I had originally intended to just pass through Makassar on the way out of the country but, as so organically happens sometimes, a friend of a friend that we met changed my mind.

J’ona, the swedish girl who Greg and I traveled with through Togean and Tana Toraja, had Surfed in Makassar on her way into Sulawesi.  As the three of us were passing through the city for Greg to catch his flight and me to head further South to Bau Bau and beyond, J’ona introduced us to her host: Fitry.

The first day, as I was only in Makassar for something like 8 hours, we basically just sampled local food and hung out at an “English Corner” at the Dutch relic Fort Rotterdam.

We had fun, though, and as I left Greg was headed to Fitry’s to surf for two nights before he flew out to China.

On my way back, then, it was obvious that I would do the same!  Not only did Fitry and her family live in a cool little neighborhood outside the bustle of Makassar, but I also got invited to a ‘cousin’s’ wedding the second night I was there.

Coolest for sure, though, was meeting Grandpa.

Fitry’s ?130? year old grandfather was alive waaaay back in the day when the Dutch controlled Sulawesi.  He told a couple of stories, mainly at my prodding, and the one that sticks out the most to me now is that when he made the Hajj, it took three months on a boat to get to Mecca.  THREE.  MONTHS.

So, Makassar was another cool Couchsurfing experience and definitely a different city than what I would have seen out of it had I been there alone just waiting on a flight.