A Visit to the Country

With school out, we have time to explore some of the local countryside.  One of the favorite things for many people to visit are the waterfalls.  There are a number of waterfalls hidden in the heavily wooded hills and mountains surrounding Salatiga.  With friends from school as our guides, we ventured into the countryside to take in some of the natural beauty of Indonesia.

A forty-five minute drive uphill and over rocky roads brought us to two waterfalls.  There's something inspiring and peaceful about waterfalls.  Cool water flows down the mountainside converging on the lowest areas of the terrain and then crashing to even lower lands below.  The soil is washed away leaving only rocks to bear the force of the falling water.

Adding to our enjoyment of the waterfalls was the cooler air of the higher elevations.  Here, in small villages, people eek out a living farming small plots of rice or vegetables on the terraced slopes.  It's hard to imagine how long it took people to terrace the ground.  Here, heavy equipment is used only in the cities.  In the country, oxen teams still cultivate the ground.  The villagers' primary tools are a large hoe and a short sickle.  Looking at the small terraced fields makes me wonder if all of the work has been worth the effort of someone's endless days work with nothing but a hoe to move earth.  The answer of course is yes.  Like longterm investors, whoever created the terraces knew that the ground would provide income for themselves and their descendants.


Sometimes the beauty of Indonesia is lost on me.  With each passing day, our lush surroundings, seem less lush and more just apart of everything.  I wonder if the same is true for those who live and work near the waterfalls.

Kids enjoyed the waterfalls.  It was a chance to get wet on a hot day.  They played for over an hour in the cool 55 degree water.  There was even a short natural waterslide just down from the waterfall that the kids tried out.

Like most pictures, there are things that the camera misses; things that the photographer didn't want you to see.  The pictures posted on this blog show the beauty of Indonesia.  Hidden, but still present are some of the ugly reminders of the transformation taking place in Indonesia.  This third world country is rapidly becoming a first world country.  And with that transformation comes the effects of industrialization.  Wood is being consumed and sold to build more houses and furniture for those houses.  Waste is being generated by the huge population that calls Indonesia home.  In the pools at the base of one of the waterfalls we visited, flip-flops, food wrappers, plastic sacks and other human waste combine with twigs and leaves.  Slowly the beauty of Indonesia is being transformed.

One of the amazing things about living in Indonesia, is seeing the great diversity of nature.  I'm not sure what I thought bamboo looked like when we lived in the States, but I know it didn't include the huge groves of bamboo we've seen.  Bamboo, like the variety pictured, is used in all kinds of residential construction, many serving as posts for terraces and awnings.  This grove of bamboo were probably 50 ft. tall.
Our visit to the countryside was enjoyed by all.  We hope to make more excursions into the world surrounding us.  We'll take pictures and share what we see just in case you never make it to Indonesia.