The first ten days of the Ecowarriors

The first 10 days of the Ecowarriors started already! You can read a bit of their unique experience in Cathy's Diary.

Days came that I don't want to rush

So we moved to our 'home sweet home' finally. Yes, after some time in Bogor and a sometimes frustrating wait for a place to live in, we concluded that we wanted something else than that big city in Java island. So we moved to a village very near Ubud in Bali island. There are surely some other considerations that weighted our decision to move islands and, in the end, it all resumes to what we felt it was the best for all of us. Here we are now for more than a week living in a quiet and inspiring place and feeling much better!

I also want to share something else with you guys. Rainy season has started and with it the feeling of taking a break from writing in Days. I just want to take a break of the feeling of wanting to post and not finding the time. But I also want to pursue other interests that I have that lately urge to become more real. I still be posting photos so I hope, so this is not an end, just a pause in writing. I will still delight you with beautiful tropical images!

The other day Li asked me to read her a beautiful book that we brought with us from Amsterdam. It came in the treasure box of familiar things. It's a beautiful story written by Alice Vieira (a Portuguese writer) that always leaves me with a lump in my throat and makes me shade some tears. We can also listen to the story which has been made even more beautiful by the music of Eurico Carrapatoso (a Portuguese composer). I'll share with you the beginning of it:

"De cada vez que acaba a chuva, o vento, as tardes escuras e as manhas geladas, ha uma voz que rompe das raizes das arvores adormecidas e entra no coracao das pessoas.

Entao as pessoas abrem os olhos devagar, muito devagarinho porque a voz que agora as habita lhes murmura: _ Chegou o tempo de nao ter pressa. 

E os dias duram muito mais, porque o sol se deixa ficar pendurado no ceu durante muito mais tempo, e estende os seus bracos e entra na terra, na areia da praia, no cabelos das maes, nos gelados que se derretem nas maos das criancas.(...)"

"Each time the rain, the wind, the dark evenings and the frozen mornings end, there is a voice that breaks from the roots of sleeping trees and enters the heart of people.

So people open their eyes slowly, very slowly because the voice that inhabits them now whispers:_ It's time now not to rush.

And the days last much longer, because the sun stays dangling in the sky for much longer, and reaches out his arms into the earth, into the sand on the beach, into the hair of mothers, into the ice cream that melts in the hands of children.(...)" 

The book: "A arca do tesouso" with beautiful illustrations from Joao Fazenda (a Portuguese illustrator)

'Have I told you lately that I love you' day

Last Thursday we left our temporary home to (finally!!!) our 'home sweet home'. It all happened this way... we woke up very early in the morning, 4 a.m.. Well I'm not being accurate. Not all of us woke at that time. I feel that I hardly slept that night and got up earlier. Li, maybe feeling my restlessness woke, got up and kept me company while I showered. The luggage was there sitting in the living room and the taxi scheduled the day before was already waiting for us outside sooner than expected. We got all ready except for Lu who was sound asleep. While Pak Edu with Pak Budhi's help carried the luggage to the car, Li would go to and fro in excitement and I wrapped Lu, the sleeping beauty, and held him in my arms. We said our goodbyes and entered the taxi and off we went to Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Jakarta). While rolling the driver turned on is CD player and one after another it played covers of international songs. At that hour of the day all the roads and streets were quiet like I had never seen, the street lamps of the city lighting our way, we just felt like in a movie when there is no dialog only the background music getting louder. You know that scene when the movie is about to finish. There we were, going away after 3 and a half months of living in Komplek IPB, Bogor. Although I was eager for this moment I looked back and felt really happy for the experience we had that was made special for the hospitality of our hosts and neighbours of IPB. In our way across the city of Bogor we passed all known places to me. The only one busy place was the central market where all the street vendors chariots were parked to get prepared for the day ahead. I really enjoyed this ride, the doubt still is in the air if that joy was mainly because we're leaving. Lu slept all the way and just woke up in Jakarta arriving to the airport. So now I can imagine the question mark over your heads... moving houses, ok but why take the plane? That I will tell you next time. Now, inspired by one of the tracks, I remembered to tell you that I love you guys! Selemat malam everyone!

(Sweet dreams Du) 

Days in "Kali Manik"

Lu and daddy running on the beach

Ducks coming to graze in pastures near the beach

Smiley mama under blue sky

Fishermen on the shore

Smiley ladies

  

Bali chill under rocks with bambu straw

Li turned 4 years old

Beach, pasture and river

Sunset bathing

Balinese friend

Leisure time

Having fun with daddy

The beach

Fishermen in the sea

These pictures are a little sample of the good time we had in Kali Manik.