• Breakfast on our elevated balcony, with dozens of songbirds feeding in the treetops beside us, makes a memorable start to another wonderful day.

• Right after breakfast we board our charter boat for a full day of exploring Samosir Island. We start with a site where the Batak Toba king held high court in a circle of stone chairs set in a courtyard under a huge banyan tree. Here criminals found guilty were killed and consumed by the court and those in attendance.

• Our next stop is another ancient site, where local Batak villagers symbolically reinact a water buffalo sacrifice ceremony to the accompaniment of an orchestra playing from the balcony of a traditional Batak uma (house). Nearby, we’ll visit the village school that always welcomes us with great enthusiasm.

• By mid day we reach the furthest point of our voyage – a spectacular volcano where geothermal waters issue forth from a great chasm in the mountainside. This is a great place to see the potential of geothermal power, and the perfect place for lunch in a nearby restaurant and a soothing soak in these sublime healing waters.

• Batak musicians will serenade us back to our lodge as we complete our voyage, stopping occasionally to plunge from the upper deck into the lake for a swim and watching the unfolding drama of another Lake Toba sunset.

• A great beach barbeque and closing celebration will mark our final night together back at our little lakeside resort.

Overnight: Carolina Cottage