Kendari is the last large town on our way to the massif. It's time for us to get the last supplies into our already heavy loads.

Looking for machetes, dry fruits, bowls and other jerrycans, stoves, power generator, in a word everything we were hoping to find here, fills up our days. Gladly, Yusni, Nina and Nida take care of us since we arrived. These three young women are bringing us everywhere in town and are moving mountains so that each issue finds a solution. A blessing !

Nina, a member of the Korpala Unhas outdoor club of the Universitas Hasanuddin university of Macassar, along with two friends, answered a call from Andi Mulatauwe, a contact of Evrard on this project, and also contact of nearly all the explorers (speleologists and scientists) of Indonesian karsts for a few years already. Passionate of speleology and canyoning, only a wedding had prevented him from joining the expedition.

Aware that the three women guiding us will not be able to join us in the field, Andi contacted two other young Indonesians, Ade and Ambhu. They arrived this morning from Macassar.

They have been informed in advance about our expedition, and had enough time to do a little reconnaissance near the Matarombeo last week to let people know about our arrival, which will make things much easier. Contact is very good with them, as with anyone we have met so far since we arrived. No one is short of smiles here.

We are ready to welcome the second wave of the team tomorrow morning. Is this addition of two scientists (Tanguy Daufresne and Aurélien Bour) and three members of the filming crew (Pierre and Philippe Lemarchand, and Yanick Gentil) more likely to increase the volume of our discussions or the ponderousness of our jokes ? Probably both.

Anyway, for the moment, spirits and moods are high, along with motivation.
More tomorrow!