I'll bet you thought you were done with reading blog posts from us for a few days didn't you?! LOL....well....we thought so too until tonight!
After a VERY quiet day where the biggest decision was whether or not it was time to go back into the pool and the activities ranged from count how many coconuts you can see when you're in the water to float on your back and see what shapes the clouds are creating we decided to go out for dinner. This time we went into the tourist part of Lovina which is right off the public square at the dolphin statue and for the most part is just one little street that runs perpendicular to the beach.
We'd only been on that street for a minute when we were dragged into a shop where they had mama sizes (I think that is the nice way to say 'big' in Bali). In no time Lynda had her pants off (again) and they were fitting her into a traditional Balinese skirt and top. Honestly, it looked great! You wouldn't think the colours and patterns would work together but they do and these Balinese have a real eye for what should go together and what colour people should wear etc.
I'll just leave it to say that purchases were made and we were on our way again in search of dinner. Eventually we found dinner at the Sea Breeze Hotel right on the beach and it was another fantastic meal. On top of that they had an acoustic trio that spent the night entertaining us.
We'd made arrangements with Ketut to pick us up and so getting a ride home was no problem. Once here though....the FUN began!
Perhaps I should start by saying that the wash bucket that Lynda found a massive bug under when she picked it up the other morning will come into play in this story too.
I went into Lynda's room to collect my iPad from the power source that is there. While I was bending down to unplug my power cord I noticed a slight movement in my peripheral vision. There was a frog in Lynda's room! Damn, I'm glad it's not in mine! Alas...I cannot not tell her soooo...when she returned from the bathroom I disclosed the truth. She had company and he was likely just a prince in disguise but neither of us wanted to kiss him so....a plan was discussed. This is where the bucket comes in!
That little frog was behind Lynda's wardrobe (which is too huge to move) and when she looked for him back there she also noticed a MASSIVE spider. Since I am practically spider woman since the other night I grabbed my trusty flip flops (one for me and one for her) and we went in armed to kill. I have learned (through trial and error) that the throwing action is a science. It is a combination of wrist and elbow action as well as thumb placement. Lynda positioned herself strategically on the other side of the wardrobe (in case I missed - which was highly unlikely) and I took aim. I let that flip flop fly and with a single strike that spider was done for. He barely had time to twitch! Honestly I kind of surprised myself! For those of you who have been following along regularly with this blog you will recall the proficiency we've developed for balance beam competition. We have now decided that the olympic committee should consider an added feature of flip flop throwing while on balance beam with an expectation that the targets will be alive and moving. Hmmmm....wasn't it the Romans who started this whole olympic stuff and didn't they also kill live things in arenas? Well....this is a much more highly evolved killing sport. LOL (Yep...cabin fever has set in here)
To cut to the end of the story...the spider is dead and Lynda still has a flip flop in hand. Unfortunately she skipped the lesson in how to throw and her feeble attempt to scare that little frog out from behind the wardrobe was pathetic to say the least! It was a clear indication that she will never make the Olympic trials...I'm gonna have to go this one alone! I was finally able to retrieve my feebly thrown flip flop and then further able to scare that little frog just enough to send him out in Lynda's direction where she had only to drop the bucket on the little guy. Guess what...she skipped that class too! Yes, she missed the damn frog! Now the frog is along the wall at the head of her bed. Had I not told her that he would likely just croak all night we might have been able to leave him there but alas....I had slipped up and planted the seed so she wanted him gone.
Somehow that frog managed to hide under her floor lamp still at the head of her bed (which is king size by the way). I was able to maneuver the lamp, drop the bucket, and capture the prince. The problem now was that the bucket wouldn't fit between the bed post and the wall. Oh No! Perhaps he won't be able to croak under the bucket I said. LOL. Lynda laughed....no way she wanted him at the head of her bed all night bucket or no bucket. In fact, she threatened that she would wake me up in the middle of the night to finish the job if he so much as made a tiny peep let along a full throaty croak. So...I finished the job.
I squished that bucket till it would fit. My dad taught me that if it doesn't work or fit just push harder. LOL. Honestly, they tell us that doesn't work but this time it did and now the bucket was free to be moved. How to move a frog under a bucket along a king sized bed, across a huge room, down a hallway, out a door, across a patio, and to some kind of safety in the gardens around here. I bent over and pushed and sweated because it is about 1000 degrees in here tonight as the fans haven't been going. My full belly is not happy about my bent over position and the warm fuzzy feeling from being serenaded at the beachfront is fast disappearing. But....I persevered and other than Lynda taking a very brief turn (she's not very good at this either) the bucket was finally at the edge of the patio and ready for release.
Lynda got her flashlight so we could make sure we hadn't lost the little bugger somewhere en route. Sure enough there he was....just sitting and looking a little stunned. I would be too if some big bucket got dropped over me and then I got pushed/rolled/maneuvered/squished/etc all that way. In the end that little frog was just fine and once he had untangled himself from his adventure off he hopped into the garden beside the patio.
Whew! Finished and time for bed but no....not so easy.....there is that damn squeaky toy gecko making a HUGE racket and sounding like he is somewhere lower than the roof. Every time Lynda gets close enough to try to see where he is he stops squawking and becomes invisible again. Oh well....life in the jungle....who said it would be easy?!
Till next time,
L & L
Monday, December 26, 2016
Sunday, December 25, 2016
December 25, 2016
Merry Christmas! For us it is nearing the end of the day and for many of you who are reading this it is almost time for you to wake up to see what Santa brought while you were sleeping.
Last night when we arrived home from a full day of touring to the east/southeast, we discovered that a tropical style Christmas tree (complete with decorations) had materialized on our patio. It was such a sweet surprise and made even sweeter by the fact that it had been placed there and lovingly decorated by people who don't celebrate Christmas as part of their culture or faith. However, there is a deep respect for others here and that came through loud and clear with the Xmas tree and then this morning to be intentionally greeted with a handshake and a "Merry Christmas" from everyone who lives and works here on our property. And it wasn't because they were doing it as part of their work....it was because they wanted to. As Birgit (our host who is originally from Germany and who has introduced the concept of Christmas to her extended family here) explained to us....the Balinese look forward to anything that can be celebrated and so even though they don't have Christmas they are happy that others do and excited to be able to join in the songs and any festivities that may be present.
As much as the past 3 weeks here at this beautiful oasis has been our Christmas gift to ourselves we had another unexpected gift present itself to us this morning. I'm not sure if I've mentioned previously or not but there are orchids growing everywhere here. They are in fact, parasites so they attach themselves to trees and plants and pretty much wherever they want to. Anyway.....this morning Lynda said, "What that there yesterday?" As she pointed to the most beautiful orchid that was hanging right over our pool side deck chairs. "No, it wasn't!" What a gorgeous Christmas surprise it was for us to enjoy as we lay in our deck chairs for the rest of our time here in Lovina! The leaves of the plant had been there previously but honestly....there wasn't even a bud showing on Friday when we were last in the pool. We were away all day yesterday so it might have started to show itself then but we didn't get home till dark and so...for us it was like a little Christmas miracle! Again....lucky us!
To recap a little of our adventures yesterday for you I will begin by saying that we had a great day with our driver Ketut. We started out at the central market in Sangaraja which is the main city in the north of Bali. In fact, Sangaraja used to be the capital city of Bali and is where the airport and all the government headquarters were located. It is also where the Dutch originally came to Bali to colonize it a very very long time ago. For many years during colonization the Dutch military base was located on the shores of the Java Sea right at the centre of Sangaraja. It is also where the Chinese first came to Bali. So, as you can see....this bustling little city (that is only about 20 minutes from us in Lovina) plays an important role in Bali's history. About 50 years ago things changed and the airport was moved to Denpasar where there was more flat land, some time before that the Balinese took back control from Holland, and culturally everyone began to live in harmony which continues as a norm today.
The Central Market in Sangaraja was a bustling enterprise. It is huge....not sure just how bit but a couple of city blocks square for sure. It runs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and you can buy anything from clothing to fruit and veg or from meat to a new pair of shoes! There were people selling refurbished cell phones and other guys making knives to sell. There were bins and bags filled with spices of all kinds and baskets filled with the little purple onions that we call shallots and that are the only onions we've seen since arriving here. There were massive jackfruit and dragon fruit and snake fruit and limes and oranges and red delicious apples that had been imported from the USA! There were vendors with their little offering baskets for sale and others with the materials to make your own. There were women selling sarongs and others who had the cutest little kids traditional Balinese outfits you've ever seen! There were about a billion flip flop shoes for sale and ....well you get the picture.....it was a little bit of everything and everybody - and their brother - was there! It was also HOT on the inside walkways of the market. The ones on the outside perimeter were hot too but at least more air was moving there so maybe the outside (as long as you were out of the sun) wasn't quite as muggy. But I will say here that once again my sweat was sweating and so as much as we're loving it here....it is not all a bed of roses people. Hot is Hot and Humid is Hotter and there are moments during the day when I think about how nice it might be to just see one shovel full of snow....but I only think that for a second and then I give my head a shake and the thought is gone just as quickly as it came! :-)
After leaving the market we made our way to the Arab Spice shop. There is a section of Sangaraja where people from Saudi have called home for many years and there is one shop in that section that is renowned for it's quality spices. It wasn't as big as I thought it might be but boy oh boy....when we walked into that space the aromas were indescribable! It wasn't any one thing...it was the combination of them all that made the fragrance so magical. We stayed there long enough to buy a little bag of locally grown pepper . (white is grown here on Bali and there is black that comes from Java)
From the spice shop we were ready for lunch and so asked Ketut to take us to his favourite lunch spot and were glad we did! We enjoyed a lunch of nasi goreng (pork) with freshly made prawn chips. In fact, as we approached the warung we noticed a basket of thinly sliced something that looked like rectangular crackers sitting in the sun by the front door. Ketut said that it was prawn crackers drying in the sun so they will puff up bigger when they're popped into the hot oil. And I have to say....that was an enormous and a delicious prawn cracker that came with my lunch!
After lunch we headed off to another village called Jingaraja where we were in search of a specific temple that is known for the positive energy that it exudes. It was a fantastic stop! In addition to it being a super zen spot there was an old man (also named Ketut) who lives/works/volunteers there and not only was his english good enough to be able to give us an overwhelming amount of historic info about the place. He was also the spitting image of the Ketut that many of you will be familiar with from the movie Eat Pray Love. Even his teeth were the same and his voice and his accent and his laugh and his facial expressions and his sense of humour. We left wondering if in fact it was the same guy but once we got home and googled photos of the Ketut who was in the movie we could see there were little differences that left us with the knowledge that it was in fact a different Ketut. He was however our wise Ketut and one thing that he pointed out at the temple that resonated for both Lynda and I was that when standing in the inner section looking out through a doorway at the main gate/door into the temple you can see that the main door is offset.....not in the centre of the picture. The reason for this is that nothing in life is perfect and this is a reminder or representation of that fact. Honestly this temple stop was sooo interesting and really felt like a gift!
Next stop was at a gong factory. Now when we saw that there was a gong factory and told Ketut that we wanted to go there we had no idea what we were going to see. All we knew was that neither of us had ever been to a gong factory and we also knew that this village (Jingaraja area) was famous all over Bali for their gongs. These guys were the true artisans of gong making! We were some surprised when we stopped by a very unassuming little "house" with a sign out front and then even more surprised when we walked around the side of the house and onto a skinny little dirt path heading to the back of the property beside the adjacent field. Around the back of the property there was a low roofed little shop where there were 5 men hard at work. There was a fire going in a brick "oven" and all the men were suitably attired in shorts and flip flops as their safety gear. LOL. Safety gear does not exist here! You know I said it was HOT in the market? Well...that was nothing compared to this! Imagine having a roaring fire that you're stoking with more coal and melting pots of bronze in a little low roofed building....got the image? Yep....that little room was HOTTER than HOT! I moved from my sweat sweating to something so far beyond that that I'm not even sure what it was! On the upside....this stop was awesome! It takes the men about 6 months to make one set of cymbals, two brass drums, and one xylophone type instrument. That set sells for at least $1,200 but when you consider that it took 5 guys about 6 months to make it...that isn't very much! One of the men played two different xylophones for us and the sound was beautiful! Each Xylophone is meant for different type of events. One might be for temple or another for the entertainers that we will see tonight and one of the ones that we saw/heard yesterday was for the ceremony that goes along with cremation. That one was my favourite. The sound was so gentle and actually kind of uplifting which is a good thing because the intention is that the sound will help the spirit be uplifted to the heavens.
