August
5, Sunday
Coffee bush in bloom. Arabica Coffee branch grafted onto a Robusta coffee plant.
Not yet ripe, the red coffee bean pod has been opened up to show you the green been inside.
A ripe coffee bean
Cinnamon tree bark
And this beautiful plant that is used as a border all over the paths of the plantation, is a cousin of spinach ! But not edible.
More coffee beans, this time still on the bush. Arabica coffee tree grafted onto Robusta coffee tree, with flowers
This trumpet flower is poisonous if eaten, but locals used to smoke it like marijuana, for a high that lasted all day.
Lovely little flowers, again with a waxy finish.
Jackfruit (I may have mistakenly called it Breadfruit in past blog entries) smaller and longer variety
Noni fruit
I learn about two new fruit: “srikaya” or sugar apple, or sweetsop, and Noni fruit (this one is thought to treat cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure, HIV, rheumatism, psoriasis, allergies, infection, and inflammation !): both weird lumpy looking fruit the size of a potato: Daniel says they are both white inside with black seeds, very sweet and juicy.
Cacao tree, in bloom, with the cacao fruit
Our guide today made a fresh cut, a tiny sliver along the past cuts, and the latex started flowing
just like sap from a maple tree, it is collected in these cups
I thought this was the flower from a dragon fruit tree (because it looked like a dragon fruit tree) but the flower does not match what I found on the internet. I have absolutely no idea what the flower is.... but it is quite beautiful. Very waxy and the petals grow in a swirl.
Another interesting little plant. If you touch the fern like leaf, it closes up and hides.
When I got into the car for our drive this morning, the guys are playing with the GPS in the vehicle. We are on back country roads, so I’m not sure how good it is going to be, but they want to give it a try. Turns out that the road map I purchased in Jakarta is far more accurate than their GPS. Whenever I’ve given my map to Daniel for him to point out to me some destination we are heading for, or to identify which road we are on, he is having a hard time providing me with the information. I don’t think he can read a map! Mom and Dad showed me how to read a map on my very first summer “road trip” around lake Superior when I was 6 or 7 years old. I’ve been doing it ever since. How can someone not be able to read a map? Thank God Dodi seems to know where he is going since he is driving.
I get a glimpse of the ocean; we are that close to the southern shore.
Farmers in their rice fields. They spend hours immersed in water. I would hate to see the condition of their feet.
We back track some of the route we covered yesterday on our way south to Jogjakarta (or Yogyakarta). We are not covering a huge distance today, but we are stuck in traffic behind trucks carrying logs again.
Check out this horse, made of branches.
Carrying cattle to market, crammed in a truck.
and these ducks are carved out of ? ? ? but they look amazing.
Part 2 of this day will have to be in a seperate post. Too many photos to show you.
The breakfast I had pre-ordered was ready at 7:30: scrambled eggs, watermelon juice and
coffee. They did not serve any bread or
anything else, just bland scrambled eggs on a small plate. Since I was on a coffee & rubber
plantation I was expecting to at least get some great coffee. It was not to be; it was like drinking
mud. Their culinary services definitely
need an up-grade. It’s too bad because
the Plantation itself is beautiful and so are the cottages.
At 8 am I was given a guided tour of the grounds. Although the itinerary said that I would be
given a tour of the plantation, that’s not really what I was shown, but the
guide was so funny, he had me in stitches during almost 45 minutes. I must say that I was in a much better mood
because of him and Daniel’s commentary / translations. 
Coffee bush in bloom. Arabica Coffee branch grafted onto a Robusta coffee plant.
Not yet ripe, the red coffee bean pod has been opened up to show you the green been inside.
A ripe coffee bean
Cinnamon tree bark
And this beautiful plant that is used as a border all over the paths of the plantation, is a cousin of spinach ! But not edible.
More coffee beans, this time still on the bush. Arabica coffee tree grafted onto Robusta coffee tree, with flowers
This trumpet flower is poisonous if eaten, but locals used to smoke it like marijuana, for a high that lasted all day.
Lovely little flowers, again with a waxy finish.
Jackfruit (I may have mistakenly called it Breadfruit in past blog entries) smaller and longer variety
Noni fruit
Cacao tree, in bloom, with the cacao fruit
Rubber tree: Can harvest 6 months/year, cut early morning and collect latex milk; trees can start getting cut when 5 years old, can produce until they are 25 years old, then have to be removed (wood used for burning in fires) and new trees planted. Always five areas in production within plantation: 25 years old = remove & plant new tree, 5 years old section, 10 years old section, 15 years old section, 20 years old section. {I was humming the “But he’s got High Hopes…. High apple pie in the sky hopes… Oops there goes another rubber tree plant.”…. and that little ant.}
Our guide today made a fresh cut, a tiny sliver along the past cuts, and the latex started flowing
just like sap from a maple tree, it is collected in these cups
I thought this was the flower from a dragon fruit tree (because it looked like a dragon fruit tree) but the flower does not match what I found on the internet. I have absolutely no idea what the flower is.... but it is quite beautiful. Very waxy and the petals grow in a swirl.
I get a glimpse of the ocean; we are that close to the southern shore.
Farmers in their rice fields. They spend hours immersed in water. I would hate to see the condition of their feet.
We back track some of the route we covered yesterday on our way south to Jogjakarta (or Yogyakarta). We are not covering a huge distance today, but we are stuck in traffic behind trucks carrying logs again.
Check out this horse, made of branches.
Carrying cattle to market, crammed in a truck.
and these ducks are carved out of ? ? ? but they look amazing.
Part 2 of this day will have to be in a seperate post. Too many photos to show you.
No comments:
Post a Comment