The Hike

We almost didn't go on this hike. Friday night we held an emergency family council to debate. "Too hot..too far away...too buggy" were just a few of the excuses. In the end, we voted. And by a slim 3 to 4 count, the majority spoke, and our course was set.

Just an hour drive out of Jakarta, we turned off the highway to drive the narrow roads. I stopped to talk to this "Ibu" who was drying her rice harvest on the side of the road.

The rice field spread out behind her like a lake of emerald green until it met the base of the mountain.

 

We hiked up the mountain. Villages peeked through the tree tops. The path snaked passed homes, chicken coups, and village mosques.

Clean laundry decorated backyards and front patios like cheerful flags.

My kids had their moments of squabbling over who was the leader or how fast/slow we were/should be going. We even had a critical point where we were clearly no longer on the path and had to turn around. As seen below: some are happy, some, not so much.

Crossing a fragile bamboo bridge felt very dangerous in an adventurous Indiana Jones way. And suddenly all was forgiven and happy again.

And then the reward: a natural swimming hole, complete with a Tarzan vine for swinging and jumping. 

There are very few things in life that I regret doing...the regrets I have are mostly over things I didn't do and should have. Today was a good reminder of this. Had we not come, I would have missed out on not just the beauty of Indonesia, but this memory with my family. I would have missed the sounds of their laughter echoing off the rocks, the splashing, the feel of the warm sun on my back as it dried my wet clothes, and holding CJ's hand as we navigated the slippery rocks together.

Some days, happiness is tangible. 

This day, on a river in the middle of the Indonesian jungle, happiness was a tangible as it gets.