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Kelimutu: the Multicoloured Volcano Lakes
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
The active volcano Kelimutu is probably the most famous site of any kind on Flores, and really it’s the reason I (Brendan) had an interest in Coming to Flores, since my first visit to Indonesia almost 20 years ago. Its fame comes from its three crater lakes, each one with a distinct–and continually changing–colour. Pictures of the lakes are on postcards all around the country.
Getting to the volcano summit for sunrise involved a very early morning drive along predictably crappy roads, followed by about a half hour plus hike up to the crater edge. As it turned out, one of the three craters was filled with clouds. Although we couldn’t see the (apparently black) lake, it did make for an eerie, beautiful bowl of clouds that gradually lifted exposing trees and the crater edges.
Tiwu Ata Mbupu (Lake of Old People) is usually blue and is the westernmost of the three lakes. The other two lakes, Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai (Lake of Young Men and Maidens) and Tiwu Ata Polo (Bewitched or Enchanted Lake) are separated by a shared crater wall and are typically green or red.
The local coffee guys who live in the area come up every morning and serve coffee they grow, roast and grind themselves…and they’re quite the characters. One of them got our man Note dressed up, complete with a machete and filter-free kretek (clove) cigarette.
In The Land of The Betel-Nut Chewers
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
Just outside the Flores Island hill town of Bajawa are hundreds of traditional communities living much as they did a hundred (or a thousand!) years ago. We were lucky to have the chance to visit a couple of these, home ... [Continue reading this entry]
Breaking News: Happy New Year!
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog (which, due to our recent weeks away from the Internet, is a few entries behind) to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Playing Hooky
Friday, January 1st, 2010
Eight days into this road trip back in time, we’ve decided we need a break – Brel style. So we’ve hired a private car and driver and have separated from our group for a few days. We’ve ... [Continue reading this entry] The 12 Days of Christmas in Flores
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
“On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”
12 Squatters squatting
11 rice paddies growing
10 flying bats
9 menstruating goats
8 scooters swerving
7 samabals burning
6 roosters crowing
5 Laaaarge Bintaaaaang
4 mie goreng
3 long-tailed Macaques
2 civet coffees
And a chicken in a maaango ... [Continue reading this entry]
Things I Think About during Endless Bus Rides
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Things I Think About during Endless Bus Rides – by Mel
1. Have not had liquids in 7 hours. Am I dehydrated? Must avoid peeing in the roadside squat toilets at all costs.
2. Is my Imodium working? If it isn’t, how will I ... [Continue reading this entry]
Selamat Hari Natal (a.k.a. Merry Christmas!)
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Our first married Christmas wasn’t really the way we imagined it would be. There was no ‘First Christmas’ ornament for the tree. No family gathered ‘round drinking eggnog. No Christmas carolling or turkey dinner or gifts. It ... [Continue reading this entry] Goodbye Luxury, Welcome to the Real Indonesia
Monday, December 28th, 2009
As much as we enjoy living the luxurious side of life, of course we need to balance that with a little reality.
Welcome to Reality.
We are spending the next week on the island of Flores – a ... [Continue reading this entry]
Welcome to Reality.
We are spending the next week on the island of Flores – a ... [Continue reading this entry] Brought to you by The Weather Channel
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to bring you an important weather advisory.
Sorry for those of you reading this from Canada (since we’ve been watching you all gripe on Facebook about how cold the weather is), but it's time for ... [Continue reading this entry]
When at a New Age Zen Yoga Resort, do as the New Age Zen Yoga Folks Do
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Here at Desa Seni, the focus is on healing, healthy living and spiritual well-being. Below is the Brel take on all this touchy-feely stuff.
Ohmmmmmmm…
In preparation for our week-long yoga ... [Continue reading this entry] Desa Seni: A Village Resort
Sunday, December 20th, 2009
Selamat datang to Bali!
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Welcome to Bali!
Dear Readers, we hope you are enjoying this blog and will enjoy our stories of Bali. We should warn you now though, this blog will likely have no end. We are ... [Continue reading this entry] Jakarta and a Shout-out to Brella!
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Jakarta. Massive. Dirty. But no bombs on the day we were there. Enough said. Moving on to Bali.
