Climb every mountain

Eddie has gone to climb a mountain. This gives me a bit of time to update before we head off to class later in the day (and to do some study after a busy weekend). Or me to go to class, if he is not back. He and our host have driven for about 45 minutes into the countryside and will spend a couple of hours climbing to 1000 metres and coming back down again. Think it's one of the mountains we can see from our window, but certainly not Mt Agung, the sacred volcano. That is best done from 2am so that climbers are rewarded with the sunrise. Agung last erupted in 1963, and although there have been rumblings since, the gods appear to be fairly happy at the moment. The most recent trouble has been pretty serious wildfires last year.

When our commitment to classes in June finishes, Eddie and our host plan to walk back to Ubud from Kintamani (Mt Batur), a stroll of about seven hours. No shortage of walks for the dedicated. You can see the Batur caldera in the pic above, thanks to Wikitravel.

In the tradition of spontaneity that has become our social life, Saturday's quiz at Mingle (fun but no prize for us) led to an invitation to Sunday lunch at Villa Kitty. I have spoken before of the work that Elizabeth and her staff do to care for the abandoned kittens and cats, not just of Ubud, but from anywhere on the island. The work is pretty overwhelming and help is always needed. Help of the sit-and-cuddle-and-socialise-the-cats kind, or financial help. Professional local staff take care of medical needs, and at the moment the quarantine section is full as cat flu has taken hold. Current tally is 113 cats, plus a few dogs. If you are a cat lover who is coming to Bali and would like to bring supplies, get in touch with Elizabeth via the website and she will let you know what they require at any particular time. We are both animal lovers in general, but I do wear my catty heart on my sleeve. We can't adopt, but we will do what we can to help out while we are here. Not just at VK, we will look at other volunteering possibilities once we have finished language classes. The important tenet is that no Western volunteer should take a paid position away from a local person, so help can be as simple as cuddling a kitten, and that's not hard.

When we first arrived the rice plants in the sawah (fields) behind were green. Now they have turned yellow and harvesting and threshing have commenced. Genetic modification has increased yield for the farmers, but it has also changed the ecology. With insects no longer interested, the frogs are diminishing; when the frogs go so do the ducks. That means artificial fertiliser rather than duck poo. Four plantings a year, no rotation any more, higher yield, but how high is the real price? We read in Ibu Cat's book Bali Daze that experimental plantings of heritage rice strains are providing bountiful yields (much to the surprise of the sceptics) and the taste is infinitely better. White rice is ubiquitous, black rice is delicious, but at yesterday's lunch we had red rice for the first time, and that was amazing. So we will look out for the non-GM variety, pay a little more and hope that it catches on. I had no idea that the taste of white rice can be as varied as tea, coffee or for that matter, wine - depending on the strain. Learning every day.

Early morning

Between first light and about 8 is the coolest, loveliest time to walk. There is almost never rain; that tends to come in the afternoon or evening, when it happens. By about 7.30 the traffic has started to build and the heat of the day is becoming apparent. But early morning is magic, especially when you go off the backroads and though the rice fields and villages.

Yesterday we climbed the short staircase beside the Bintang supermarket* up into the scattered villages of Penestanan, high on the ridge. This route begins as narrow laneways, barely a motorcycle width and often with steep falls on one side. It would be very easy for an inexperienced rider to lose control and never be seen again, but the Balinese have been riding their machines since they were children and are very skilled. Tucked down these laneways are all manner of accommodation from homestays to luxury villas, although you would want to be travelling light to access them. A visitor to Bali need not book in advance at this time of year. Head for the hills and explore what is available. You are unlikely to be disappointed.

This village is known as a yoga, meditation and alternative medicine hub, but many tiny warungs also tempt a break in the walk. Another glimpse of how Bali used to be, with papaya and mango growing freely in the lanes.

Once you hit the main Penestanan road however, it's back to traffic although the noise is not so bad as it is punctuated by the crow of the fighting cockerels that the Balinese men keep under baskets in the compounds.

Plenty of spas, hotels and cafes along here, including a branch of Kue, the go-to place in Ubud if you fancy a bread or cake fix. The Penestanan store is much smaller, but has a selection of goodies and is a lot more convenient for us. A tamarind and ginger soda did the refreshment trick for me, but Eddie had a great coffee and a scone that he declared very nearly as good as the ones he had in Ireland (and they were the best ever).

Down the very steep hill (no pavement, lots of traffic) past the Blanco Museum brings you back to Jl Campuan and home. Along this road is the usual access stairway to the top, but the Bintang stairway provides a longer, but more scenic (if narrow) pathway. Two hours at a comfortable pace was rewarded by the scenery and the post-walk cooling swim.

*entitled to a post of its own at some stage