Thanks to Susi Air, I was able to take advantage of a quick one-hour flight from the area near my house to the beach town of Pangandaran.  It’s usually an 8-10 hour bus ride, so the flight was worth every penny.  Plus, since I was on an 11-seat plane, I was able to see Java as I never could before.  The view was simply amazing.

After arriving at the Southern coast of Java, I immediately went to see the ocean, dip my toes in the water and walk along the beach for about an hour.  Most people come to the area by bus, so it was great getting there before the crowds.  There was time to leisurely walk around and enjoy the area without being overwhelmed with tourists.

There was also a tourist office on the main street, so it was very easy setting up activities for the next day or two.

The first order of business was to see what day trips could be arranged, and a trip to Paradise Island was be the first excursion, set for the next morning.

Our guides drove us by motorbike for about an hour through small villages, over pavement with so many potholes that it could barely be classified as a road, to meet our boat.  From the dock it was a quick 10-15 minute boat ride to the island.  Once we landed, we had to trek about 25 minutes or so to arrive at the almost pristine, white sands of a seemingly untouched beach.

We found out that only a very small number of people live on the island and that locals from the mainland don’t usually travel there because they feel it’s unsafe.  This has nothing to do with spiders, or scorpions, which we saw…but because in the center of the island is a prison.  Just a few days prior to our relaxing beach time, the Indonesian government carried out the executions of 7 foreigners and one local who were on death row for drug trafficking.  But that’s another conversation for another day.

I enjoyed the solitude of swimming in the ocean and getting some sun without random people taking my photo.  The two guides had a nice afternoon chatting to themselves and our small group relaxed the afternoon away.

On the way back to the dock, we walked through a farm growing peanut plants, coffee, bananas, and papaya (which our guide sliced up as a snack for us, mmm!)  Then it was back to the boat, on the motorbike and into town we went.

Most people go to Pangandaran to see the Green Canyon and Green Valley, so my last day was used for this day trip.

The Green Canyon is a very popular spot, and it was a holiday weekend too, so the guides took us there to get our group ticket and then immediately took us to explore the Green Valley first.  It was a pretty hot day, so taking a dip in the cool river was very refreshing.  Plus, it was fun watching the locals floating down the river in human chains with their life vests secured as if their life really depended on it…in the not-very-deep water.

We made our way back to the Green Canyon and ate some lunch to kill some time.  Finally, our number was called, we got into a boat and made our way deep into the canyon.  We motored around rocky cliffs, other boats and some people swimming as we made our way to the end of the line:  a boulder, next to a small waterfall, inside a quasi-cave.  Due to the number of people and boats of the water, there was even a traffic light system that was constructed…awesome 🙂

The only things to do was take a few photos of the area before heading back to the landing, but it was worth the wait…it was such a neat place.

Not too far from the canyon was a neighborhood that solved a tricky problem of getting from one side of the river to another by building a bamboo suspension bridge.  It’s pretty wobbly, which makes it exciting or terrifying to walk across (depending on if you scare easily).  The coolest thing is that motorbikes travel across the bridge too! Because of this, every six months the locals replace the bamboo to ensure it’s safe and in good condition.

The last stop was a beautiful beach with rocky cliffs hovering above the sea.  We made it there just before sunset to see the sky and water become the most beautiful colors of the day.  It was a great spot to watch the waves crash, do a little climbing and drink in the last rays of the day before heading home.