All in all, it was another great day and having it all topped off by finding a Christmas tree on our patio just made it all the more special. I will sign off for now as our driver should be here soon and I will bring you up to speed when we return from our dinner/entertainment tonight.
Just in from a fantastic Christmas dinner at Warung Bamboo Restaurant in Lovina. Birgit (our host here at Saraswati Holiday House) had recommended we try the ristable (at least I think that is how it is spelled). If we understand correctly the name is actually based in Dutch origins and then maybe switched up a bit to match Balinese language but in the end....it is a selection of several small portions (9 different dishes) served on a raised platform (like a table on your table) as well as white and yellow rice, 2 types of satay (chicken and fish) served on a flaming 'finish cooking it yourself' apparatus that also sits on your table, and a salad of green beans and coconut (among other delicious bits). Bottom line there was plenty of food and it was all delicious. It was one of those authentically authentic meals where every dish has its own unique flavours and all of them together create a party in your mouth. Just enough spice, just enough sweet, and just enough salt to satisfy all parts of the tongue and the belly! Before dinner both Lynda and I also had our first taste of arak, the local whiskey that is made from rice (at least thats what someone told me). We had it in a cocktail with lemon and a little sugar and so it was being used much as we might use vodka. The taste was fine and I certainly was still able to walk with no trouble after having two drinks (over the 3 hours we were there) so it wasn't some kind of moonshine like the stuff we had in Hyder when we were hyderized there last year! I'm pretty sure my liver is still angry with me about that foolish move!
But back to tonight.....when we arrived we were seated at what I think might have been the best table for viewing the entertainment that was to come. Just one more Christmas surprise! Gratitude gratitude gratitude! :-). Our table had been reserved for us so our names were written on a little custom made place card and I am ever so disappointed that I neglected to bring my camera as the place setting was something to remember! Our napkins were folded in such a way that they looked like little people. They had arms and legs and a spoon for the head. In the middle of their bodies they were carrying a basket of fresh flowers. It was the best place setting I've ever seen anywhere!
So the place setting and the seats we had were fantastic, the food was absolutely delicious - could not have been any better, and the entertainment was fantastic and oh so beautiful! Having such a great vantage point didn't hurt either! It was as though she were dancing just for us and we could see every gesture and every facial expression and every eye movement ...it was all so close. Balinese dancers use their hands and their facial expression and their eye movements to tell stories. Certainly they're using the rest of their bodies too but those three things are considered to be the most important (or so we were told). After dinner the husband of the owner of the restaurant joined us at our table and stayed for a visit and some interesting conversation. She is German (and a friend of Birgit) and he is from Bali. They've had this restaurant for 18 years but for the past 2 years have lived in Denpasar because he moved into the political foray. He described his motivation for moving into politics and it seemed like he was very sincere in his hope to make a difference for his island and the country overall. One focus for him is to create a reality where garbage is treated as it should be and not just dumped wherever as is currently a problem. I wish him well on that front....I think he has a herculean task but his attitude and his connection to reality seemed to be on point. Bottom line, it was great stimulating after dinner conversation and a great way to end a great meal!
Now before I sign off for the day I have to give you a couple of funny little things so that I leave you with a chuckle on this Xmas missive (that has turned into a novella!). Remember the other morning I think I told you about all the blood that there was on the floor and on the wall on our patio. It was obvious that it had something to do with the gecko but no one could figure it out. This morning there was another possible clue though! There were two HUGE bats hanging upside down very near the bloodied wall. The bats took flight while we were watching them and based on our Mr Google research (and Birgit's observation too) we think they might have been a type of flying fox (aka fruit bat). These ones weren't as big as some of the flying foxes can be with a wing span of up to more than a meter...these ones had a wing span of maybe about 20-24 inches. Anyway....some of those type of bats actually do go after lizards and frogs and now we're wondering if maybe Gooday was right all along when he said maybe a bat hit the wall! Now I am thinking that maybe a bat hit the lizard that was on the wall and took a chunk out of him and had a fight with him and the lizard was able to get away and make his way to safety back in his rafters but not before there was a lot of blood splattered and dripped on the floor. In fact, I even wonder if the bat might have carried one of the gecko's away with him hence the drops of blood more than a meter from the wall on the floor. Do you think it is time for us to find something new to occupy our time and our minds....when this much energy goes into solving a personal attack on a lizard you gotta know you may have gone a little cabin crazy! LOL
Tomorrow will be Christmas for you all and so as you're reading this know that we're wishing you all a happy Christmas from Bali and it is unlikely there will be much for us to report until after we return to Ubud on the 28th. All we have planned to do between now and then is to make the most of the rest of our time with the pool which is pretty boring for you guys since the only pool you've got to enjoy is the pool of water that is the result os some melting snow (or a puddle of rain if you're at the coast).
OMG! I just had a Karate Kid moment and killed a fly with my bare hands! He's been flying around me bugging me and landing on my iPad and keyboard and just making a nuisance of himself. He landed on the table beside my keyboard and I just smacked him - gads what is happening to me. The other night it was a spider on the wall and tonight it is flies. In fact now that I think about it....last night in the middle of the night when I got up to go to the bathroom there was a massive flying beetle making a nuisance of himself in the bathroom so I just took the wash bucket and turned it upside down on him. It made a lot of sense to me and it certainly contained the little bugger. It was all fine until this morning when Lynda went to do some laundry and I forgot to tell her that I'd used the bucket for alternate purposes during the night. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what she might have said and how high she might have jumped when she flipped over that bucket to put water in it! LOL. Oops! But heh....doesn't an upside down bucket automatically mean there could be something under it? :-)
Till next time,
L & L
Last night when we arrived home from a full day of touring to the east/southeast, we discovered that a tropical style Christmas tree (complete with decorations) had materialized on our patio. It was such a sweet surprise and made even sweeter by the fact that it had been placed there and lovingly decorated by people who don't celebrate Christmas as part of their culture or faith. However, there is a deep respect for others here and that came through loud and clear with the Xmas tree and then this morning to be intentionally greeted with a handshake and a "Merry Christmas" from everyone who lives and works here on our property. And it wasn't because they were doing it as part of their work....it was because they wanted to. As Birgit (our host who is originally from Germany and who has introduced the concept of Christmas to her extended family here) explained to us....the Balinese look forward to anything that can be celebrated and so even though they don't have Christmas they are happy that others do and excited to be able to join in the songs and any festivities that may be present.
As much as the past 3 weeks here at this beautiful oasis has been our Christmas gift to ourselves we had another unexpected gift present itself to us this morning. I'm not sure if I've mentioned previously or not but there are orchids growing everywhere here. They are in fact, parasites so they attach themselves to trees and plants and pretty much wherever they want to. Anyway.....this morning Lynda said, "What that there yesterday?" As she pointed to the most beautiful orchid that was hanging right over our pool side deck chairs. "No, it wasn't!" What a gorgeous Christmas surprise it was for us to enjoy as we lay in our deck chairs for the rest of our time here in Lovina! The leaves of the plant had been there previously but honestly....there wasn't even a bud showing on Friday when we were last in the pool. We were away all day yesterday so it might have started to show itself then but we didn't get home till dark and so...for us it was like a little Christmas miracle! Again....lucky us!
To recap a little of our adventures yesterday for you I will begin by saying that we had a great day with our driver Ketut. We started out at the central market in Sangaraja which is the main city in the north of Bali. In fact, Sangaraja used to be the capital city of Bali and is where the airport and all the government headquarters were located. It is also where the Dutch originally came to Bali to colonize it a very very long time ago. For many years during colonization the Dutch military base was located on the shores of the Java Sea right at the centre of Sangaraja. It is also where the Chinese first came to Bali. So, as you can see....this bustling little city (that is only about 20 minutes from us in Lovina) plays an important role in Bali's history. About 50 years ago things changed and the airport was moved to Denpasar where there was more flat land, some time before that the Balinese took back control from Holland, and culturally everyone began to live in harmony which continues as a norm today.
The Central Market in Sangaraja was a bustling enterprise. It is huge....not sure just how bit but a couple of city blocks square for sure. It runs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and you can buy anything from clothing to fruit and veg or from meat to a new pair of shoes! There were people selling refurbished cell phones and other guys making knives to sell. There were bins and bags filled with spices of all kinds and baskets filled with the little purple onions that we call shallots and that are the only onions we've seen since arriving here. There were massive jackfruit and dragon fruit and snake fruit and limes and oranges and red delicious apples that had been imported from the USA! There were vendors with their little offering baskets for sale and others with the materials to make your own. There were women selling sarongs and others who had the cutest little kids traditional Balinese outfits you've ever seen! There were about a billion flip flop shoes for sale and ....well you get the picture.....it was a little bit of everything and everybody - and their brother - was there! It was also HOT on the inside walkways of the market. The ones on the outside perimeter were hot too but at least more air was moving there so maybe the outside (as long as you were out of the sun) wasn't quite as muggy. But I will say here that once again my sweat was sweating and so as much as we're loving it here....it is not all a bed of roses people. Hot is Hot and Humid is Hotter and there are moments during the day when I think about how nice it might be to just see one shovel full of snow....but I only think that for a second and then I give my head a shake and the thought is gone just as quickly as it came! :-)
After leaving the market we made our way to the Arab Spice shop. There is a section of Sangaraja where people from Saudi have called home for many years and there is one shop in that section that is renowned for it's quality spices. It wasn't as big as I thought it might be but boy oh boy....when we walked into that space the aromas were indescribable! It wasn't any one thing...it was the combination of them all that made the fragrance so magical. We stayed there long enough to buy a little bag of locally grown pepper . (white is grown here on Bali and there is black that comes from Java)
From the spice shop we were ready for lunch and so asked Ketut to take us to his favourite lunch spot and were glad we did! We enjoyed a lunch of nasi goreng (pork) with freshly made prawn chips. In fact, as we approached the warung we noticed a basket of thinly sliced something that looked like rectangular crackers sitting in the sun by the front door. Ketut said that it was prawn crackers drying in the sun so they will puff up bigger when they're popped into the hot oil. And I have to say....that was an enormous and a delicious prawn cracker that came with my lunch!
After lunch we headed off to another village called Jingaraja where we were in search of a specific temple that is known for the positive energy that it exudes. It was a fantastic stop! In addition to it being a super zen spot there was an old man (also named Ketut) who lives/works/volunteers there and not only was his english good enough to be able to give us an overwhelming amount of historic info about the place. He was also the spitting image of the Ketut that many of you will be familiar with from the movie Eat Pray Love. Even his teeth were the same and his voice and his accent and his laugh and his facial expressions and his sense of humour. We left wondering if in fact it was the same guy but once we got home and googled photos of the Ketut who was in the movie we could see there were little differences that left us with the knowledge that it was in fact a different Ketut. He was however our wise Ketut and one thing that he pointed out at the temple that resonated for both Lynda and I was that when standing in the inner section looking out through a doorway at the main gate/door into the temple you can see that the main door is offset.....not in the centre of the picture. The reason for this is that nothing in life is perfect and this is a reminder or representation of that fact. Honestly this temple stop was sooo interesting and really felt like a gift!
