Name day in Tomohon

It was my name day. Do you know what it is? It’s a day on which you celebrate your name. In Poland there’s a big tradition of celebrating the name day. Mine is on April, 30. I was in Tomohon. The previous day ended with a nice dinner and a beer with some Finnish travelers. 

I got up at 5 am and with the sunrise I was on my way. To Gunung Lokon – a small, but very active volcano. I didn’t make it to the top, the volcano was at time really active and closed for visitors, but still I went for a long hike to a view point nearby the top (maybe another hour to the summit). The view was still great. The sun, the volcanoes, the lush green hills. I was simply happy. It was one of those ‘perfect moments’ I write about now and then. I chase them around the world. And sometimes when I’m lucky I end up finding them. 

I met once this guy who traveled around the world and when I asked him what he was looking for, he said Well, love. When I fall in love with a country or a girl I'll stay. And what am I looking for? The perfect moments. I think I’ve already explained what is a perfect moment - it’s the conjunction of time and space where you are alone (even in a crowd) and find yourself truly, purely happy. 

Anyways, I got back to my hostel just in time for breakfast. And then I went for a walk and drove on a mikrolet (a small local bus) to the Tomohon market which is… well… macabre. A slaughter house. With pig-heads, bats with chopped off wings, rats on sticks, peeled and smoked dogs (!), a sliced anaconda and also regular meat – pork, beef, chicken, fish. The smell, the flies, the blood, the meat. It was gross.

Also, turned out  that you couldn’t really try the food there, it was only raw, smoked or prepared for cooking (but still raw). So I didn’t find my rat nor a bat for lunch. Funny though, when I tried to explain at a local restaurant that I wanted to eat a bat, I tried to show it with gestures, explain – nothing, then I draw a picture and the owner said “Ah! Batman!” :D But they didn’t have bats on menu. Well, take it as it comes. 

On my way back I met a lot of people who wanted to talk to me, asked me where I was from and when I replied, I heard a lot of times “Lewandowski!” – yes, I think Robert Lewandowski is one of the best Ambassadors of Poland in the world.

For dinner I met up with the French girl I met in Manado and had a nice evening, talking over a beer about criminal law, human rights and tortures (she has just graduated in law). Interesting. And for the following day I plan to venture into the Tangkoko Nature Reserve. By local transportation. We’ll see how it goes.