09 Crossing the rickety bridge...

The natural beauty of Sumatra is absolutely breathtaking! 

Riding around on the scooter, holding on to Vicus, and enjoying the beauty is so much fun.

We went for a walk on one of the rice paddies. To see the fields across the road is beautiful, but walking amongst them and seeing them up close is stunning. The one that we visited, you have to cross a rickety bridge to get to it.

Some of the locals drive over the bridge with their scooters… I told Vicus that there’s no way we’re driving over that thing and that I’d rather walk!

It was pretty scary, but luckily, a mother and child walked in front of me, and I just kept telling myself: “If this mother is walking over this bridge and trusting it with her child on it, then I’m fine.”

And I’m so glad I did it! The scenery was stunning, and after we walked across the fields, we walked into a bit of the jungle.

It was so densely grown with trees that the humid air was overwhelming! They cut holes into the trees to get to the tree's gum/resin, which is used for many things, including perfumes, food production, and much more.

To say it’s a hole is probably the wrong description - it looks like steps going up along the tree stump. Standing a little further away and looking up at the trees, it looked like a beautiful canvas with patterns and details that a skilled artist could only have made.

I was glad I didn’t let my scaredy-cat tendencies inhibit me from crossing that bridge, missing out on that beauty.

You might be standing in front of a “bridge” right now,

not knowing whether or not you should take that first wobbly step on it. Some bridges aren’t meant to be crossed - too unstable and dangerous to carry you. Some might look scary, but the reward on the other side is so worth it. May you find the wisdom and clarity to know which one you are facing.