Next stop was at a gong factory. Now when we saw that there was a gong factory and told Ketut that we wanted to go there we had no idea what we were going to see. All we knew was that neither of us had ever been to a gong factory and we also knew that this village (Jingaraja area) was famous all over Bali for their gongs. These guys were the true artisans of gong making! We were some surprised when we stopped by a very unassuming little "house" with a sign out front and then even more surprised when we walked around the side of the house and onto a skinny little dirt path heading to the back of the property beside the adjacent field. Around the back of the property there was a low roofed little shop where there were 5 men hard at work. There was a fire going in a brick "oven" and all the men were suitably attired in shorts and flip flops as their safety gear. LOL. Safety gear does not exist here! You know I said it was HOT in the market? Well...that was nothing compared to this! Imagine having a roaring fire that you're stoking with more coal and melting pots of bronze in a little low roofed building....got the image? Yep....that little room was HOTTER than HOT! I moved from my sweat sweating to something so far beyond that that I'm not even sure what it was! On the upside....this stop was awesome! It takes the men about 6 months to make one set of cymbals, two brass drums, and one xylophone type instrument. That set sells for at least $1,200 but when you consider that it took 5 guys about 6 months to make it...that isn't very much! One of the men played two different xylophones for us and the sound was beautiful! Each Xylophone is meant for different type of events. One might be for temple or another for the entertainers that we will see tonight and one of the ones that we saw/heard yesterday was for the ceremony that goes along with cremation. That one was my favourite. The sound was so gentle and actually kind of uplifting which is a good thing because the intention is that the sound will help the spirit be uplifted to the heavens.
All in all, it was another great day and having it all topped off by finding a Christmas tree on our patio just made it all the more special. I will sign off for now as our driver should be here soon and I will bring you up to speed when we return from our dinner/entertainment tonight.
Just in from a fantastic Christmas dinner at Warung Bamboo Restaurant in Lovina. Birgit (our host here at Saraswati Holiday House) had recommended we try the ristable (at least I think that is how it is spelled). If we understand correctly the name is actually based in Dutch origins and then maybe switched up a bit to match Balinese language but in the end....it is a selection of several small portions (9 different dishes) served on a raised platform (like a table on your table) as well as white and yellow rice, 2 types of satay (chicken and fish) served on a flaming 'finish cooking it yourself' apparatus that also sits on your table, and a salad of green beans and coconut (among other delicious bits). Bottom line there was plenty of food and it was all delicious. It was one of those authentically authentic meals where every dish has its own unique flavours and all of them together create a party in your mouth. Just enough spice, just enough sweet, and just enough salt to satisfy all parts of the tongue and the belly! Before dinner both Lynda and I also had our first taste of arak, the local whiskey that is made from rice (at least thats what someone told me). We had it in a cocktail with lemon and a little sugar and so it was being used much as we might use vodka. The taste was fine and I certainly was still able to walk with no trouble after having two drinks (over the 3 hours we were there) so it wasn't some kind of moonshine like the stuff we had in Hyder when we were hyderized there last year! I'm pretty sure my liver is still angry with me about that foolish move!
But back to tonight.....when we arrived we were seated at what I think might have been the best table for viewing the entertainment that was to come. Just one more Christmas surprise! Gratitude gratitude gratitude! :-). Our table had been reserved for us so our names were written on a little custom made place card and I am ever so disappointed that I neglected to bring my camera as the place setting was something to remember! Our napkins were folded in such a way that they looked like little people. They had arms and legs and a spoon for the head. In the middle of their bodies they were carrying a basket of fresh flowers. It was the best place setting I've ever seen anywhere!
So the place setting and the seats we had were fantastic, the food was absolutely delicious - could not have been any better, and the entertainment was fantastic and oh so beautiful! Having such a great vantage point didn't hurt either! It was as though she were dancing just for us and we could see every gesture and every facial expression and every eye movement ...it was all so close. Balinese dancers use their hands and their facial expression and their eye movements to tell stories. Certainly they're using the rest of their bodies too but those three things are considered to be the most important (or so we were told). After dinner the husband of the owner of the restaurant joined us at our table and stayed for a visit and some interesting conversation. She is German (and a friend of Birgit) and he is from Bali. They've had this restaurant for 18 years but for the past 2 years have lived in Denpasar because he moved into the political foray. He described his motivation for moving into politics and it seemed like he was very sincere in his hope to make a difference for his island and the country overall. One focus for him is to create a reality where garbage is treated as it should be and not just dumped wherever as is currently a problem. I wish him well on that front....I think he has a herculean task but his attitude and his connection to reality seemed to be on point. Bottom line, it was great stimulating after dinner conversation and a great way to end a great meal!
Now before I sign off for the day I have to give you a couple of funny little things so that I leave you with a chuckle on this Xmas missive (that has turned into a novella!). Remember the other morning I think I told you about all the blood that there was on the floor and on the wall on our patio. It was obvious that it had something to do with the gecko but no one could figure it out. This morning there was another possible clue though! There were two HUGE bats hanging upside down very near the bloodied wall. The bats took flight while we were watching them and based on our Mr Google research (and Birgit's observation too) we think they might have been a type of flying fox (aka fruit bat). These ones weren't as big as some of the flying foxes can be with a wing span of up to more than a meter...these ones had a wing span of maybe about 20-24 inches. Anyway....some of those type of bats actually do go after lizards and frogs and now we're wondering if maybe Gooday was right all along when he said maybe a bat hit the wall! Now I am thinking that maybe a bat hit the lizard that was on the wall and took a chunk out of him and had a fight with him and the lizard was able to get away and make his way to safety back in his rafters but not before there was a lot of blood splattered and dripped on the floor. In fact, I even wonder if the bat might have carried one of the gecko's away with him hence the drops of blood more than a meter from the wall on the floor. Do you think it is time for us to find something new to occupy our time and our minds....when this much energy goes into solving a personal attack on a lizard you gotta know you may have gone a little cabin crazy! LOL
Tomorrow will be Christmas for you all and so as you're reading this know that we're wishing you all a happy Christmas from Bali and it is unlikely there will be much for us to report until after we return to Ubud on the 28th. All we have planned to do between now and then is to make the most of the rest of our time with the pool which is pretty boring for you guys since the only pool you've got to enjoy is the pool of water that is the result os some melting snow (or a puddle of rain if you're at the coast).
OMG! I just had a Karate Kid moment and killed a fly with my bare hands! He's been flying around me bugging me and landing on my iPad and keyboard and just making a nuisance of himself. He landed on the table beside my keyboard and I just smacked him - gads what is happening to me. The other night it was a spider on the wall and tonight it is flies. In fact now that I think about it....last night in the middle of the night when I got up to go to the bathroom there was a massive flying beetle making a nuisance of himself in the bathroom so I just took the wash bucket and turned it upside down on him. It made a lot of sense to me and it certainly contained the little bugger. It was all fine until this morning when Lynda went to do some laundry and I forgot to tell her that I'd used the bucket for alternate purposes during the night. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what she might have said and how high she might have jumped when she flipped over that bucket to put water in it! LOL. Oops! But heh....doesn't an upside down bucket automatically mean there could be something under it? :-)
Till next time,
L & L
Friday, December 23, 2016
December 23rd cont'd.....
I've just climbed out of the pool after a wonderful relaxing swim, my Lovina routine of underwater stretches, and a 1/2 hour of basking in the sun. I guess my mind was completely uncluttered because all of a sudden I realized I had left out one of our stops from my blog post hence my return here. As well, it occurred to me that I'm sure Lynda will have a story to add when she returns from her snorkel adventure later so....I'll leave this post open until after she is back.
Yikes....how could I have forgotten to include that we stopped in at Bali's only winery on our tour west too!? It is right on the north coast and is called Hatton Wines. Well....actually....only the vineyards and a small wine shop are located on the northwest coast...the winery itself is actually in Denpasar so all the grapes are taken there for processing.
What we learned??? They grow both green and black grapes here but it is the green ones that are domestic, the others are imported from France I think he said. Also, the domestic grapes are grown in the traditional Balinese way, on a trellis, whereas the ones from France are grown like we typically see them grown in the Okanagan, in a row.
What we tasted??? We just tasted two. Both were from the Balinese collection (Hatton also bottles for another winery that imports grapes from Australia). The first was called Alexandria. It is a white and a little on the sweet side. It was served chilled and it was so fruity and refreshing we just had to buy a bottle! Next we tasted their port style fortified wine and honestly....it was beyond delicious. Of course we had to buy a bottle of that one too! Well, it's actually more like a 1/2 size bottle so it doesn't really count as a whole bottle right?! :). That wine had been fortified with brandy from France and it was a beautiful amber colour. We were going to crack it open last night but I'm not sure what happened as we both forgot that we had it and so....perhaps tonight will be the night to break the seal on that baby! Birgit, our host, didn't even know that Hatton made a fortified wine and so we've made arrangements with her to listen for us calling out "port-time" and that will be her clue that it is time to come join us on our patio for a sip or is it called a nip of that golden nectar.
Lynda just arrived back from her FULL day away at the snorkel site and she is sooo excited to tell me all about it so I will type as she talks and you'll all get the full story too. :). But....while I wait for her to come out of the shower I will tell you something else that I neglected to mention this morning. When I came out onto our patio it was not a pretty sight this morning! Well, there were the usual pretty flowers and foliage and the pool and the blue sky etc but there was also blood all over the floor (just drops of it) near our door. Wasn't sure what might have happened and so I looked up to see if there was an overhead source (based on my scientific figuring of the splatter patterns - LOL). Sure enough...there was! There were smears of blood on the wall too and from the look of it our resident squeaky toy gecko might have been the source! There were several smears on the wall where he had climbed back up to his perch so I'm thinking something must have attacked him on the wall OR he killed something and dragged it back up there with him and that is his victims blood but either way.....somebody didn't fare well out here last night! Gooday took care of it all this morning and now it is just a distant memory. Aggghhh....now we can just focus on the pretty bits and not whatever it is that goes on out here after dark!
....and now for Lynda's story.....
After setting out of here just after 8:00 she met the rest of her group at the Malibu Hotel. The group consisted of Lynda and a family of 3 from Oz. The trip to catch the boat took 1 1/2 hours and her day began with the van needing to be jump started. Could this be a sign of what was to come? Hopefully NOT! The boat to Menjangan Island was pretty small and Lynda says it is a really GOOD thing that I wasn't on board. She said the entire 1/2 hour journey across the water was such a wild ride that she had water washing in over the sides of the boat for the whole trip. I am ever so thankful that I didn't buckle and change my mind about going since it is the best place to snorkel in all of Bali.
The rest of her group was going diving and so her adventure really got underway when the boat she came in left her in the water near the island as they went out to a dive site. Lynda, being the Brownie that she is, stopped, looked, and listened for potential danger and created her plan where safety was at the core. Once she found her rhythm she was so happy and the fish were beautiful and the water was clear and all was good in the world! Also in Brownie fashion she had gone prepared with her long sleeved shirt so there was no worry of sunburn and she found an anchor and a rope she could use as a reference point. All was good in her world!
