Bat Cave

Ribbons

 Day 25 - February 4

So breakfast didn’t have to be as early today. I wasn’t leaving for the bat cave until 8:30. Bonnie had tripped on a root yesterday on our trek and she was hurting quite a bit the morning so she would not be coming along to the cave. Breakfast was good this morning. There are not as many choices as we have had most days since we’ve been here but it was still a nice tasty breakfast. We went back to the room and I got ready for the hike to the bat cave.

The hike was pretty easy. We went through palms that are raised to extracting palm oil. Part of the way was through rubber trees. I had read about harvesting the sap from the trees but had never seen it first hand. It’s done just the way the pictures show. The sign said the cave was a 3 kilometer walk but it seemed shorter than that. We got to the gate for the cave in about 15 minutes. The bank down to the creek we had to cross was very steep and slippery but we negotiated it well.

Small Bat

 The climb to the first chamber was a little tricky and if you weren’t careful you could hurt yourself very easily. I mean seriously hurt yourself as in broken bones. Fortunately my guide, Anuar, had two flash lights with him so we were able to see just fine. This chamber has small species of bat roosting in it. There were probably a couple of hundred dotting the ceiling. They weren’t very active. In the second and third chambers there were larger bats. The ceiling of the cave were not quite as high making the bats easier to see. The small bats and the larger ones did not seem to roost together. There were probably more than a thousand bats here in all. Some were quite close together but most were probably 2 to 3 feet apart. Might just be that the places to grasp were that far apart. Some of these were actually flying from place to place in the cave. It’s interesting to have them flying just over your head. Bats are such misunderstood creatures.

Large Bat

While the bats were very interesting this cave must have been beautiful when it was still “alive”. The old formations have certainly lost their luster over the centuries. The mites and tites, the ribbons, the flowstone, all are here just not in the glory that most people think of when you think of a cave. I can only imagine how lovely it must have been.

 We were in the cave for probably an hour, maybe a little longer. It was most enjoyable and I would be happy to do it again. The way out was the same as the way in so you have to be very careful going out as well. The walk back to the hotel was pretty easy and uneventful.

Large Bat Cluster

Bonnie was sitting on the porch reading when we arrived. Anuar invited us up to his house for some coffee or tee while we waited for our driver to arrive. We chatted and enjoyed the company while we waited. Anuar had been in business here for about 10 years and constructed or supervised the construction of all of the building. They are in the process of building a new dining room or maybe better said a dining shelter. Most of the facilities are quite open to the air. When our driver arrived he came and joined us at the house. He and Anuar are good friends. Seems too soon we had to return to the city.

Flow Stone

The drive was again three hours. I and Bonnie both dozed off and on during the trip. We had to stop at an ATM along the way so we would have enough money to pay the driver. I will never get used to playing people with 100,000 denomination notes. When we arrived back at the Marriott we were  quickly escorted to our room.

Large Bat Cluster

 The room was huge. Seems they gave us a free upgrade to a deluxe room. It was a corner room with a great view of the city. The bathroom had a separate shower and tub. There was a huge window in here that looked out over the city as well. The bathroom even had a TV so you could watch while you soaked in the tub.

Our flight back to Jakarta was at 10:10 in the morning. Our trip was quickly winding down.