Carstenz Pyramid - Halted!
Hey Everyone!Well, I got all the way to Jarkarta, Indonesia. I met my contact (a wonderful young lady) at the airport. She introduced herself, and the next thing she said was, "I'm so sorry, but there has been a one day delay." No worries, I thought. That's why we built in extra days in the schedule. However, by the time we got from the airport to the hotel, things had changed a bit. The situation developing in Irian Jaya had gone from bad to worse. That night, my climbing partner, Dirk, and I visited a national monument, and learned a bit about the history of Indonesia. We came back, had dinner, and then I went to bed! Whew! I hadn't slept in two days!
The next day, Dirk and I met for breakfast, and then he showed me the mall. It turns out that Jakarta is noted for its shopping, restaurants and clubs. We had fun checking out the supermarket and the various stalls of clothes and other various items. When we came back, I needed a nap, as I had a short sleep the night before. However, before I could catch a few winks, I had to sort out a minor logistical problem (there is a gross story about the bed, but I won't get into that here!), and then I was sleeping. Later that afternoon, I got a call from Dirk, he had received news from out contact in Irian Jaya - things are definitely not looking good for the expedition. Dirk and I swung into action not long after that call, and started to see how we could - in my case, get back to Canada; and in Dirk's case, how he could get to Australia!
We found that we had options avaiable to us, and although we were supposed to wait until the next morning, at 2130hrs, we called our Irian Jaya contact and requested confirmation as to whether the expeidtion was a go or no-go. It was confirmed as a no-go. I tried to change my ticket that night, so I could leave the next day. And Dirk worked throughout the next few hours to get a flight to Australia!
In the morning, I found out that Dirk had managed to get a flight to Australia, and he would leave that night. I would make my way to the airline office, first thing, and change my ticket so I could leave the next day.
And then, the next day, I was off! After two days in Jakarta, I was on my way back to Canada! I bought a couple of gifts for my sister and her fiance. I tell you - these are the most expensive Christmas gifts I've ever bought!!
In case you're wondering why I was trying to get back to Canada so quick. It was so that I could come back, reclaim the vacation days I did not use, and hopefully return in a couple of months to make another attempt.
And there you have my expedition to Carstenz Pyramid - not all that exciting, but from a logistical point of view, we were kept very busy!
I look forward to returning in a couple of months! We'll see if things settle down enough, so that it becomes safe to attempt to climb Carstenz Pyramid.
For now, I'll be working on my running, as I get prepared for the Marathon des Sables.
All the best,
Meagan
posted by Meg McGrath - Adventurer @ 3:28 PM
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