Until it wasn't! Eventually she tired a little of the snorkelling and decided that she'd do a little hike around the island in search of the temple that is supposed to be there. The problem with all of this hiking business is that she doesn't have shoes or clothes and the rocky ground is friggin' HOT! Here is Lynda wearing her long sleeve shirt over her bathing suit, looking like she is practically naked. Think about it...she is wearing her bathing suit bottoms and her shirt that is just a little longer than her suit so it looks like she is naked and her hair is all wet and in a knotty ball stuck on the side of her head. And her words...she is old....and she probably looks like a crazy woman wandering the island! All the while she is also hopping from shady rock to shady rock with burning bits in between. But in Lynda's words, "who cares"...there's no one around so she's just going to walk to a temple and maybe see a barking deer. (Yes people....there are supposedly barking deer on that island!). Yes, she made it to this temple and was turning around to come back when there came a procession with people all in white coming to this temple for a full blown ceremony. OMG....here is Lynda, practically naked in the middle of their ceremony! She is apologizing and trying to cover herself and in true Balinese fashion all they said was seng kin kin (no problem) and would she like to join them. She made her apologies and said no...she had to get back to the boat which she did. She hopped from shady rock to shady rock and eventually made it back to where the boat was just returning from the dive site. Lunch was served and while she was sitting there enjoying her nasi goreng you will never guess what showed up right behind her! A barking deer!!! Yes, there it was making it's barking noise and looking out at her group as if to say..."what are you doing here on my island?!"
Once lunch was over it was time to get back in the boat to go to the next site where the divers would explore a new location and where Lynda would truly be on her own and at one with the deep blue of the Java Sea. I have to interject here people....you have no idea just how thankful I am that I didn't go as I listen to her recant her story....it is actually leaving me breathless and I would likely not have survived to be able to type this down for you to read! But back to her story....so the driver of the boat tells Lynda to just let herself go with the current and they will see her back at the launch site in a couple of hours. So she floated with the current and ooohed and aaahhed about the amazing fish she was seeing. There were huge angel fish that looked like they wanted to come up and give her a kiss. There were starfish of every colour - even bright blue! There were tiny little fish and middle sized fish and big fish and all of them looked like they were happy in their perfect aquarium environment. All was good....until.....the bottom fell out of the ocean and she hit the edge of the coral reef she had been floating over. That is when she says that she felt her first bit of anxious....there she was just another one of the massive school of little fish that she was in the midst of just waiting for a big whale to come and scoop her up along with them cuz it is almost dinner time after all! She helped the current along a little with a dozen or so breast strokes and then there was the coral floor back for her to enjoy. This coral/no coral reality continued on for the rest of her journey and eventually she stopped feeling anxious and she knew it was just a matter of minutes until the floor was back in the ocean for her to enjoy again. She floated along with that current for a full hour and fortunately it all worked out in the end and she met back up with the boat at the planned site and here she is safe and sound back at home.
So...she didn't see the whale shark that they told her she might be able to reach out and touch....(that bit of info alone makes me want to run away screaming!) but she did see the barking deer AND...she had the best day ever and won't be able to wipe the smile off her face for the rest of the evening. However, she is really glad I've agreed to share my much coveted supply of P3 with her though as she can already tell that she is going to be one stiff and sore girl tomorrow.
So now you have the rest of this day's story so once again....till next time,
L & L
Yikes....how could I have forgotten to include that we stopped in at Bali's only winery on our tour west too!? It is right on the north coast and is called Hatton Wines. Well....actually....only the vineyards and a small wine shop are located on the northwest coast...the winery itself is actually in Denpasar so all the grapes are taken there for processing.
What we learned??? They grow both green and black grapes here but it is the green ones that are domestic, the others are imported from France I think he said. Also, the domestic grapes are grown in the traditional Balinese way, on a trellis, whereas the ones from France are grown like we typically see them grown in the Okanagan, in a row.
What we tasted??? We just tasted two. Both were from the Balinese collection (Hatton also bottles for another winery that imports grapes from Australia). The first was called Alexandria. It is a white and a little on the sweet side. It was served chilled and it was so fruity and refreshing we just had to buy a bottle! Next we tasted their port style fortified wine and honestly....it was beyond delicious. Of course we had to buy a bottle of that one too! Well, it's actually more like a 1/2 size bottle so it doesn't really count as a whole bottle right?! :). That wine had been fortified with brandy from France and it was a beautiful amber colour. We were going to crack it open last night but I'm not sure what happened as we both forgot that we had it and so....perhaps tonight will be the night to break the seal on that baby! Birgit, our host, didn't even know that Hatton made a fortified wine and so we've made arrangements with her to listen for us calling out "port-time" and that will be her clue that it is time to come join us on our patio for a sip or is it called a nip of that golden nectar.
Lynda just arrived back from her FULL day away at the snorkel site and she is sooo excited to tell me all about it so I will type as she talks and you'll all get the full story too. :). But....while I wait for her to come out of the shower I will tell you something else that I neglected to mention this morning. When I came out onto our patio it was not a pretty sight this morning! Well, there were the usual pretty flowers and foliage and the pool and the blue sky etc but there was also blood all over the floor (just drops of it) near our door. Wasn't sure what might have happened and so I looked up to see if there was an overhead source (based on my scientific figuring of the splatter patterns - LOL). Sure enough...there was! There were smears of blood on the wall too and from the look of it our resident squeaky toy gecko might have been the source! There were several smears on the wall where he had climbed back up to his perch so I'm thinking something must have attacked him on the wall OR he killed something and dragged it back up there with him and that is his victims blood but either way.....somebody didn't fare well out here last night! Gooday took care of it all this morning and now it is just a distant memory. Aggghhh....now we can just focus on the pretty bits and not whatever it is that goes on out here after dark!
....and now for Lynda's story.....
After setting out of here just after 8:00 she met the rest of her group at the Malibu Hotel. The group consisted of Lynda and a family of 3 from Oz. The trip to catch the boat took 1 1/2 hours and her day began with the van needing to be jump started. Could this be a sign of what was to come? Hopefully NOT! The boat to Menjangan Island was pretty small and Lynda says it is a really GOOD thing that I wasn't on board. She said the entire 1/2 hour journey across the water was such a wild ride that she had water washing in over the sides of the boat for the whole trip. I am ever so thankful that I didn't buckle and change my mind about going since it is the best place to snorkel in all of Bali.
The rest of her group was going diving and so her adventure really got underway when the boat she came in left her in the water near the island as they went out to a dive site. Lynda, being the Brownie that she is, stopped, looked, and listened for potential danger and created her plan where safety was at the core. Once she found her rhythm she was so happy and the fish were beautiful and the water was clear and all was good in the world! Also in Brownie fashion she had gone prepared with her long sleeved shirt so there was no worry of sunburn and she found an anchor and a rope she could use as a reference point. All was good in her world!
Until it wasn't! Eventually she tired a little of the snorkelling and decided that she'd do a little hike around the island in search of the temple that is supposed to be there. The problem with all of this hiking business is that she doesn't have shoes or clothes and the rocky ground is friggin' HOT! Here is Lynda wearing her long sleeve shirt over her bathing suit, looking like she is practically naked. Think about it...she is wearing her bathing suit bottoms and her shirt that is just a little longer than her suit so it looks like she is naked and her hair is all wet and in a knotty ball stuck on the side of her head. And her words...she is old....and she probably looks like a crazy woman wandering the island! All the while she is also hopping from shady rock to shady rock with burning bits in between. But in Lynda's words, "who cares"...there's no one around so she's just going to walk to a temple and maybe see a barking deer. (Yes people....there are supposedly barking deer on that island!). Yes, she made it to this temple and was turning around to come back when there came a procession with people all in white coming to this temple for a full blown ceremony. OMG....here is Lynda, practically naked in the middle of their ceremony! She is apologizing and trying to cover herself and in true Balinese fashion all they said was seng kin kin (no problem) and would she like to join them. She made her apologies and said no...she had to get back to the boat which she did. She hopped from shady rock to shady rock and eventually made it back to where the boat was just returning from the dive site. Lunch was served and while she was sitting there enjoying her nasi goreng you will never guess what showed up right behind her! A barking deer!!! Yes, there it was making it's barking noise and looking out at her group as if to say..."what are you doing here on my island?!"
Once lunch was over it was time to get back in the boat to go to the next site where the divers would explore a new location and where Lynda would truly be on her own and at one with the deep blue of the Java Sea. I have to interject here people....you have no idea just how thankful I am that I didn't go as I listen to her recant her story....it is actually leaving me breathless and I would likely not have survived to be able to type this down for you to read! But back to her story....so the driver of the boat tells Lynda to just let herself go with the current and they will see her back at the launch site in a couple of hours. So she floated with the current and ooohed and aaahhed about the amazing fish she was seeing. There were huge angel fish that looked like they wanted to come up and give her a kiss. There were starfish of every colour - even bright blue! There were tiny little fish and middle sized fish and big fish and all of them looked like they were happy in their perfect aquarium environment. All was good....until.....the bottom fell out of the ocean and she hit the edge of the coral reef she had been floating over. That is when she says that she felt her first bit of anxious....there she was just another one of the massive school of little fish that she was in the midst of just waiting for a big whale to come and scoop her up along with them cuz it is almost dinner time after all! She helped the current along a little with a dozen or so breast strokes and then there was the coral floor back for her to enjoy. This coral/no coral reality continued on for the rest of her journey and eventually she stopped feeling anxious and she knew it was just a matter of minutes until the floor was back in the ocean for her to enjoy again. She floated along with that current for a full hour and fortunately it all worked out in the end and she met back up with the boat at the planned site and here she is safe and sound back at home.
So...she didn't see the whale shark that they told her she might be able to reach out and touch....(that bit of info alone makes me want to run away screaming!) but she did see the barking deer AND...she had the best day ever and won't be able to wipe the smile off her face for the rest of the evening. However, she is really glad I've agreed to share my much coveted supply of P3 with her though as she can already tell that she is going to be one stiff and sore girl tomorrow.
So now you have the rest of this day's story so once again....till next time,
L & L
Thursday, December 22, 2016
December 23, 2016
Wow! Time seems to be flying now as we near the end of our 3 weeks in Lovina. Can't believe it's been 3 days since I last updated this blog. No excuse for yesterday (as it was just another lazy pool day) but the day before was a full one so I actually have a bit of real content to include in this missive.
Lynda is away today on a snorkelling adventure to Manganen Island which is supposed to be Bali's absolutely best spot to snorkel. It is just off the far northwest point of Bali so she headed off early this morning with a group of other like-minded folks. For those of you who know of some of my misadventures with the deep blue and snorkelling....you'll understand why I decided to forego this "opportunity"! LOL. While Lynda is off on her adventure I am taking advantage of the time to get caught up on this blog and a few overdue emails etc.
So to backtrack a little....on the 21st we set off with our driver Ketut for points west. The plan was to do a circle tour of sorts that would allow us to really explore this western point of the island. Parts of it would be on the main road but much of it would be on side roads too so we'd really have an opportunity to see Bali life in motion.
Our first stop came pretty quickly in the city of Sererit when we spotted a flower market and made Ketut drive around the block (a really long block as it was all one way traffic) so he could pull over for us to get out. Ketut replied with the standard "seng kin kin" which means something like "no problem". This response/attitude permeates pretty much every conversation you have with the people here....everything is just taken in stride and accepted for whatever it is. Once Ketut had made his way around the "block" he located a spot to park and Lynda and I set off on foot in search of the market that we knew would be just around the corner. Sure enough, we found it and in no time one of the vendors had given each of us a blossom of the most beautifully aromatic flower to put behind our ear. (Balinese people put a flower behind their ears after they pray so it is very common to see men and women with small white flowers tucked behind one or both of their ears at any time of the day or evening. You also often see them with grains of dampened rice stuck to their forehead or just at the base of their neck between collar bones. This is for the same reason as the flowers behind the ear. Flowers and grains of rice are left there until they naturally fall off.). So....both Lynda and I had the added gift of being able to get a whiff of that amazing blossom every time we moved our heads for the rest of the day! The flower market was a buzz of activity and all of the blossoms were for the purpose of offerings. The Balinese all do at least 2 offerings/day and then there are the added ceremonies that may require literally hundreds (or even thousands) of offerings made in advance. The culture here revolves around ceremonies and taking the time to be grateful and intentional through these regular daily offerings. Each of the offerings/blessings that I have witnessed includes incense (at least one stick), a small basket of stuff that includes flower petals and maybe some kind of food (fruit, rice, cake) and maybe a cigarette or something else that the giver would perceive as valuable. The blessing also includes the person sprinkling water from a bowl with a branch (or a handful of grasses that are a bit like a branch). This sprinkling of water seems to have a bit of a prayer that goes with it and I think it is done three times. Once when I was watching a hotel staffperson do the blessings at her work....she had a huge tray of the components for the blessings and then as soon as she'd completed one blessing at a predetermined location she would move on to the next location (maybe only a few feet away) and repeat the exact same process until all sites were blessed. Again...I think this happens twice/day so you can sort of see that there is a lot of this going on everywhere you look especially at start and end of day times. But ....back to the market.....so many colourful blossoms....so many wonderful aromas......so many people stopping to pick up their "supply". That is the other thing that I'm reminded to mention here....the aromas in Bali don't stop with the blossoms that are pretty much everywhere....there is also the smell of incense that is burning somewhere most of the time no matter where you are. It might sound a bit overwhelming when you read that but honestly...it isn't....it is actually really nice. The incense is almost always outdoors and so it is kind of carried on the breeze. Now don't get me wrong...not all of Bali's smells are great! LOL! Of course there was the incessant exhaust fumes that were right beside the beautiful flower market in Sererit so don't let me focusing on just the good stuff fool you into thinking that it's only perfect here. :-).
