Traveling, writing and living around the world
It was hot, the kind of hot that makes you pray you be instantly teleported to a tundra somewhere in the Arctic stark naked. It was 5 p.m., and still the sun beat down on us without any mercy, watched us wince and squirm with uneasiness as we listened to the Komodo National Park Rangers give us a small briefing on the trekking options.
It sounded like the sky was falling down. I could vaguely hear my guide, E-fin, from outside of the tent.
“Excuse me, excuse me. It is now heavy rain. We can go but the walk will be maybe dangerous. A little dangerous, yeah.”
My mind was foggy as I woke myself up. The thought of heading out into the rain was not one that had me jumping out of my sleeping bag, despite how soaked it was from the rain puddling up in the tent. I was actually looking for excuses to stay sleeping.
You can read Part I on my Climbing Mount Rinjani Series here.
I have never been so cold in my life as my first night sleeping on Rinjani (yes, it was even colder than that time I slept in a truck in a snowstorm in Tasmania). There was a wicked chill in the air when we woke up, the kind that lets you know that winter is on its way.
Yet as the sun reared its head, the clouds dispersed to reveal a beautiful valley of sun-kissed green hills playfully sloping around us and giving way to an expanse of land that dropped below.
