Yogya to Pacitan

WARNING!

The first bit of the trip, through and out of Yogya, was pretty crowded and was not very much fun. A small distance out of Yogya the road led up a ridge which would have been a great drive if there weren’t so many buses around. Still, it was nice to ride because there were great corners and nice views. The heavy traffic held on for another ten kilometers after we passed the ridge, until we got to Wonosari.

Wonosari was the destination for all the buses and trucks and after Wonosari the road was deserted. The next twenty kilometers led us through small villages, but there was nothing really to see and overall it was a pretty average drive.

In Baran we turned off onto the road towards Wonogiri for about 5 km, and from here on the drive was absolutely great. The whole way from Pracimantoro, where we turned off onto the road to Pacitan, to Punung consisted of tiny hills only about 75 meters high but incredibly steep. There were no houses or villages here, just barren, dry sandstone hills.

After Punung the final 20 km led over another small ridge that was really nice because we were driving through beautiful forest and this time there was no traffic. The road led out onto a small promontory before coming back in towards the bay, and from there you had a great view of the bay and Pacitan itself.

It took us another 20 minutes to find a hotel here, but finally we got a room in a small beachside hotel. We had to get a member of the hotel staff to change the 5 watt light bulb in our room for a30 watt bulb so that we could read, but otherwise it was quite all right.

Swimming is very dangerous all along the southern coast of Java, due to strong undercurrents. Ask the lokal people to find out the few safe spots, or wait, until you are in Bali.