After we left the market in Sererit we continued west along the north shore until we came to the little town of Pemuteran where we stopped at a local bakery for a cookie and a cup of delicious Bali coffee. Pemuteran is smaller and quieter than Lovina and pretty much everything fronts right on the beach. The sea is a little rougher here and as we sat on the patio of the bakery enjoying our coffee we watched the little local boats along the shore rock and bob on the never ending waves of the sea.
Next stop was the furthest westernmost point of Bali. This town of Gilimanuk truly is the end of the road. To get to it you have to turn in from Cekik (pronounced Checkik as the letter c in Balinese is pronounced ch) and Gilimanuk is the only port where anyone can travel from Bali to Java so it is a bustling little place. There are ferries that travel back and forth 24/7 and the trip to Java only takes about 1 hour and the distance across the water is just 3 km. In fact we could see Java quite clearly....it did not look like it was 3 km away! (Actually....I should insert here that the place where Lynda is snorkelling today is quite near that part of Bali. Menjangan Island is just off the northwest tip of Bali). Gilimanuk was an interesting stop for us as we watched women hard at work carrying stacks of roofing tiles on their heads. They were carrying anywhere between 13 and 16 tiles at a time and the stack was so high that it didn't seem they were going to be able to reach high enough to put those last few on the top. These women are "helpers" and they earn about $6/day for their labour. The tradesmen they are "helping" are on top of the roofs laying the tiles. These men are paid about $10/day for their expertise. This is more than many people here earn. For example someone working in a restaurant (cook or server) would be paid about $30 month for full time work. (The labourer on the job site gets so much more as they might not be able to find regular work.). As well the person working in the service sector has the possibility of tips to supplement their income. Our driver today is charging us $65 which includes more than 8 hours of his time, all of the fuel and other costs for his vehicle, and parking (you pay to park everywhere! Parking is just 20 cents but nonetheless it is all factored into his fees). For those of you who have me on facebook you will have seen the video of these women carrying the tiles on their heads as well as another one of the men on the roof who are taking those tiles and tossing them up to their colleague like they'd done it a million times before....well....maybe they have! :0). Gilimanuk has a massive statue of Buddha standing at its centre as well as another massive statue of Shiwa who is watching over the harbour and the comings and goings of the vessels. Because this is the only way to get between Java and Bali....this place is packed with trucks! Pretty much everything is cheaper in Java than in Bali so fruit, water, rice, etc etc is all being trucked from Java (and other points west) to Bali for resale. Most of the trucks heading from Bali to Java are empty but the ones coming off the ferry are filled to overflowing! Seriously....overflowing! There are no DOT vehicles checking width and height here!
After Gilimanuk it was back down the road to Cekik where we picked up the south east route along with all of those overfilled trucks headed in the direction of Denpasar (the main city on Bali). It wasn't too long till we reached the city of Negara where we left the main road and headed off on a little side road that would take us further south along the coast and through the farms that completely fill this beautiful region. Our destination was Perancak (remember c is ch so you say Peranchak) where we were heading to see one of the oldest temples in all of Bali. It is set right on the sea and the location promised to be worth the drive. Again...for those of you on my facebook, you may have seen the video that took us through the rice fields....that was the road we took en route to Perancak. It was beautiful and the drive was definitely worth it! We did have one little "adventure" along this trek....there was a makeshift sign saying the road was out but Ketut didn't think it would be that bad so we went forward anyway. It gave us an opportunity to see some more really neat stuff like the mangroves and a guy fishing with a gun off a bridge and lots of other guys fishing with fishing rods, and another temple and lots and lots of farms and fields and all good stuff. Ketut was a little embarrassed that he'd made that error but we assured him that Seng kin kin worked both ways and we were happy to have had this little detour. :0)
Pura Perancak was as beautiful as it had promised to be. The temple has seen a lot of recent renovation so it was as though they had repainted it just for our visit! In addition, there was a small family ceremony underway in the inner sanctuary that we were able to be a small part of by simply witnessing it too. The fragrance of the frangiapani was heavy in the air here. (Frangiapani is the national flower of Bali and from what I can understand from mr Google it is the local name they use for plumeria-the flower used to make leis in Hawaii). Along with the floral frangrance was the ever present hint of incense too. This mingled with the sea air and the calm zen vibe of the place....it felt like an invitation to stay here for a very long time.
But the road called and the day was moving toward night much to quickly so we were off again. This time we took a fairly direct route back to the main road where we headed east again until we turned north again at Pekutatan. Our next stop would be the Holy Tree at Bunut Bolong. This holy tree is a massive tree that spans the road and that you can drive right under/through. The only caveat to that though is if you are part of a funeral or a wedding you must use the road adjacent to this one through the holy tree. It would be bad luck for either the marriage or the funeral if it were to pass through the tree. Again....there is a video of this on my facebook page for those of you who have access.
Our entire day had been one of sunshine and blue skies until we hit the holy tree. That is when it started to spit just a little. We could see that ahead of us in the mountains (that we would have to cross to get back to the north shore) there had been a lot of cloud and what looked like rain so we hunched that we might be in for a bit of it on the way home. In fact, we really didn't hit any rain but what we did hit was the consequences of some HUGE rain! There were "puddles" that came right up over the axle of the motor bikes. There were "waterfalls" that hadn't been there that morning. There were places where the asphalt had been eaten away by the new "river" that was running along the side of the road. And....in the end.....there was a missing bridge that had been there that morning which meant that we had to backtrack (only about 1/2 hour) to find another route through the mountains and hope that the bridges on that road were still in tact!
In the end we rolled into our home at Seraswati almost exactly 10 hours after we'd left and we were thankful for take out that night. Neither of us felt like going anywhere for dinner but the cookie and coffee we'd had in the morning at that bakery had long since left a hole in our bellies that was calling to be filled. So takeout it was and our satay and nasi goreng was as good as any we've had anywhere...or maybe it always tastes better when you're really hungry and a little tired too. :-)
Yesterday was an R & R day at pool side and today...well....you already know what we're both u to today so....till next time.....
L & L
Lynda is away today on a snorkelling adventure to Manganen Island which is supposed to be Bali's absolutely best spot to snorkel. It is just off the far northwest point of Bali so she headed off early this morning with a group of other like-minded folks. For those of you who know of some of my misadventures with the deep blue and snorkelling....you'll understand why I decided to forego this "opportunity"! LOL. While Lynda is off on her adventure I am taking advantage of the time to get caught up on this blog and a few overdue emails etc.
So to backtrack a little....on the 21st we set off with our driver Ketut for points west. The plan was to do a circle tour of sorts that would allow us to really explore this western point of the island. Parts of it would be on the main road but much of it would be on side roads too so we'd really have an opportunity to see Bali life in motion.
Our first stop came pretty quickly in the city of Sererit when we spotted a flower market and made Ketut drive around the block (a really long block as it was all one way traffic) so he could pull over for us to get out. Ketut replied with the standard "seng kin kin" which means something like "no problem". This response/attitude permeates pretty much every conversation you have with the people here....everything is just taken in stride and accepted for whatever it is. Once Ketut had made his way around the "block" he located a spot to park and Lynda and I set off on foot in search of the market that we knew would be just around the corner. Sure enough, we found it and in no time one of the vendors had given each of us a blossom of the most beautifully aromatic flower to put behind our ear. (Balinese people put a flower behind their ears after they pray so it is very common to see men and women with small white flowers tucked behind one or both of their ears at any time of the day or evening. You also often see them with grains of dampened rice stuck to their forehead or just at the base of their neck between collar bones. This is for the same reason as the flowers behind the ear. Flowers and grains of rice are left there until they naturally fall off.). So....both Lynda and I had the added gift of being able to get a whiff of that amazing blossom every time we moved our heads for the rest of the day! The flower market was a buzz of activity and all of the blossoms were for the purpose of offerings. The Balinese all do at least 2 offerings/day and then there are the added ceremonies that may require literally hundreds (or even thousands) of offerings made in advance. The culture here revolves around ceremonies and taking the time to be grateful and intentional through these regular daily offerings. Each of the offerings/blessings that I have witnessed includes incense (at least one stick), a small basket of stuff that includes flower petals and maybe some kind of food (fruit, rice, cake) and maybe a cigarette or something else that the giver would perceive as valuable. The blessing also includes the person sprinkling water from a bowl with a branch (or a handful of grasses that are a bit like a branch). This sprinkling of water seems to have a bit of a prayer that goes with it and I think it is done three times. Once when I was watching a hotel staffperson do the blessings at her work....she had a huge tray of the components for the blessings and then as soon as she'd completed one blessing at a predetermined location she would move on to the next location (maybe only a few feet away) and repeat the exact same process until all sites were blessed. Again...I think this happens twice/day so you can sort of see that there is a lot of this going on everywhere you look especially at start and end of day times. But ....back to the market.....so many colourful blossoms....so many wonderful aromas......so many people stopping to pick up their "supply". That is the other thing that I'm reminded to mention here....the aromas in Bali don't stop with the blossoms that are pretty much everywhere....there is also the smell of incense that is burning somewhere most of the time no matter where you are. It might sound a bit overwhelming when you read that but honestly...it isn't....it is actually really nice. The incense is almost always outdoors and so it is kind of carried on the breeze. Now don't get me wrong...not all of Bali's smells are great! LOL! Of course there was the incessant exhaust fumes that were right beside the beautiful flower market in Sererit so don't let me focusing on just the good stuff fool you into thinking that it's only perfect here. :-).
After we left the market in Sererit we continued west along the north shore until we came to the little town of Pemuteran where we stopped at a local bakery for a cookie and a cup of delicious Bali coffee. Pemuteran is smaller and quieter than Lovina and pretty much everything fronts right on the beach. The sea is a little rougher here and as we sat on the patio of the bakery enjoying our coffee we watched the little local boats along the shore rock and bob on the never ending waves of the sea.