As we transitioned from Japan to Indonesia, we got the news that our poor pup Brella has been ... [Continue reading this entry]
As we transitioned from Japan to Indonesia, we got the news that our poor pup Brella has been ... [Continue reading this entry] A visual goodbye to Japan
Friday, December 18th, 2009
... Final Thoughts: Tokyo
Friday, December 18th, 2009
By The Numbers
• Pounds lost/gained: Mel -5, Brendan +5
• Trains taken: 40+
• Number of times Brendan had to eat a second of third mean because Mel didn’t like what she’d ordered: almost every meal
• Number of Japanese words Mel ... [Continue reading this entry] The Randomness Continues
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
There’s so much to see in Tokyo that in seven days you can’t even scratch the surface, let alone accurately blog about it. Our approach to Tokyo has been very anti-Brel: long days of walking and exploring while trying to ... [Continue reading this entry]
“Shut your shabu-shabu hole” and other things overhead on a night of nomi hodai
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
As most of you know, Brendan lived and worked in Japan for nearly 4 years. Some of his fellow teachers have since made this their permanent ... [Continue reading this entry] More Random Tokyo Experiences
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Tokyo is so overwhelming, that I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts for the blog. And I've had to start carrying a notebook so that I don't forget any of it.
[Continue reading this entry]
[Continue reading this entry] Folks, I couldn’t make this up if I tried…
Friday, December 11th, 2009
As seen on last night's dinner menu:
- Fried Spam cutlet (Spam has a cutlet?)
- Fried edible frog (as opposed to the poisonous dart frog?)
- Cheese stuffed bamboo shaped fish deep fried with seaweed and covered in Korean roe sauce
- Pig tongue and water spinach ... [Continue reading this entry]
Random Tokyo Observations
Friday, December 11th, 2009
I guess people really can get used to anything. I'm pleased to report that my anxiety in Tokyo is quickly being replaced by awe and fascination, to the point where I kind of regret that last blog post. Today, the ... [Continue reading this entry]
The ‘MAS’ – a New Ranking Scale
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
As we wake up on Day 2, it's become painfully obvious that we need a new ranking scale for Tokyo - the Mel Anxiety Scale (MAS). Based on a scale of 1 to 100, where 50 is "Get me Atavan ... [Continue reading this entry]
Tokyo: a New Random Factor Scale Required
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
For those of you who followed our blog last year, you might remember the RF scale - a scale of 1 to 10 that helped us rank the randomness of our adventures. In just a few hours off the plane, ... [Continue reading this entry]
On the road again!
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Well it's been 18 months since our first big adventure ended prematurely, and a lot has happened since. We're married now, and we are the proud parents of a one-year old (ok, a dog named Brella, who will undoubtedly make ... [Continue reading this entry]
A Little Brel Catch-up
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Ok, this is Brendan here. My voice was seldom heard in past blogs as it always seemed I had more work-related writing to ... [Continue reading this entry] Istanbul was Constantinople, Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople…
Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Welcome to the crazy and wonderful city of Istanbul. It's been a long road to get here - nearly 4,000 km in fact.
Istanbul is famous for many things, not the least of which is ... [Continue reading this entry] Random Turkish Sites Part 2
Friday, July 18th, 2008
Random Turkish Delights – Part 2
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
As we continue our journey through Turkey, we're becoming more familiar with the culture, people and maybe even a little bit of the history. (Ugur, our tour guide: if you are reading this, ... [Continue reading this entry] Surgery in Athens…Update
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
It's been a week since the surgery, and things are progressing well. Nurse Powell has been diligently carrying out his tasks with much love, and Mel is definitely on the mend. The drainage tube (yuck) is finally out, the drugs are ... [Continue reading this entry]
Breaking News – Surgery in Greece
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
We interrupt your Turkey blog reading to bring you real-time news from Athens (our blog is usually a week behind our adventures).
In an unfortunate twist of fate, Brel have found themselves ... [Continue reading this entry] Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes
Friday, July 4th, 2008
Come, come, whoever you are.
Wanderer, idolator, worshipper of fire
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times.
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
-Mevlana Rumi
We had the opportunity to ... [Continue reading this entry] Kas – on the Lycian Coast
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
While it may not be as well known as Greece for it's coastal towns and islands, the Turquoise Coast is gorgeous. We spent some time in Kas, a beautiful town set amidst cliffs on the Mediterranean. ... [Continue reading this entry] Random Turkish Sites – Part 1
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
We have seen some fabulous sites in Turkey. Some highlights:
- The underground city of Derinkuyu, an extensive city that housed upwards of 10,000 inhabitants, thousands of years ago.
