4 days in Kota agung, Sumatra

Every once in a while I come across a special place that I absolutely love and Kota agung will definitely go down as one of those places. 3 days into a serious journey across Sumatra (an enormous island the size of California) I stumbled into a small internet shop to check out my location on a map (my wonderful atlas flew off of my bike earlier in the day), and the shop was collectively owned by Aip, a teacher at a local college, and a bunch of students. They are such great folk and I had a hunch after Aip suggested that we all go camp out on the beach the first night that time in Kota agung would be time well spent.
The highlight of my time there was when a bunch of us spent 2 days hiking up an unpopulated mountain, through thick jungle and rapids, and camping near the base of a 300 foot waterfall, (300 feet!!!!! and definitely not in anybody's guidebook!) It was soooooo unbelievable and when we arrived the first evening I couldn't wait for morning so I went to the base of the fall alone as the sun set and I swam naked for a while!! The water is so clean you can drink it straight away and for that hour or so, alone in a misty lagoon surrounded on 3 sides by giant cliffs, huge moss-covered rocks, clean fresh air, raging waterfalls, and beautiful jungle, I was as happy as I'll ever be. Only nature can produce tear-provoking beauty like this. Life is meant to be lived and for that moment, I was surely living...