Next stop was the furthest westernmost point of Bali. This town of Gilimanuk truly is the end of the road. To get to it you have to turn in from Cekik (pronounced Checkik as the letter c in Balinese is pronounced ch) and Gilimanuk is the only port where anyone can travel from Bali to Java so it is a bustling little place. There are ferries that travel back and forth 24/7 and the trip to Java only takes about 1 hour and the distance across the water is just 3 km. In fact we could see Java quite clearly....it did not look like it was 3 km away! (Actually....I should insert here that the place where Lynda is snorkelling today is quite near that part of Bali. Menjangan Island is just off the northwest tip of Bali). Gilimanuk was an interesting stop for us as we watched women hard at work carrying stacks of roofing tiles on their heads. They were carrying anywhere between 13 and 16 tiles at a time and the stack was so high that it didn't seem they were going to be able to reach high enough to put those last few on the top. These women are "helpers" and they earn about $6/day for their labour. The tradesmen they are "helping" are on top of the roofs laying the tiles. These men are paid about $10/day for their expertise. This is more than many people here earn. For example someone working in a restaurant (cook or server) would be paid about $30 month for full time work. (The labourer on the job site gets so much more as they might not be able to find regular work.). As well the person working in the service sector has the possibility of tips to supplement their income. Our driver today is charging us $65 which includes more than 8 hours of his time, all of the fuel and other costs for his vehicle, and parking (you pay to park everywhere! Parking is just 20 cents but nonetheless it is all factored into his fees). For those of you who have me on facebook you will have seen the video of these women carrying the tiles on their heads as well as another one of the men on the roof who are taking those tiles and tossing them up to their colleague like they'd done it a million times before....well....maybe they have! :0). Gilimanuk has a massive statue of Buddha standing at its centre as well as another massive statue of Shiwa who is watching over the harbour and the comings and goings of the vessels. Because this is the only way to get between Java and Bali....this place is packed with trucks! Pretty much everything is cheaper in Java than in Bali so fruit, water, rice, etc etc is all being trucked from Java (and other points west) to Bali for resale. Most of the trucks heading from Bali to Java are empty but the ones coming off the ferry are filled to overflowing! Seriously....overflowing! There are no DOT vehicles checking width and height here!
After Gilimanuk it was back down the road to Cekik where we picked up the south east route along with all of those overfilled trucks headed in the direction of Denpasar (the main city on Bali). It wasn't too long till we reached the city of Negara where we left the main road and headed off on a little side road that would take us further south along the coast and through the farms that completely fill this beautiful region. Our destination was Perancak (remember c is ch so you say Peranchak) where we were heading to see one of the oldest temples in all of Bali. It is set right on the sea and the location promised to be worth the drive. Again...for those of you on my facebook, you may have seen the video that took us through the rice fields....that was the road we took en route to Perancak. It was beautiful and the drive was definitely worth it! We did have one little "adventure" along this trek....there was a makeshift sign saying the road was out but Ketut didn't think it would be that bad so we went forward anyway. It gave us an opportunity to see some more really neat stuff like the mangroves and a guy fishing with a gun off a bridge and lots of other guys fishing with fishing rods, and another temple and lots and lots of farms and fields and all good stuff. Ketut was a little embarrassed that he'd made that error but we assured him that Seng kin kin worked both ways and we were happy to have had this little detour. :0)
Pura Perancak was as beautiful as it had promised to be. The temple has seen a lot of recent renovation so it was as though they had repainted it just for our visit! In addition, there was a small family ceremony underway in the inner sanctuary that we were able to be a small part of by simply witnessing it too. The fragrance of the frangiapani was heavy in the air here. (Frangiapani is the national flower of Bali and from what I can understand from mr Google it is the local name they use for plumeria-the flower used to make leis in Hawaii). Along with the floral frangrance was the ever present hint of incense too. This mingled with the sea air and the calm zen vibe of the place....it felt like an invitation to stay here for a very long time.
But the road called and the day was moving toward night much to quickly so we were off again. This time we took a fairly direct route back to the main road where we headed east again until we turned north again at Pekutatan. Our next stop would be the Holy Tree at Bunut Bolong. This holy tree is a massive tree that spans the road and that you can drive right under/through. The only caveat to that though is if you are part of a funeral or a wedding you must use the road adjacent to this one through the holy tree. It would be bad luck for either the marriage or the funeral if it were to pass through the tree. Again....there is a video of this on my facebook page for those of you who have access.
Our entire day had been one of sunshine and blue skies until we hit the holy tree. That is when it started to spit just a little. We could see that ahead of us in the mountains (that we would have to cross to get back to the north shore) there had been a lot of cloud and what looked like rain so we hunched that we might be in for a bit of it on the way home. In fact, we really didn't hit any rain but what we did hit was the consequences of some HUGE rain! There were "puddles" that came right up over the axle of the motor bikes. There were "waterfalls" that hadn't been there that morning. There were places where the asphalt had been eaten away by the new "river" that was running along the side of the road. And....in the end.....there was a missing bridge that had been there that morning which meant that we had to backtrack (only about 1/2 hour) to find another route through the mountains and hope that the bridges on that road were still in tact!
In the end we rolled into our home at Seraswati almost exactly 10 hours after we'd left and we were thankful for take out that night. Neither of us felt like going anywhere for dinner but the cookie and coffee we'd had in the morning at that bakery had long since left a hole in our bellies that was calling to be filled. So takeout it was and our satay and nasi goreng was as good as any we've had anywhere...or maybe it always tastes better when you're really hungry and a little tired too. :-)
Yesterday was an R & R day at pool side and today...well....you already know what we're both u to today so....till next time.....
L & L
Monday, December 19, 2016
December 19, 2016
What a great day. Our driver Ketut (yes....another one!) picked us up at 11:00 and we were off on our adventure.
First it was up into the mountains and 100% our ski hills have nothing on the roads here! We wound our way up and up and up. All the way there were houses perched along the roadside. The villages we passed through make their living by weaving baskets of all shape and size out of the bamboo they harvest from the surrounding forests. Generally, the women make the baskets that use a finer material and the men make baskets to keep chickens in. One man can make as many as 2 baskets on a good day. Each of those baskets will sell between $4.50 and $6 CAD depending on the quality of the bamboo he has used. Often he will choose the lesser quality bamboo as there is a larger market for the cheaper baskets. And keep in mind that they won't sell baskets every day....so....their income is not great!
These villages are bustling little burbs that seemingly go on forever as they just line the main road. There aren't any side roads going off the main road....it is just that one road and everything is on it. At least that's what we could see as we wound our way through. Crops right now include grapes (this is the only grape/wine region of Bali) and corn. As well, mango and cacao and coffee and cloves are the indigenous plants here that the locals harvest for revenue as well. This is the only time of year that they will plant corn though. That is because corn needs to be watered and so the rainy season means that nature will take care of that for them in the mountains. By the time the rainy season is subsiding the corn will be far enough along that it won't matter so much.
Ketut is another amazing driver....they all seem to be amazing drivers here. Perhaps that is because they begin driving at about 9 or 10. Legally they can't get their licence till they're 17 but everyone freely admits that they start almost a decade before that.
I guess I should mention that we're in the middle of another thunder and lightening storm. We had no rain yesterday at all and at most a dozen drops today. It is kind of nice that Mother Nature is saving her show of force for the night time when we're not going anywhere anyway. :). Just like we prepare for winter at home....people here are not stopped by the rainy season. It isn't cold at all and that is kind of a cool reality actually....to be able to be out in the rain and feel nice and warm at that same time. It's kind of like a really big shower. :-). I have yet to be bold enough to take out a bar of soap and have a shower in it though as I'm pretty sure that would get me thrown in jail and I don't think that would be a place I'd want to go. LOL
One of our stops today was at the Buddhist Temple. It is nestled in the mountains and literally vibrates with a zen-like energy. On the upside....we were one of a very few people there today so had the place pretty much to ourselves. On the down-side....man those monks are good with stairs! The temple was kind of terraced so there were buildings and beautiful grounds on 5 or 6 levels and all of them were worth the hike up. There were frangipani trees in full bloom, there were mangoes hanging just out of reach, there was the smell of incense heavy in the air, and there was even one statue that I thought was a really guy! OMG! I am not joking...I actually stood there for a long time to see if he would blink. Finally, I got up the nerve to go closer and realized it was not a real monk. There was a musical instrument (a sort of bamboo xylophone) near him though and so I gave it a whirl....sad to say I am no Mozart but in that beautiful setting even my crappy banging sounded pretty okay.
The gecko squeaky toy has just decided to make a visit to my room where Lynda and I decided to ride out the storm that is going on outside. That gecko made his presence known with his croaky squeaky toy sound and I'm pretty sure he is laughing at us. Lynda has managed to emulate his song so well that I'm worried he may confuse it with some mating call and pay me a visit in the night as she is in my room making the sounds! Eeeek!!! Thank god for my mosquito netting! I wonder if it will keep a gecko out?!
After the Buddhist temple we were off to the Banjar Holy Hot Springs also in the mountains. We were pleased to discover that they were very charming. Rustic but charming with nature all around. We had read some negative comments on trip advisor but were glad we didn't pay attention to the negative ones as the hot springs were definitely worth the visit. They are very ancient and all natural. Locals frequent them and Balinese travel from far and wide to soak in the naturally green water (from the minerals). The water didn't smell bad though as some hot springs can do. The hot springs were divided into three pools, each one a little cooler than the one above it. Neither of us took our cameras into the hot springs so you're going to have to google it if you want photos or more info on it. Bottom line....we thoroughly enjoyed the stop!
Other than that....it was simply a great day of touring the Balinese countryside. We did a little shopping, we stopped at a seaside warung for fresh seafood, and we made a new friend in Ketut.
We like it here! :-)
Till next time,
L & L
P.s.
In the time it's taken me to type this that electrical storm that was overhead when I started has now moved on and is just a distant rolling in the skies. The rain is almost finished now too and so my guess is that within 1/2 hour it will all be over. It is easy to see why the island is so incredibly lush! We feel very fortunate to have arrived just prior to rainy season and to know that we will still be here when it is over and the dry season is just beginning. Having the opportunity to see the seasons change is a real gift and something that tourists don't normally get to experience. I guess that means we're "living here". :-)
L
P.p.s.
Before I can post this I must fill you in on the antics from last night. Because of the electrical storm the wifi was unplugged so I wasn't able to post till now which is a bonus for you as you're now gonna get the "rest of the story"! LOL
Lynda and I played a few games of cards (and this time it was my turn to kick her butt) and then each of us climbed into our respective mosquito net covered canopy beds to read for a while before sleep. I remember looking at the clock for the last time at 10:30 and thinking....ahhhhhh.....I'm gonna have a great night sleep. Some time later nature's alarm clock (in the form of a squeaky toy gecko) decided it was time for me to wake up and wake up I did! He actually scared me....he sounded so loud and so close! I looked at the clock and could see that it was just midnight and I cursed that little gecko!! I was determined that I would just go right back to sleep but alas....he was equally as determined that I would not. In the end, I relented and turned on my bedside light at which point I saw the BIGGEST spider ever in between the layers of mosquito netting en route to the inside of my little "cave". At first I wasn't sure what to do as that spider had my escape route blocked since he was coming in the "doorway". Once my mind cleared enough to think I realized I could just go out the other side of the bed where there is another "doorway". Once I was on the outside and could move freely about the room I retrieved my flip flops ....one for each hand. I returned to the spider and there he was....it hadn't been a bad dream! But...as soon as I moved just one layer of the netting he moved like lightening! I have never seen anything move that quickly! Luckily I was able to track him with my eyes and after a circuitous route across the room he climbed up the wall and across the door to a height that was well above my reach and over the doorway. I could feel all of my primal instincts having kicked in....I knew it had to be him or me! So.....I took a half step back from the wall and assumed my best throwing stance. Everything coaches had said to me about throwing anything from javelin to a ball or a shot to a discus came rushing back into my head and I followed through relying on instinct as much as on skill. I calculated for the shape of the shoe knowing I needed to have it hit the wall flat side down. I considered the angle of trajectory. I knew I'd have to throw it with the intention of success and Guess what?! I did it! It was a direct hit and that spider came down off the wall like I needed him to. I wasn't sure that I'd killed him or if he was just stunned but I wasn't taking any chances and I could taste the kill it was so close! See....I told you I turned primal last night! :-). LOL. Anyway, in the end I was ready with my other shoe and as soon as that spider hit the floor I hit him full on and there was no doubt at that point that he wouldn't be moving anywhere ever again!
