girl loves fresh oysters. 6 pieces of fresh oysters are usually sold for 15$ in restaurants in Jakarta. Here we got them for free.
My parents live by the Bali strait in Banyuwangi. Western Bali beach is just 2 km across the sea from their house. Yesterday my dad, my girl and I hired a fisherman boat to go to there. It took us just 15 minutes to cross the strait. We landed on the rocky part of the white beach called Batu Lecen which means slippery rocks in Maduranese language. We were amazed by the white beach and the beautiful shells that scattered along the beach. There were so many different kinds of bivalve shells that I never knew existed. I went to Aroma coffee factory with my students last week. The factory was a small home industry which has been operating since the time of Dutch colonization in Indonesia in 1930.
We were welcome by strong flavorful smell of coffee and the factory owner, Mr Widyapratama, when we entered the coffee shop. The door at the back of the shop lead to the coffee production area. There was only one roasting machine which was fueled by rubber woods in the factory. Next to the roasting machine was a storage area which was full of coffee beans packed in jute sacks . I didn't know that coffee beans had to be stored for years after being sun dried before they were roasted. The factory owner told us that Arabica coffee had to be stored for 8 years while Robusta coffee needed just 5 years storage time. We went to the open area at the back of the factory where the coffee beans were sun dried for 7 hours before they were stored. The coffee beans were supplied by coffee plantations in Jawa and Sumatra islands. After we finished the tour, we went to the shop to order some coffee grounds to take away. I bought a small packet (250 gr) of ground Robusta. It was Rp 15.000 (1.30 $), cheaper than the coffee ground I usually buy. I liked the taste of Aroma coffee but I was not too crazy about it. However when I used the coffee to make pancake topping, I could taste and smell the strong coffee flavor of Aroma coffee. It was quite surprising. Many strawberry farms can be reached by public shuttle car (angkot) in Lembang. The angkot fare ranges from Rp 3.000 - Rp 5.000 (25-45 cents). I went to one of the largest strawberry farms near Cikole. The entrance ticket to pick strawberry was Rp 10.000 (90 cents). It was not my first strawberry picking nevertheless it was fun. I had some leftover chocolate pudding in the fridge. With additional freshly picked strawberry topping, it tasted like Christmas.
Domas crater is located 1.2 km down the valley of Tangkuban Perahu volcano. The small path that lead to the crater cut the tropical rainforest beautifully. There are several geysers in Domas crater. They flow into shallow pools in the lower ground. The funnest thing we did was boiling eggs in the geyser opening. It was so scary.
Tangkuban perahu (which means upturned boat in Sundanese) is a dormant stratovolcano which is located 20 km north of Bandung. It last erupted in 1983. Our hotel was only 7 km from the volcano. It was effortless to reach the top of the volcano because we could ride a car up to the brink of the caldera. The volcano summit was full of small stalls selling souvenirs and foods. It was not a pleasant sight because they were not well organized. But the small path that lead to Domas crater on the valley of Tangkuban Perahu volcano was so beautiful. It was a perfect hideaway.
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