my suitcase heart

a rare group photo! ;)

We said goodbye to my family in the busy, crowded Bali airport and flew to the island of Sumatra to meet our friend Kevin again. We spent one horrible night in Medan and then drove out to the jungle. Our destination was Bukit Lawang - home of orangutans! 

After driving a few hours, our driver stopped in front of a little shop and told us that was as far as he could drive us. He pointed down a path along the river and explained our guesthouse was a ways down. So we dragged/carried our luggage down the long river path. We were hot, sweaty and tired but it was certainly worth it. Kupu-Kupu Garden was a really lovely, quiet spot, although its lack of electricity was something to get used to. The morning we left, we had to pack up outside since it was pitch dark in our room!

Anyways, our first afternoon there, we headed further down the river path and found a perfect swimming spot. It had been well over a year since we had swam in non-salt-water so it felt like quite the treat. Us Canadians are used to cold lakes and rivers so we all found it surprisingly warm for a river. Mike and Kevin spent a long time fighting the current, playing with rocks, and jumping off the rocks, monkeys by their sides. 

I'll never forget the moment when I turned and saw Mike getting carried away briefly by the current, struggling to keep our camera above the water. Oh man, that almost gave me a heart attack. Glad we didn't lose our baby! :)