By this time I had so much adrenaline pumping through my body that there was no way I was going to be able to sleep again any time soon so I relented and had a full on conversation with that gecko. I apologized for the names I'd called him when he woke me up and I told him how much I appreciated his watchful eye over me as I slept. I promised him he could stay in the rafters of my room for as long as he wanted and I said thank you about a million times.
After that I just sat on the couch in my room playing a game on my ipad and you'll never believe it but my killing spree was not over yet. It seems there is a nest of giant ants.....No this is not a dream people.....this is for real.....creatures come out at night and we are living in the jungle after all! Anyway, these giant ants (about 1/2 inch long) are living in the bamboo that the coffee table in front of my couch is made of. I must have killed about 50 of the little buggers! In fact as I type this I can still see evidence of that slaughter. A couple of them were on the book that Lynda and I had used for keeping score in our rummy game when they met with their demise. Now there are splotches of blood and guts where once there was a giant ant. Yes, the ants are big enough to leave blood and guts when you squish them. And.....seeing as I still had all that adrenaline and primal instinct running through my body.....I just squished them with my bare hands! This morning I thought more about it and have already washed my hands about 100 times!
So there you go....that is the rest of the story from last night. I wonder what today will bring. Not much is my guess....I'm tired after my adventures of the night. I'm hoping for a pool day!
Till later,
L
First it was up into the mountains and 100% our ski hills have nothing on the roads here! We wound our way up and up and up. All the way there were houses perched along the roadside. The villages we passed through make their living by weaving baskets of all shape and size out of the bamboo they harvest from the surrounding forests. Generally, the women make the baskets that use a finer material and the men make baskets to keep chickens in. One man can make as many as 2 baskets on a good day. Each of those baskets will sell between $4.50 and $6 CAD depending on the quality of the bamboo he has used. Often he will choose the lesser quality bamboo as there is a larger market for the cheaper baskets. And keep in mind that they won't sell baskets every day....so....their income is not great!
These villages are bustling little burbs that seemingly go on forever as they just line the main road. There aren't any side roads going off the main road....it is just that one road and everything is on it. At least that's what we could see as we wound our way through. Crops right now include grapes (this is the only grape/wine region of Bali) and corn. As well, mango and cacao and coffee and cloves are the indigenous plants here that the locals harvest for revenue as well. This is the only time of year that they will plant corn though. That is because corn needs to be watered and so the rainy season means that nature will take care of that for them in the mountains. By the time the rainy season is subsiding the corn will be far enough along that it won't matter so much.
Ketut is another amazing driver....they all seem to be amazing drivers here. Perhaps that is because they begin driving at about 9 or 10. Legally they can't get their licence till they're 17 but everyone freely admits that they start almost a decade before that.
I guess I should mention that we're in the middle of another thunder and lightening storm. We had no rain yesterday at all and at most a dozen drops today. It is kind of nice that Mother Nature is saving her show of force for the night time when we're not going anywhere anyway. :). Just like we prepare for winter at home....people here are not stopped by the rainy season. It isn't cold at all and that is kind of a cool reality actually....to be able to be out in the rain and feel nice and warm at that same time. It's kind of like a really big shower. :-). I have yet to be bold enough to take out a bar of soap and have a shower in it though as I'm pretty sure that would get me thrown in jail and I don't think that would be a place I'd want to go. LOL
One of our stops today was at the Buddhist Temple. It is nestled in the mountains and literally vibrates with a zen-like energy. On the upside....we were one of a very few people there today so had the place pretty much to ourselves. On the down-side....man those monks are good with stairs! The temple was kind of terraced so there were buildings and beautiful grounds on 5 or 6 levels and all of them were worth the hike up. There were frangipani trees in full bloom, there were mangoes hanging just out of reach, there was the smell of incense heavy in the air, and there was even one statue that I thought was a really guy! OMG! I am not joking...I actually stood there for a long time to see if he would blink. Finally, I got up the nerve to go closer and realized it was not a real monk. There was a musical instrument (a sort of bamboo xylophone) near him though and so I gave it a whirl....sad to say I am no Mozart but in that beautiful setting even my crappy banging sounded pretty okay.
The gecko squeaky toy has just decided to make a visit to my room where Lynda and I decided to ride out the storm that is going on outside. That gecko made his presence known with his croaky squeaky toy sound and I'm pretty sure he is laughing at us. Lynda has managed to emulate his song so well that I'm worried he may confuse it with some mating call and pay me a visit in the night as she is in my room making the sounds! Eeeek!!! Thank god for my mosquito netting! I wonder if it will keep a gecko out?!
After the Buddhist temple we were off to the Banjar Holy Hot Springs also in the mountains. We were pleased to discover that they were very charming. Rustic but charming with nature all around. We had read some negative comments on trip advisor but were glad we didn't pay attention to the negative ones as the hot springs were definitely worth the visit. They are very ancient and all natural. Locals frequent them and Balinese travel from far and wide to soak in the naturally green water (from the minerals). The water didn't smell bad though as some hot springs can do. The hot springs were divided into three pools, each one a little cooler than the one above it. Neither of us took our cameras into the hot springs so you're going to have to google it if you want photos or more info on it. Bottom line....we thoroughly enjoyed the stop!
Other than that....it was simply a great day of touring the Balinese countryside. We did a little shopping, we stopped at a seaside warung for fresh seafood, and we made a new friend in Ketut.
We like it here! :-)
Till next time,
L & L
P.s.
In the time it's taken me to type this that electrical storm that was overhead when I started has now moved on and is just a distant rolling in the skies. The rain is almost finished now too and so my guess is that within 1/2 hour it will all be over. It is easy to see why the island is so incredibly lush! We feel very fortunate to have arrived just prior to rainy season and to know that we will still be here when it is over and the dry season is just beginning. Having the opportunity to see the seasons change is a real gift and something that tourists don't normally get to experience. I guess that means we're "living here". :-)
L
P.p.s.
Before I can post this I must fill you in on the antics from last night. Because of the electrical storm the wifi was unplugged so I wasn't able to post till now which is a bonus for you as you're now gonna get the "rest of the story"! LOL
Lynda and I played a few games of cards (and this time it was my turn to kick her butt) and then each of us climbed into our respective mosquito net covered canopy beds to read for a while before sleep. I remember looking at the clock for the last time at 10:30 and thinking....ahhhhhh.....I'm gonna have a great night sleep. Some time later nature's alarm clock (in the form of a squeaky toy gecko) decided it was time for me to wake up and wake up I did! He actually scared me....he sounded so loud and so close! I looked at the clock and could see that it was just midnight and I cursed that little gecko!! I was determined that I would just go right back to sleep but alas....he was equally as determined that I would not. In the end, I relented and turned on my bedside light at which point I saw the BIGGEST spider ever in between the layers of mosquito netting en route to the inside of my little "cave". At first I wasn't sure what to do as that spider had my escape route blocked since he was coming in the "doorway". Once my mind cleared enough to think I realized I could just go out the other side of the bed where there is another "doorway". Once I was on the outside and could move freely about the room I retrieved my flip flops ....one for each hand. I returned to the spider and there he was....it hadn't been a bad dream! But...as soon as I moved just one layer of the netting he moved like lightening! I have never seen anything move that quickly! Luckily I was able to track him with my eyes and after a circuitous route across the room he climbed up the wall and across the door to a height that was well above my reach and over the doorway. I could feel all of my primal instincts having kicked in....I knew it had to be him or me! So.....I took a half step back from the wall and assumed my best throwing stance. Everything coaches had said to me about throwing anything from javelin to a ball or a shot to a discus came rushing back into my head and I followed through relying on instinct as much as on skill. I calculated for the shape of the shoe knowing I needed to have it hit the wall flat side down. I considered the angle of trajectory. I knew I'd have to throw it with the intention of success and Guess what?! I did it! It was a direct hit and that spider came down off the wall like I needed him to. I wasn't sure that I'd killed him or if he was just stunned but I wasn't taking any chances and I could taste the kill it was so close! See....I told you I turned primal last night! :-). LOL. Anyway, in the end I was ready with my other shoe and as soon as that spider hit the floor I hit him full on and there was no doubt at that point that he wouldn't be moving anywhere ever again!
By this time I had so much adrenaline pumping through my body that there was no way I was going to be able to sleep again any time soon so I relented and had a full on conversation with that gecko. I apologized for the names I'd called him when he woke me up and I told him how much I appreciated his watchful eye over me as I slept. I promised him he could stay in the rafters of my room for as long as he wanted and I said thank you about a million times.
After that I just sat on the couch in my room playing a game on my ipad and you'll never believe it but my killing spree was not over yet. It seems there is a nest of giant ants.....No this is not a dream people.....this is for real.....creatures come out at night and we are living in the jungle after all! Anyway, these giant ants (about 1/2 inch long) are living in the bamboo that the coffee table in front of my couch is made of. I must have killed about 50 of the little buggers! In fact as I type this I can still see evidence of that slaughter. A couple of them were on the book that Lynda and I had used for keeping score in our rummy game when they met with their demise. Now there are splotches of blood and guts where once there was a giant ant. Yes, the ants are big enough to leave blood and guts when you squish them. And.....seeing as I still had all that adrenaline and primal instinct running through my body.....I just squished them with my bare hands! This morning I thought more about it and have already washed my hands about 100 times!
So there you go....that is the rest of the story from last night. I wonder what today will bring. Not much is my guess....I'm tired after my adventures of the night. I'm hoping for a pool day!
Till later,
L
Sunday, December 18, 2016
December 18, 2016
"Hello Double L". You know you've been in a place for a while when this is what you hear as you're walking to dinner. You've already been introduced to Made and his family (wife Neeya and sons Andre and Indra). They have the little shop where we purchased our sarongs and that little shop is positioned so that we have to walk right by it pretty much every time we walk anywhere. Made and his wife have decided that every time they see us they call out loud and clear for all to hear...."hello double L" and then the entire family comes running to say hello. Tonight Lynda was in great form and taught Indra (8 yrs old) a couple of fun little "magic" things he can do with his classmates and the younger kids. She did the 'disconnected thumb' and the 'middle fingers between twisted palms' trick and then for the grand finale she taught him how to do the 'disappearing dickie birds' poem. If you aren't familiar with any of these be sure to ask Lynda to demo the next time you see her. :-)
Mother Nature must have emptied her water supply out last night as we had gorgeous sunny skies all day today which meant that we could just soak it up at poolside. We tried to beat our record volleys of 99 but alas....couldn't even come close. I think we barely made it past 1/2 way to that target on our best score of the day.
Reading was about the most strenuous thing either of us did today.....well....thats not really true I guess as we both found time to fit our yoga/meditation/stretching routines into today's busy schedule. LOL
For those of you who are reading along and wondering if we're ever going to do anything interesting for you to read....tomorrow will be the day as we've got a little outing planned. The driver will pick us up at 11:00 and we'll fill you in on the days activities once we're home tomorrow night.
Until then.....
Double L
Mother Nature must have emptied her water supply out last night as we had gorgeous sunny skies all day today which meant that we could just soak it up at poolside. We tried to beat our record volleys of 99 but alas....couldn't even come close. I think we barely made it past 1/2 way to that target on our best score of the day.
Reading was about the most strenuous thing either of us did today.....well....thats not really true I guess as we both found time to fit our yoga/meditation/stretching routines into today's busy schedule. LOL
For those of you who are reading along and wondering if we're ever going to do anything interesting for you to read....tomorrow will be the day as we've got a little outing planned. The driver will pick us up at 11:00 and we'll fill you in on the days activities once we're home tomorrow night.
Until then.....
Double L
December 17, 2016
Rain Rain Go Away.....We all know that song from our childhood but I gotta tell you it has taken on a whole new meaning here in the tropics during rainy season! And...the best is yet to come because January is actually the peak of the season so we're not even really there yet.
