This word sounds fitting to describe our three-day trip in Pacitan, East Java, where six Leiden students and I were taking some time off from our three-month research work in several areas in Java.
We set out from Yogyakarta, five hours away. Our first stop was at a hot spring bathing place called Banyu Anget. The water was so hot that I noticed some visitors squealing as they stepped gingerly in.
Interestingly, though, it did not smell sulphurous, as hot springs typically do. This place is open 24 hours, so the best time to be here is in the afternoon or at night, maybe after spending the day on the beach.
Feeling relaxed after the bath, we continued our trip to Soge Beach in Sidomulyo village. This beach is accessible via a recently built highway, which has made it a popular hangout place.
Some of us jumped into the water despite the big waves that made it difficult to swim. The rest of the time, we just played in the white sand. Then, we ran around, jumped, and even held a little competition of throwing dried coconuts as far as possible.
It was like revisiting those carefree, frolicking moments of one’s childhood. But, sadly, we could not get to see the sunset because it was cloudy, forcing us to find accommodation quickly.
We decided to go to Harry’s Homestay, a three-story inn near Teleng Ria Beach. It only had six rooms, and we were lucky to be the only people staying there that night.
That was an opportunity that we could not help but take advantage of, surely, by playing reverse-role hide-and-seek: One person hides, while the rest looks for them. The person who finds the hider must join them in hiding. That goes on until there is one seeker left.
We used almost all parts of the building, the gazebo and the large yard as a playing arena. If not for remembering that we would have a long day tomorrow, we could have stayed up all night.
The next day was simply exciting. We were going to spend it at Srau Beach, located on the other side of the hills, some 25 kilometers to the west of Pacitan town center. It is a known haven for surfers and, being quite far from downtown, is usually not packed with visitors.
The nearest village is few kilometers away. So don’t think of lines of hotels or restaurants; there are only a small mosque, an open hall where people can rest, and some stalls selling modest food and drinks.
The beach has three surf spots with challenging ridges for rookies or experienced surfers. The first one is at the back of the ticket booth that it is often called “The Portal.” The second is Pancingan, down the coral hill on the west of the beach that usually serves as a base point for the local fishermen. The third spot is Pandan, behind the coral hill.
Srau’s waves are of the reef-break type, meaning that they occur because the sea water moves against coral reefs. The seabed is predominantly made of reefs, so surfers had better be really careful.
“The months between November and February are the best for surfing and chasing barrels at Srau,” said Hendry, our surfing coach.
Toward dusk, we got up to walk along the edges of the hills. Hiking on coral hills with the sea off to the side was a unique experience for me. I imagined the hills on the Teletubbies show while jumping around. But the rain came not long after. Once more, we failed to see the sunset.
Still in the mood for riding waves, my friends spared the next morning for surfing at Teleng Ria, not far from our inn. Although the beach is poorly maintained, with plastic waste littered everywhere, surfing seems too compelling an activity to make visitors not want to come.
The surfing finally over, we had time for a visit to Gong Cave. Gong is one of the hidden caves in Pacitan’s small mountains. It is a horizontal cave extending around 256 meters. Inside, there are stalactites and stalagmites of huge sizes.
According to our tour guide, Gong has the prettiest stalactite and stalagmite formations of any cave in Southeast Asia.
It turned out that the cave was really famous, and thus crowded. We had to go down the steps quickly to make way for other visitors. To be honest, it was breathtaking down there, but we were not really satisfied with the rushed tour.
To close out the vacation we hurried to Klayar Beach, 45 kilometers west of Pacitan. The trip there is a challenge because the road is narrow and extensively damaged, as well as winding.
Klayar draws more visitors than Srau. Its highlight is the lagoon at the east end. Situated between two coral reefs, the lagoon looks stunning with the waves pounding the reefs, splashing and then turning on the white sands. The water smashes the reefs so relentlessly and with such force that it results in a kind of waterfall pouring foamy streams.
And then there are the towering reefs. One of them, if you look at it closely, resembles the Sphinx. To explore the coral area behind them requires no ticket, but visitors must make a “voluntary” donation to the local officials.
I screamed from surprise when out of the blue a fountain spurted up from a leak in the reef, dousing me and my friends. When the waves are strong enough, the water goes under the reef and gushes skyward to heights of up to 10 meters. This fountain often surges to the accompaniment of a whistling sound that people call “ seruling laut ,” or “sea flute.”
The most wonderful feeling I had there was when we climbed on the hip of the Sphinx coral reef, which was quite spacious, and sat there to relish the view: waves rolling into the lagoon, the waterfall to my right, the wave-driven fountain to my left, and the seascape as far as the eye can see.
It was the most beautiful spot to watch a sunset that I have been to all my life. And yes, we were lucky that the universe eventually gave the sun a fine sky to descend into at the time.
Having been reminded several times by the lifeguard to come down, we went back to our original spot by the small river that splits the shore. There we spread out some cloths to sit on and make merry. We drank up the bottles of beer from the cool box and chewed the fat, savoring the remaining twilight of the coastal sky. Gezillig!
Source : Jakartaglobe
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