Telemoyo

Neither boyfriend nor I particularly enjoy planning for large groups. And small groups in Indonesia always turn into large groups. You can invite 5 people to do something, and before you know it, all 5 people have also invited 5 people and it just goes downhill from there. However, boyfriend and I did decide that we should hang out with friends more. Not that we don’t ever hang out with friends. We do. A lot, actually. But most evenings if we’re going out for dinner, it’s easier if we just go out for dinner alone than to have to try to arrange a time that is convenient for 75 people, not to mention a restaurant where they’d all fit!

Anyways, in the spirit  of doing things in groups and wanting fresh non-city air and taking the two new teachers on an adventure, I got a group together to go up Mount Telemoyo, which is one of two dormant volcanoes we can actually see from campus. Telemoyo is my favorite mountain to climb because you never actually have to set foot on the ground. A lot of internet and cell phone companies have towers at the peak of the mountain, so there’s a service road all the way to the top! Granted, the “road” is only barely wide enough for a car, drops off steeply to the left, and is washed out in a lot of places. But still, the view is amazing! You can see six mountains from the top. When it’s not completely covered in clouds like it was when we went up. It was still beautiful though – and a really fun drive!

We ended up with 13 people going. I was a little apprehensive because some of those going have only recently bought motorbikes and have never driven on scary mountain roads. Also, it’s easy to burn brakes out coming back down if you don’t know how to drive downhill for extended periods of time. But everyone did really well! We were slow and steady and took lots of sightseeing/photo breaks since it was completely clear up until just below the peak.

Here are some pictures I took!!

(The chicken manure truck we got stuck behind on the way to the service road – you can see a bit of Telemoyo in the background)

(A view of Telemoyo from before we actually started ascending it)

(Entering the service road)

(The next mountain over – Gunung Andong, which I’ve also climbed! That one you actually have to hike)

(Picture time with Yo, Kari and Pita)

(Stopping for pictures just below the peak)

(Some of the many towers at the top)

(Not much of a view from the top. But we could spy on the people coming around that bend in the road!)

(On the way down. This is the only picture I have that actually has everyone in it! We did take one group picture at the top, but unfortunately, it wasn’t with my camera.)

(Back down at the bottom)