Another long weekend for us and it was back to Pelabuhan Ratu. This time we did it right. Along with board games, we filled the back of the kijang (SUV) with about 20 bags of food and a cooler. Plenty of goodies to cook a couple massive western style breakfasts, as well as a couple cases of beer and an assortment of snacks. And, not only did we cook two morning feasts - banana coconut pancakes and fruit salad one day, eggs and hash browns the next - but we also made a trip to the fish market for a giant fresh from the sea fish. Actually, make that 2 giant fish. We brought the big guys back, with a little local bumbu (spice paste), and handed it off to the maid. Yes the maid...and a few other helpers. We gave them some cash for veggies and side dishes and told them to have dinner ready at 8. Let me say, it was AMAZING. These women can COOK. And there is nothing like a fresh fish (or two!) cooked on a grill about 5 hours after it was caught. It was a feast beyond feasts. And we did not have to do any dishes.Unfortunately, while we might have gotten the eating right this trip, the ocean was not as good to us. In fact, the waves reached heights not seen for about 8 years and wiped out much of the coast of Pelabuhan Ratu. We were very lucky that our house was on higher ground, but only steps down the road the scene was very different. Waves pounded the shore only letting up late on Saturday before we left, granting us a 1/2 hour to frolic before heading back to Jakarta. It made the NY times in fact: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/
Pictures simply cannot capture the power of the waves and the thunderous pounding of their crashing on the beach. It was pretty intense.
Now we count the days until the next long weekend. We won't go back to Pelabuhan Ratu, but you can tell why it is tempting....
