the next day i met up with dorit and timor at a friends home close to the zoo. after a phone call a meeting with the people at the orangutan refuge was arranged. dorit and abi from the bike to work organization playing with one of the orangutan ladies.
then we met ulrike freifrau von mengden, better known as ibu ulla in indonesia, 88 years of age and quite a character. known for her commitment for the orangutans of indonesia, she is living on this small island within the zoo, a private house in the middle of the her beloved orangutans. talking to her was like a journey through history. people she knew personally which i just heard of through history books. the struggle to get the zoo to its current location, the political change over the decades not always for the better and the steady fight for sufficient funding. i feel really lucky to got a chance to talk to her and be able to get up close with those magnificent animals which makes one wonder with their expressions and behaviour so similar to those from humans.
since we were already there, we visited some other animals and saved the trip to komodo.
we went back to the house from mathis and had a lovely dinner. pasta with veg tomato sauce, some mangos we bought on our way back from the zoo and once again martabak. the evening went on with my first vine since months until i was in no condition to hop on the cycle. i was invited to sleep there and spent the next day there as well. timor fell ill the next day and so i explored the surroundings with dorit. as we said goodbye, it was agreed not for long, as we want to meet up further east again. when i finally arrived back at b2w i only had 5 minutes to get ready for the friday night bike ride.