Not much to report. Today we started on the way back to Balikpapan, but it is a long way and I have decided to break it in two stages. On the way down from Tanah Grogot to Banjarmasin I complained that it had been hard driving, with many potholes, slow trucks, and very narrow roads through the towns. We had the option of going back the same way, or the longer route along the coast. I ignored the dictum that "Más vale malo por conocido que bueno por conocer" and decided to go back the coastal route. It was a very good decision, with a much better road and very few potholes, but still with a lot of trucks and scooters (but the trucks move at a better speed because they are not grinding up the steep slopes).
Mostly we drove and drove, with occasional glimpses of the ocean and plenty of luxuriant vegetation. The one worthwhile stop was when we spied a coal mine across the screen of trees. We stopped and fought our way through the trees to stare in awe at a very large area that had been stripped of 10 to 20 meters of cross bedded sandstones to expose a coal bed that was a good 10 meters thick. It is just exposed, and besides a few gigantic shovel cranes that at the distance looked like Tonka Toys, we saw no hauling trucks. It is almost as if the whole area is ready to be mined and is only waiting for the starting signal.
I am not sure if I already mentioned this, but to move the coal they rely on these enormous trucks, as big as a two-stories house, which are of course not suited for the flimsy Indonesian roads. So the mining operation includes the construction of hauling roads, which are much wider than regular roads, and run straight to the river port, where the coal will be loaded into barges. The regular road crosses over these hauling roads using big bridges that allow for the passage of the loaded coal trucks.
We are spending the night in Batucilin (6 hours drive from Banjarmasin), and tomorrow will drive another 9 hours to get Balikpapan. It is going to be a long day!
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