We had a relatively quiet day, although the way from the mountain town of Padang Panjang ("the Long Sword"), where the BMKG seismological station is located, to the nearby port city of Padang ("The Sword") took a long time on account of the narrow winding road and heavy traffic.
Noteworthy of mention were a delicious early breakfast of ox-tail soup, and a visit to Lake Singkarak, which occupies another pull-apart basin formed by a step-to-the-right between two segments of the West Sumatra fault. It is a large mountainous lake, where one of the main fishing products are small fish, maybe the size of my pinky, caught in prodigious amounts. They are sold slightly sun dried and salty, or smoked, and reminded me very much of the boquerones we fish in the lakes of Patzcuaro and Chapala, in central Mexico. I felt tempted to buy a 10-kilo bag to bring home with me. I know DJ would very much appreciate them as snacks while watching soccer on the TV.
The big event, for me, was giving a talk at the seismological station about Earthquake Geology, highlighting similarities between the San Andreas and the West Sumatra faults. It went alright, nobody fell asleep, and I even had some interesting questions. Not surprisingly, the language barrier was a significant challenge. I will give this talk two more times, at the BMKG institute in Jakarta on August 7, and at Yogyakarta University on August 9, so I felt it was good practice.
The young staff at the BMKG seismological station are very pleasant and knowledgeable, and we very much enjoyed going out to lunch together at the best Sate restaurant in town. Sate consists of small skewers of grilled meat, and an accompanying yellow cumin sauce to dip them in, together with stewed cassava and fried beef skins (like chicharrones but not from pork). Thanks again to the Chief of Station, Dr. Sauidi, for managing such a well integrated and happy group!
"And how was the trip from Padang Panjang to Padang, Horacio?" Well, I really don't know because I fell asleep. I only know that four hours later we were still on the road. The narrow road and pretty intense traffic of scooters and big trucks made for a slow going. But eventually we made it to Padang, the capital of the state of West Java, and the most populous city within it, where we stopped for a leg stretch at the campus of Andalas University, which has a huge campus and vast stretches of undeveloped Sumatran forest at its rear half, abutting directly on the mountains. The large mountain stream here is a favorite place for students to relax and hang out, and in the late afternoon gives you the rare pleasure of seeing giant bats leaving their roosting places in the mountain to go scavenge for blood in the lowlands (just kidding; these "flying foxes" are strictly fruit eaters).
Tomorrow we will be flying to Siberut Island.
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