- Chimaera, home of the eternal flame. For ... [Continue reading this entry]
Happy Canada Day! (from Turkey)
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
Happy Canada Day from Brel! Random Turkish Delights – Part 1
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
As we continue our 4,000 km, 14 day road trip, we have fallen in love with Turkey.
Food: The food here is delicious. Our options (thankfully) are more varied than meat-on-a-stick (though shish is available everywhere). And ... [Continue reading this entry] Ballooning in Cappadocia
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
It's almost impossible to describe the landscape in Cappadocia. Formed millions of years ago by 3 volcanoes, years of erosion, water, oxidation and wind have combined to create incredible, magical formations referred to ... [Continue reading this entry] Bathing in a Hammam – Surprisingly only an RF 4
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Of course we had to partake in one of the oldest rituals in Turkey, the Turkish ... [Continue reading this entry] Lessons Learned in our First 3 Hours in Turkey
Monday, June 23rd, 2008- Being a blond western woman is an invitation to stare. Like 4 people at the same time,for a minute or longer, without any attempt to hide who and what they are staring at.
- Like other Muslim countries, the less skin shown, ... [Continue reading this entry]
Mid-Brel-Adventure Review
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
It´s hard to believe, but the Brel Adventure is half over. Seems as good a time as any to take a look back:
Random Stats
- Countries visited: 7
- Cities visited: about 30
- New passport stamps: 23
- Favourite countries: Costa Rica and Argentina
- Favourite city: Buenos Aires
- Number ... [Continue reading this entry]
Final Thoughts…Ecuador
Friday, June 20th, 2008
By the Numbers
- Number of check-ins during our Quito hotel tour: 7
- Number of pounds Mel shed in a desperate bid to not return to Toronto at her all-time highest weight: 7ish
- Days of consecutive sobriety after all that wine ... [Continue reading this entry]
Brendan´s Iguanas
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Brendan was a bit obsessed with taking photos of the many endemic iguanas in the Galapagos, so it seemed wrong to not have a blog dedicated to them. You have no idea ... [Continue reading this entry] Lonesome George
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
The Galapagos Islands are famous for their giant tortoises - in fact they were named for them. Here you can see 200 kg tortoises measuring over 1 metre in length. Humans have ... [Continue reading this entry] Birds of Galapagos
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
There are all sorts of endemic birds in the Galapagos Islands. Some highlights for your reading and viewing pleasure:
- The waved albatross - wing span of over 1.5 metres
- The Nazca ... [Continue reading this entry]
Party Under the Sea – Black-Tie Optional
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Snorkeling opportunities abound in the Galapagos Islands - there are multi-colored fish, sharks, octopus, sea horses, turtles, starfish... The most exciting thing to spot however, is the Galapagos Penguin. Endemic to this area, the penguins ... [Continue reading this entry] Home Sweet Home – The GAP Adventurer V
Monday, June 16th, 2008
With memories of our sailing trip in Brazil still fresh in our minds (16 bunk-beds in one room, no showers, crazy toilet ritual, etc.), we were pleasantly ... [Continue reading this entry] The Best Boobie Show in Town
Sunday, June 15th, 2008
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Galapagos Islands is spotting the blue-footed boobie. (insert boobie joke here). About the size of sea gulls, the blue-footed boobies have, well, blue feet. The mating ritual involve ... [Continue reading this entry] Sea Lions and Brel – Kindred Spirits
Saturday, June 14th, 2008
Lounge in the sun. Take a few steps. Flop down. Swim in the sea. Repeat.
Such is the life of the Galapagos sea lion. Sound familiar?
Hundreds of sea lions line the rocky shores of most of the ... [Continue reading this entry] Galapagos 101 – Survival of the Fittest
Saturday, June 14th, 2008
I remember as an 11 year-old, waking early every Saturday morning to watch Jack Hanna´s Animal Adventures. For a few years, Jack focused exclusively on the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands. With every tortoise, ... [Continue reading this entry] More Amazon Photos
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
As predicted back in Costa Rica, the thrill of seeing monkeys has yet to wear off.
Special Blog for Jack – Frogs!
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
(Jack is Mel´s 4 year-old nephew)
Hi Jack!
You would have loved the Amazon! We saw all sorts of frogs: poison-dart frogs, tree frogs, glass frogs and a bunch I don´t remember the names of. We thought you might enjoy ... [Continue reading this entry] 
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