Cycling Tour down the mountain

After a quick bite of breakfast at our villa's restaurant we were whisked away, at 7.30am, in a mini-van heading for the beautiful Kintamani, nestled high on a volcanic crater rim. Rob, who was from Sydney, joined our group and he quickly became our "adopted son". He was very friendly and we all had a good chat while our driver dodged and weaved through the chaotic traffic consisting of motorbikes and cars. After an hour and a half, we stopped for a morning coffee at a family farm that produced chocolate, teas (e.g., ginger, ginseng) as well as the famous Lowak coffee. The Lowak coffee is very expensive and made from the beans of coffee berries once they have been eaten and excreted by the Asian Palm Civet or "Coffee Mouse". Once the beans have been excreted, the farmers scrounge around the forest looking for the beans. We were given a tour of the grounds and shown how the beans are ground and roasted. Then we were able to sample the Lowak coffee as well as chocolate coffee, home-grown cocoa and a variety of herbal teas. Delicious! We then set off for another 20 minute drive further up the mountain to our bikes and were introduced to our friendly tour guide, John. Then, we set off on our adventure down Kintamani along tranquil, less travelled roads through the traditional villages. The locals would greet us warmly as we passed, saying "hello!" an some of the kids would high-five us. Some photos of us on one of our frequent "I need a break" stops! A group shot of us in front of some rice paddies along the way. Roughly 80% of the population in Bali is Hindu and one of our major stops was a traditional Balinese home that was over 100 years old. It consisted of several buildings with each room representing a separate building. There was a building for the ceremonies, kitchen, kids bedrooms, and also a building for the parents of the family, which also doubled as the "honeymoon suite". The tour guide told us that when children in the family get married, they are to sleep the honeymoooner’s suite for 2 nights and 2 days. Occassionaly, family members will take a peek through the windows to see what actions are going on and utter words of encouragement. The house also had a separate temple in the north-east corner. The ceremonial building is to the right of Mark. The family kitchen. One of the family roosters. Some sticky rice drying on the roof, to be used for offerings at the temple. Kids playing in the background. a The joy of being in the tropics during the rainy season! The heavens opened up and we were pummelled with rain. Our tour guide had to whip out some oversized raincoats for us. Alas, no proof but picture how we looked in these sexy grey coats. After we put them on, our tour guide said that they would only keep off the mud, not keep us dry! Great! We carried on cycling through the heavy rain, dashing through pot-holes and puddles for at least another 20 minutes. The rain was refreshing for a little while, but the novelty soon wore off as we cycled down and up hills! Finally, we climbed the last hill and arrived at our final destination: Lunch!! By the time we got back to our villa it was nearly 5pm. We were all exhausted and Mark & I got a late massage to ease our sore muscles!