Two New Young Colombian Friends

Life keeps flowing and it takes me to fantastic experience lately.

One and a half year ago, my old man pouted my decision on studying Spanish. It's not popular at all in Indonesia, and its use is questionable here. I did not get clear vision as well why I was doing it. All I knew was that I wanted to be able to speak more than English and Indonesian.

Now I can see, the decision has given me some memorable opportunities. Starting from the "exclusive" interview with Fabregas, to recently a Liaison Officer (LO) for Latin delegation in the International Symposium on Constitutional Democratic State, brought by Indonesian Constitutional Chamber.

I had been given a task to escort a Venezuelan delegation at first. A couple days before the symposium, he canceled. So therefore I was transferred to the spouse program, in which I had to escort the spouse and kid of Colombian parliament's member, Carlos Eduardo Hernandez Mogollon.

A day before the symposium, I knew that Mrs.Mogollon could not come. I would be accompanying two children of Señor Hernandez then, Paola and Santiago. These two youngsters from the city of Cúcuta are very charming indeed. Paola became an idol for male LOs, while her younger brother Santiago charmed the female LOs, plus the women of the Constitutional Chamber.

In between two Hernandez (left: Paola, right: Santiago)

Paola and I are about in the same age. Well, she is younger by eight months, but sometimes I feel she is more mature. Probably it's because she has the gut to be married in such young age, and she is a mom of a three year-old Isabella already. With my (currently) beginner level of Spanish, I thank God Paola speaks English too, though I kept on trying to communicate in Spanish. (That's why I was hired for!) Another thing I admire from her is the passion to be a politician like her father. Probably in the next visit, I'd meet her as a delegation.


Meanwhile, the 16 year-old Santiago reminded me of my little sister. Both love Harry Potter and the TV Series Glee. Santiago is a pop culture aficionado. I bet he knows all songs of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and of course his home-country diva Shakira. Santiago and I share the same interest in film production. He has a plan already to be an actor and movie editor.

One thing they have in common is the shopping hobby. We went to two malls downtown on the first day, and supposedly went to the National Park on the second day. However, it turned to be a two-days mall tripping as they were animated to visit the biggest mall in Jakarta, located in Kelapa Gading area. 

Lunch Break in a Mall Tripping

Paola said that stuffs here are beautiful, and quite various as well. I was quite surprised that we have more branded shops here than Colombia. For example, we have Forever21 in Jakarta, while they have to go to United States to get one. Although they are smart shoppers (pick many, try many, but buy only a couple best), these two out of four siblings are also generous in shopping. They did not shop for themselves only; they have many gifts to be given to beloved people back home.

I like the flow of my life these days as it allows me to meet many new friends, especially these two young Colombians. They are currently enjoying Bali, and will be going home by the end of this week.

One-Stop Adventure Sawarna

republished from "Nonstop Adventure in Banten" 

Sawarna Village's Landmark

Travelers have discovered Sawarna village in Banten province, southwest Java. Sawarna offers not only the experience of rural life, but also various beaches and caves to explore all at once.

From Jakarta, one needs to go up and down mountainous roads for six hours to get there. And, the road is rocky. There are small pebbles and large boulders strewn along the road, but, the landscape on the way is beautiful.

When one arrives at the entrance to the village there is an admission fee of Rp 2,000. After that, there is a shaky, 10-meter-long wooden bridge across the Sawarna River to cross.

PEACEFUL RURAL
After crossing the bridge, green foliage and blue sky dominate. On the way to the homestay, there were peaceful rural scenes like children playing tag instead of Xbox, a group of men enjoying coffee and having an evening conversation and women preparing dinner while others swept their yards. In some areas, there were rice fields that reminded one of Ubud in Bali.

Our temporary house in Sawarna was far from modern. There were two bedrooms in the half-wood, half-concrete house. The bathrooms were only a little larger than an airplane bathroom, with the water coming from a well.

The place had neither a television nor air conditioner, but that does not mean Sawarna is electricity-free. But, it is not available 24 hours a day. On the second night, we had to sleep fanless in the dark.

Before outsiders came to Sawarna, local residents were farmers, fisherman and carpenters. Nowadays, tourism has emerged as a business in the area. Some locals are in lodging, catering or work as guides, and Sawarna can now accommodate up to 230 tourists a night.

Staying the night costs about Rp 100,000, including three meals a day. But, locals are contesting tourism facilities like hotels and resorts in the area. They want to preserve Sawarna the way it is.

The Struggle to Find Paradise

BEACHES FOR PRO-SURFERS AND ADVENTURERS
Back in 2005, a high school student and tour guide, Suwalim, took an Australian surfer from the
popular area of Cimaja to Sawarna.Ever since then, Ciantir Beach in Sawarna has been a favorite for professional surfers, as the waves are huge and crazy. It is not recommended for surfing beginners, for those Indian Ocean waves might just roll you away.

Surfers are not the only ones who need to be warned. Suwalim said in 1994 some military students were struck by huge waves while posing for photos on the beach’s reef. A similar situation was even observed — a photographer was bowled over by a 17-meter-high wave while trying to get closer to the reef. Luckily, he had his backpack to protect his head from smashing into the reef behind him.


But these stories of disaster do not mean you cannot play around in the water in Sawarna. Just be aware that nature is way stronger than man.

Aside from the unpredictable nature of the sea, Sawarna’s beaches offer fantastic natural beauty. Tanjung Layar Beach has a local landmark — two giant triangle-shaped reefs. Next to those are long reefs that protect the shore from the waves. At a glance it looks like a horizontal waterfall.

The isolated, almost private beach of Lagun Pari has another geological blessing. With two barrier reefs at the end of the bay, Lagun Pari gets its name from what it looks like — a lagoon. This beautiful spot is not easily reached. One has to ascend and descend hills, cross rivers and walk along pathways through rice fields for a few hours before reaching Lagun Pari.

Walking along the coastline from Lagun Pari to Tanjung Layar, there is an unnamed spot, an arrangement of maroon lava stones from the eruption of Krakatau that form two natural paths when the tide is low.A friend said he had never seen this stone arrangement before, even though he had visited Sawarna four times. If you are lucky, you will be there when the tide is low to see this.

Natural Runway

FINDING HARMONY IN BAT CAVE
Another mesmerizing experience is to dip your feet into the wet mud of Lalay Cave; it is like walking on jelly. You need to get wet to explore the cave, for a river flows inside. The trail is slippery, so
step carefully.

At the back of the cave is a very narrow tunnel, and no one knows where it leads. A couple of years ago a group of college students entered that tunnel and no one has heard from them again. Even at the small tunnel’s entrance one can feel the air getting thinner.

Lalay is the Sundanese word for bat, although no one saw any. According to a myth, the cave is where the name for Sawarna village came from. It is said there was a continuous quarrel between the northern and southern Javanese.Lalay Cave, also known as Lebak Jati Cave, was the place where the two groups ended their war and reached seven agreements. That is why the area is called Sawarna, which means one color
or harmony.

Walking north from Ciantir Beach is Langir Cave, this cave filled with bats as their sounds could be heard all around. Unlike the previous cave, this remote cave is quite dry and the air inside was stale and hot.

Langir Cave

Sawarna is a great place to explore. Although there are long walks on rocky shores and slippery hillsides and the danger of suddenly being struck by a wave, Sawarna provides numerous adventures, always ending with a magnificent sunset.

No need to bring any fancy stuff with you except your camera, as you won’t want to miss a beautiful inch of Sawarna and its charms!