CULTURE UPON CULTURE
With my head in the clouds! And I thought that this platform was what we came to see! How wrong was I!?
Heavens above. Fields below! All great adventures begin over coffee. In the 1500's the Spanish exploited Sulawesi's fertile soil and established their coffee plantations here. With such a long history in cultivating coffee, Sulawesi coffee is very good. So I hatched out my basic idea of what I needed to see, to Anastasia. Moments later, we departed town through the small lanes that link the city to the hinterland. Forty minutes later, we were driving through lush vegetable fields up in the cool of the highlands. We alighted on a hill at some old wooden platform that overlooks Tomohon district. Awesome, I thought! Tomohon Town, its lake and neat fields were being momentarily blotted out as the clouds zoomed around us. I have not had such a view since I was a small boy growing up in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea! My childhood daydream was soon interrupted as Anastasia suggested we could gain a better view by ascending some steps that lead to a higher peak. The step climb wasn't too hard but necessitated a small break half way up to catch my breath - city boy! At 1580 metres high it is just that little bit thinner on oxygen. Slight, but noticeable. Continuing on a short distance, the forest trees that flanked the path, gave way to blade grass. I took a final step forward and looked up! Right there before me was a great hole in the planet! Never in my wildest imagination did I think this would unfold in such an easy manner but here I was right on the precipice - the rim of Mahawu, a volcano with a view over greater Manado. Now where in the world, can you go from airport to volcano in about an hour!
The moss protects the ascent to Mahawu, only the sure-footed will gain entry! An astonishing view awaits but you must pass the Minahasan Warrior and that is your second challenge.
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