After only a few hours sleep we decided to hit the road at the crack of dawn. We were heading for the lively town of Calang. Calang was the second worst hit by the Tsunami as it lost all infrastructure and over 80% of its 200,000 population. The sun today was as hot as ever. With the humidity away for the day it clears the sky’s of haze and allows for the sunshine to come through – this as a result equals extreme heat. We only had to travel 30km today but we made about 7 stops in just 4 hours as to escape to the shade of a parked truck, nearby tree or shop front.
After finding the one and only hotel in town we checked in and were lucky enough to get an A/C (air-conditioned) room. A fresh water bucket wash and rinse down was just what the doctor ordered. We spent most of the rest of the day in the room relaxing and recovering from our 150km journey the previous 3 days had seen us tackle. We had a big talk and got out some of the issues these first few days had created. It was decided that although miserable, we wanted to surf and rest our weary legs. We would now catch a minivan to Meulaboh, some 2 hrs away. From there we were to catch a ferry to the island of Simelue where there is rumored to be excellent surf and sea breezes. Thank you Lonely Planet guide.