A Special Visit to Lake Toba

On our last Saturday in Indonesia we were invited by Dr. Thomas Bergholz for a trip to Lake Toba. We understood we were going in the company of the seminary students, but of course we were mistaken. A common event for us! The students were making their own recreation on Saturday, and we went to Toba with the English language instructors. We enjoyed the trip greatly and thank Thomas and his wife Regina for the wonderful invitation. I apologize for spelling names wrong in this post, and likely for getting some names totally wrong. 

This is the point of the journey: the waterfall which nobody knows the name!

The water part of the journey started here at the Parapat market and wharf. The area was quite jammed, since Saturday is market day and there are many vendors to pass on the way to the wharf.

Here's a view of some of the fruit choices.

There were many fruits and vegetables, all looking perfectly fresh and delicious.

This is Dr. Regina and Thomas Bergholz, the hostess and host for our excursion. They have lived here for four years and come from Germany. Thomas is a professor at the seminary while Regina teaches at Nommensen.  

The Bergholz's have two young boys and both came along for the adventure, along with the nanny. This image reminds us of a famous picture of our oldest son Stephen while on the ferry to Fort Sumpter.

Jacob enjoyed his perch on the back of the boat and was often joined by the wandering Noah, the eldest of the Bergholz boys.

We had the boat all to ourselves. This is Regina and Margarit (passing through on an Asian adventure, from Germany) relaxing on the top deck.

After traveling south for over an hour we arrived at the waterfall. There was nobody else in sight. The boat tied up to a tree and it was time for swimming. The water was a bit cold but refreshing.

Several young men were paddling back and forth (from their village?) to check on a fish trap near the waterfall.

Nancy and Jacob led the way swimming toward the waterfall. The current in the lake was strong - away from the waterfall. The fish trap can been seen in the upper right.

That dark spot in the middle of the waterfall splashing is Jacob.

After more than an hour of peace, quiet and tranquility, we heard music and a luxury tourist boat pulled in next to us. The boat was full of Dutch tourists who were served by uniformed waitresses and filled their plates from the silver chafing dishes. 

Also on board the luxury tourist boat (not ours!) was a Batak band featuring the Batak version of the marimba, drums, and several guitars. The musical selection: first was Brown Eyed Girl, then Hotel California, and finally House of the Rising Sun. It was a 60s/70s time warp. They must have played all their favorite Batak songs earlier in the journey.

Next to arrive was a small speedboat. These zip around the lake thrilling their tourist passengers. This one specialized in pulling directly into the waterfall. The driver was experienced at the trick, as he pulled in just far enough to terrify the passengers, but not so far as to swamp the boat.

I don't think the passengers had planned on getting soaked!

On the way home Regina took a nap on the front of the boat.

Here is Detlef (German friend of Thomas) enjoying a cool Bintang and regaling Nancy with stories.

This is Detlef, Marlene (one of our Australian teaching friends) and Margarit.

The lake was very quiet with few boats passing by. Much different from the tourist scene between Parapat and Tuktuk.

On the way home the Bergholz boys enjoyed a quiet game.

Jacob provided musical background with his recorder.

A white spired church is perched above Lake Toba as the center of a small village.