3

PELABUHANRATU
(FISHING VILLAGE)
JAVA INDONESIA
So it went, 90 km to Sukabumi. There we made the mistake of eating lunch. Instead of 2 roomy front sears we ended up "steerage" in the wooden rear benches. Every left turn, the spare tire (on it were several baskets + bags of rice) dug into my knee; on every right turn a cluster of 4 coconuts rolled into my toe. Everyone was laughing + it wasnt really so uncomfortable. Even saw some scenery, incl an incredible assemblage of cross hatched timber - a bridge more like River Kwai's than those I saw yesterday. Javabese countryside always beautiful, always fascinating. Around here, mts + hills everywhere. Tree flowers and buds a foot long. Instead of "Bumibumibumi" - theyd yell "Plupluplu" - our destination was the tiny fishing village of Pelabuganratu. My brochure was a bit off on timing: the festival was in April. But town was so picturesque it really didn't need festival. We were an immediate sensation, as few tourists ever go there. A gem of a harbor. Hundreds of multicolor [nats?], some with luxusiously billowy white nets draped. A stream struggled over its last few meters over the beach, + a boy towed 2 coconut-shell toy boats on a string. A small lagoon where stilthouses stood. Its a place where people care about homes + boats + keep them clean. The center of town was a marketplace with pyramidal roof + open walls. All roofs were of red-earth