YA LEUM.35 — The fireflies in the hidden beach…
Lombok is the island of coconuts and crystal waters which sand comes from the dreamland!
We traveled from Bali to Lombok on a boat. Coincidently, we found Jojo in Lombok’s port. He was going in the opposite direction — we met him in Thailand and it was the third time we were together during this trip!).
We spent two nights in the capital, Mataram, and left as soon as we could. It had too much chaos, traffic, and pollution. We rented a motorcycle and went directly to Kuta Lombok.
Kuta is a fishing village especially targeted specially for backpackers. It has bars, nightlights, a mix of Occidental and Asian restaurants, and a vibe that can relax anyone.
The trip to Kuta was funny. We stopped a few times in small villages, the motorcycle had a problem twice, and we even managed to make some friends on our way.
When we arrived at Kuta, we were in such a good mood as we were during the motorbike ride. It was quick to find our accommodation and the first thing we did was to sit in a restaurant and drink a huge pineapple juice with coconut water and mango!
It was so hot! So so hot!…
We planned to spend some days with some friends in Kuta, who were spending some weeks in Indonesia too. Yet, they were only arriving the week after.
Kuta seemed to us like the ideal place to rest, enjoy the beach, have some beers in the late afternoon, try some restaurants, and enjoy the backpacker lifestyle.
Every day we experienced a few different beaches and, as it was low-season, it was easy to find empty ones.
Our guesthouse was wonderful. We had a crepe with banana and pineapple every day, plus a delicious coffee.
We were on holiday! Yet, something was missing…
We were missing the tent, the adventure, and the locals….
One of those days, we were at the beach and a seller got closer to show us some beach fabrics. We took the chance to ask him where we could camp safely.
We pointed to a place in front of us. There was a hill, surrounded by sand and dunes.
“I have seen travelers like you camping there. Sometimes they do a fire, which is not allowed, but you only have to be careful. I once enjoyed that place with an Italian couple, doing a barbeque. If you want, I can show you where you can set your tent”.
“Yet, in fact, I live in a village quite close to here and if you want, you can camp there too. It’s safe because there’s only me and my neighbors. After work, you can come with me on your motorcycle and I will show you the place”.
I love getting an invitation like this! That is what we were missing!
At that time, Mathieu was on the sea and could not wait to call him and share the newly plan.
Our new friend, Tanjun, ended up showing up later and we followed him.
We took our motorcycle through a way between dunes and a dirt track. From time to time, we would pass through restaurants that were closed, as it was low season. After twenty minutes, I felt we were entering an inhabited area but that was practically empty. There were a few bamboo houses and sometimes a motorcycle would appear. There was a feeling of peacefulness and silence around there. We crossed this small village and arrived at the beach.
We parked the motorcycle at the beach entrance and next to a house with children on the road. “I live here and you can set your tent there, in front of the house”.
My eyes sparkled.
An empty beach, crystal clear seawater, a magnificent landscape, and we had it all to ourselves.
He showed us a place where we could stay and even told us he would keep our backpacks if we wanted.
We wanted to stay and not return to the city but we had nothing with us.
We went back to the guesthouse to negotiate the night we still had reserved there and to get our tent.
Returning to the hidden beach was not easy but we managed to arrive in style!
Tanjun welcomed us with a smile and his shy family, which was curious to get to know us.
We drank coffee, offered some cookies, and stayed there, talking with them. Tanjun could barely speak English but when you have the will, you find your way.
On the beach, there was a bamboo hut that was ideal to keep our tent. Although it was open on the sides, we would be better protected.
We felt like the luckiest people in the world!
Here we are, with our tent and stove in special places, always surrounded by people and their realities.
The night was dark and the temperature was warm. Sometimes, the noise of the wind made me raise my head from the sand.
Yet, we had Tanjun behind us and it felt like he was protecting us!
We kept talking until we ran out of energy and fell asleep with the waves that rolled in the sea.
The next morning, the sun was fully shining on that lonely beach and we woke up with the low tide. We woke up full of energy and went to our neighbors to say hello!
We spent some time with them but we had to go back to the city, to see our friends. We promised to return! We did not enjoy this place enough…
A few days later, we returned, just like we promised. Yet, we were better prepared and we had a small gift.
That day, we spent more time together! His daughter was less shy and was talk to us. She came to me with a dictionary so that I would teach her English.
Tanjun introduced Mathieu to his neighbors and he stayed there, talking to an older couple who had a pineapple vendors. They even gave us one pineapple! It was delicious!
That night the moon was full. It enlightened the beach and the sea. So, we decided to sleep outside, simply inside the sleeping bags. It was not cold and I was in love with our hut.
We talked, laughed, and ended up falling asleep hours later
It was 2 am in the morning when I woke up with the noise from two vans, with 40 people standing at the back of a truck, holding long wood rods.
My heart froze.
“Mathieu, look! Do not make any noise, pretend you are sleeping!”.
The moon still enlightened the beach but it was not enough for us to see their faces. I started to shiver lightly.
The group of people left the truck and went to the seashore.
One of them sat next to me and drank water from my bottle, never noticing I was there. I pinched Mathieu, who froze for few seconds too.
The man peacefully stood up and joined the group that was by the sea.
They made a lot of noise and were quite energetic. I started to calm down.
In an instant, they were all in silence, looking at the sea with their wood rods.
After a sign one of them made, they all stood up at the same time and entered the sea.
I discreetly took my camera and started recording… The moon kept enlightening the beach and the sea…
When they entered the sea, they started to disperse and looked like fireflies.
The sea was enlightened by their presence, small dots of yellow light, red, blue started arising… we still could not understand what was going on.
Yet, we understood we did not have to worry so we simply stayed there, watching that show of lights.
One hour later, one by one, they returned to the beach. They sat again, it was time to rest.
After one of them made a sign, they all returned to the same van.
I will never forget the magic of that full moon night.
After the excitement, we fell asleep.
When we woke up, we ran to Tanjun to share what happened. We could not wait to understand who those people were.
In a calm and smiling tone, he said:
“Oh! I forgot to tell you. When the moon is full, these people come from a village that is 30 km away to fish a shrimp type that only appears in this area…”.
That made all sense! We all laughed when Mathieu and I and told Tanjun we were scared for a while…
Tanjun simply answered: “I told you, there is nothing to worry about here. This beach is protected by us”.
October 2017,
Patricia Assis
