A fabulous trip this weekend, riding Rufus to the seaside east of Yogya. This involves lots of steep climbs and descents, but our gallant little red bike took them all in his stride.

The unexpected bonus of this journey was discovering the land of the stone terraces. There are hundreds of these agricultural constructions, painstakingly created -- presumably over the course of centuries -- from the dark, pitted rock that forms the area's geological base. Often they form semi-circular arenas that look for all the world like amphitheatres. In places, the rock has obviously proved too obdurate, and bizarrely twisted pillars remain sticking up amid the dark red earth and neat stone walls of the terraces.

The joy of beaches, of course, is that every one is different. Baron has its lagoon, and its fishing boats, and its seaside paraphernalia. Kukup has fantastic views east along the coast of Java. Sepanjang is a great place for sunrise. And Krakal boasts a long, long stretch of sand.

No beach trip would be complete without some seafood, and we lunched off snapper (kakap) and red rice, served with a very perky sambal.

On the way back to Yogya, we called in at Gua Maria Tritis. Unexpectedly for us, the third of nine monthly masses was taking place, and we joined the congregation for a little while. Massively atmospheric. The cave is huge. Vines hang gracefully from the roof. The front drips with stalactites that look uncannily like the pendulous decorations of medieval European cathedrals. And the beautiful liturgy -- kemuliaan kepada Allah di surga dan damai di bumi kepada orang yang berkenan kepada-Nya... -- was conducted against the background of birdsong and the "uh-oh" of the big loud gecko and the fluttering of butterflies.

A good-for-body-and-soul kind of weekend. Loved it.