Tonight we are actually having an amazing thunder and lightening storm. The thunder is so loud that the rain is actually taking second place to it....and it is raining hard people!
The rain really started last night in the middle of the night some time and it lasted pretty much till morning. Not that I was awake for the whole night but on the couple of occasions that I did wake up...it was pouring! By breakfast time the downpour from the night before was nothing more than a few puddles here and there but by mid morning the downpour was in full force again. By lunch time that too was nothing more than a memory and then this evening while we were seated in our outdoor dining area it started up again and tonight looks like it might be another doozy! The lightening is flashing so bright and the thunder is so loud! I don't know that I've ever heard thunder this close...or maybe its more that each clap of thunder lasts longer than I think it will. If we go with the old story of somebody bowling up there in the skies....then this guy is getting a strike every single time! Seriously....We can still clearly hear the distant remains of the last clap of thunder when the next one strikes full force again. And, in between each of those claps of thunder there is another round of blinding lightening. It must be so close! My guess is that it is just over the sea (which is right next to us in Lovina)
Tonight we had dinner as prepared by Gooday. This afternoon Gooday had some time off so he used it to make dinner for us (as planned yesterday). Our meal was a traditional Balinese dish called Betutu which consists of a special little chicken that has been raised completely organically in the village. That little chicken is very little.....maybe not even as big as the Bantam type that we often see running around rural properties at home. This little chicken is known for its good flavour and mostly for the fact that it is so natural and good for the diet. The chicken is stuffed with tapioca leaves and a variety of Balinese spices and then cooked for more than 3 hours.
OMG! Lynda just jumped off the couch and almost out of her skin! There was a crack of lightening at the same time as there as a clap of thunder and all of it happened right here in our yard. I am totally not exaggerating when I say that I actually felt a shock from the lightening and the clap of thunder combined with the crack of lightening hurt my ears. Lynda has her video running now in the hope that something happens again but I think it has moved on a little further away from us now so it is much tamer than it was a minute ago. We can still hear the storm but really it is more just the rain that is dumping down that is the focus. If we want to have coffee and some fruit tonight we're going to have to dodge the raindrops to get over to the kitchen and back again.
Now back to that dinner.....in addition to the chicken we had another plate of tapioca leaves as a veg and lots of rice and extra sauce (that was a little spicy and totally delicious!). We ate every bit of it except for about 1/2 the plate of greens as there were just sooo many of those. It was a first time having tapioca leaves for both of us. I actually didn't even know that they were used as a vegetable but I guess it makes sense as that plant is common and used by everyone in the tropics. For those of you who don't know....tapioca doesn't grow in those little balls we are familiar with. It is actually a long root that looks kind of like a giant parsnip or maybe even more like a big sweet potato. When the plant (that is about 5 feet tall) is pulled up the root is cut off and the stem of the plant can be shoved back into the earth where it will just start growing and available for picking again in a few months. The leaves look a bit like a marijuana leaf and as I said...this is the first I've known that they are also used.
HOLY CRAP! There was another one! Maybe the storm is coming back!! My ears are still kind of ringing from this last one....I'm thinking we should be wearing some safety gear for this!
Gonna sign off for now and just enjoy the light show that is going on in our sky.
Till next time,
L & L
Tonight we are actually having an amazing thunder and lightening storm. The thunder is so loud that the rain is actually taking second place to it....and it is raining hard people!
The rain really started last night in the middle of the night some time and it lasted pretty much till morning. Not that I was awake for the whole night but on the couple of occasions that I did wake up...it was pouring! By breakfast time the downpour from the night before was nothing more than a few puddles here and there but by mid morning the downpour was in full force again. By lunch time that too was nothing more than a memory and then this evening while we were seated in our outdoor dining area it started up again and tonight looks like it might be another doozy! The lightening is flashing so bright and the thunder is so loud! I don't know that I've ever heard thunder this close...or maybe its more that each clap of thunder lasts longer than I think it will. If we go with the old story of somebody bowling up there in the skies....then this guy is getting a strike every single time! Seriously....We can still clearly hear the distant remains of the last clap of thunder when the next one strikes full force again. And, in between each of those claps of thunder there is another round of blinding lightening. It must be so close! My guess is that it is just over the sea (which is right next to us in Lovina)
Tonight we had dinner as prepared by Gooday. This afternoon Gooday had some time off so he used it to make dinner for us (as planned yesterday). Our meal was a traditional Balinese dish called Betutu which consists of a special little chicken that has been raised completely organically in the village. That little chicken is very little.....maybe not even as big as the Bantam type that we often see running around rural properties at home. This little chicken is known for its good flavour and mostly for the fact that it is so natural and good for the diet. The chicken is stuffed with tapioca leaves and a variety of Balinese spices and then cooked for more than 3 hours.
OMG! Lynda just jumped off the couch and almost out of her skin! There was a crack of lightening at the same time as there as a clap of thunder and all of it happened right here in our yard. I am totally not exaggerating when I say that I actually felt a shock from the lightening and the clap of thunder combined with the crack of lightening hurt my ears. Lynda has her video running now in the hope that something happens again but I think it has moved on a little further away from us now so it is much tamer than it was a minute ago. We can still hear the storm but really it is more just the rain that is dumping down that is the focus. If we want to have coffee and some fruit tonight we're going to have to dodge the raindrops to get over to the kitchen and back again.
Now back to that dinner.....in addition to the chicken we had another plate of tapioca leaves as a veg and lots of rice and extra sauce (that was a little spicy and totally delicious!). We ate every bit of it except for about 1/2 the plate of greens as there were just sooo many of those. It was a first time having tapioca leaves for both of us. I actually didn't even know that they were used as a vegetable but I guess it makes sense as that plant is common and used by everyone in the tropics. For those of you who don't know....tapioca doesn't grow in those little balls we are familiar with. It is actually a long root that looks kind of like a giant parsnip or maybe even more like a big sweet potato. When the plant (that is about 5 feet tall) is pulled up the root is cut off and the stem of the plant can be shoved back into the earth where it will just start growing and available for picking again in a few months. The leaves look a bit like a marijuana leaf and as I said...this is the first I've known that they are also used.
HOLY CRAP! There was another one! Maybe the storm is coming back!! My ears are still kind of ringing from this last one....I'm thinking we should be wearing some safety gear for this!
Gonna sign off for now and just enjoy the light show that is going on in our sky.
Till next time,
L & L
Friday, December 16, 2016
December 16, 2016
To celebrate our one month anniversary in Bali we decided to do something different. We decided to just kick back and have a relaxing day lounging at poolside. LOL.....heh....maybe that isn't so different after all!
The one thing that we did do a little differently today was we made arrangements to have a masseuse come in to do massages for each of us right here on our property. What a treat to not have to slip and slide back home from a spa. Here we could just slip and slide across the yard to the bungalow where a nice warm shower awaited. Yep....once again....a girl could get pretty used to this life!
Although having said that, Lynda continues to slip back into her desire to do dishes and other similar duties. I on the other hand have no such slippage! As I type this I can hear Gooday in the kitchen tidying up and prepping our fruit and such for tomorrow's brekky. I'm having no urge to go in there and help him at all and I must say that Lynda's doing really well today too! Maybe that massage put her into such a relaxed state she's forgotten her earlier desire to "help".
Having a massage outdoors is very special. Earlier in the day Kadeck hung up curtains on three sides of an outdoor covered platform. That is where our massage girl did her magic. The one side of the room that was uncovered was open to the massive bamboo trees that grow across the creek so that was the view and where the breeze was coming from for the duration of the treatment. The music that the wind can make in those bamboo trees and the sound of the creek tripping along is nothing short of nature's version of a full blown orchestra. Couple that with a perfect temperature today and a 90 minute massage and you have....well.....you have my version of bliss. Agggghhhhhhh..... :-)
The biggest event of the rest of today was that Lynda and I managed to break our previous record for number of times we could volley a ball in the pool. Previously our record had been set at 41 and today (maybe it was the massage) we smoked that! Tomorrow we'll be trying to beat 99!!!
I neglected to write anything about our breakfast adventure from yesterday so I'd better take a minute to do a little review. We arrived at our destination right on time (9:00 a.m.) and discovered that our hostess had brought in a round cement table and two metal chairs for us to sit at. Who knows where they brought that table from but I'm telling you....it would have weighed a ton! The table and chairs were set up in the outdoor living space adjacent to their home. This outdoor living space also doubles as their carport and temple. As well, it is the yard where the kids can play and where the dogs, cats and chickens make themselves at home.
A couple of their kids were there playing when we arrived and in no time English class was underway. Almost as soon as that began more kids materialized out of the house and from across the street so ultimately class consisted of about 8 kids of all ages. Eensy Weensy spider and Old MacDonald Had a Farm were on the agenda and then the action words like "walking", "running", and "jumping" took over. Lynda worked up a good sweat demonstrating the words while I videotaped the proceedings. (My mamma didn't raise no fool! LOL). The kids sang Balinese songs for us, the grandma (our host) demonstrated her daily exercise regime and fun was had by all.
While all of this was going on our host was wielding a massive machete to prep our coconuts and her daughter (mother to a couple of the kids) was cooking our nasi goreng (fried rice). The cooking all took place in a little outdoor kitchen and somehow out of that she was able to present us with a beautiful plate of a perfect mound of nasi goreng and an edible garnish of a tomato rosette with cucumber leaves. It was every bit as beautiful as it was delicious! Our cook originally learned her trade in a restaurant but since then she has come home to have her babies and raise her family near her mom. Her husband continues to live and work in Ubud (about 3 hrs away) and he comes home every couple of weeks for a visit.
All of the houses in the little area of the village we were in seemed to be related to this family in some way and that seems to be the norm here. Living as an extended family is common and those that go away to work, send money home to help out. In this family, one of the sons is away working on the cruise ships, another is in Ubud (the husband of our cook), and one of the sons lives there at the property where he is putting in a garden that looks like quite the undertaking. He has raised beds and an irrigation system....perhaps he plans to sell some of his produce.
Another thing we learned today is that our cooks father (our host's husband) has two wives. Both of them live in this same village but in two different homes. The daughter tells us that this is very common here....will have to remember to ask Birgit about it too as I'm curious. I asked her if women were allowed to have two husbands too and she replied very quickly with "NO!" "One is enough!" Her vehement response resulted in much laughter....and her reassurance that she wouldn't want any more than one husband!
We had a great morning and it is likely that we'll go back there again for dinner some time before we leave Lovina. It is nice to be able to support the local community outside the restaurants too. In fact, tomorrow, Gooday will be cooking dinner for us right here at our place. He only works 1/2 day tomorrow so we've given him some money and he will go buy all the stuff and cook something that is very traditional Balinese for us to try. My hunch is that it is going to be some kind of feast and we're both looking forward to it. You'll have to wait till the next missive to find out just how it all turns out though.
So....till next time,
L & L
The one thing that we did do a little differently today was we made arrangements to have a masseuse come in to do massages for each of us right here on our property. What a treat to not have to slip and slide back home from a spa. Here we could just slip and slide across the yard to the bungalow where a nice warm shower awaited. Yep....once again....a girl could get pretty used to this life!
Although having said that, Lynda continues to slip back into her desire to do dishes and other similar duties. I on the other hand have no such slippage! As I type this I can hear Gooday in the kitchen tidying up and prepping our fruit and such for tomorrow's brekky. I'm having no urge to go in there and help him at all and I must say that Lynda's doing really well today too! Maybe that massage put her into such a relaxed state she's forgotten her earlier desire to "help".
Having a massage outdoors is very special. Earlier in the day Kadeck hung up curtains on three sides of an outdoor covered platform. That is where our massage girl did her magic. The one side of the room that was uncovered was open to the massive bamboo trees that grow across the creek so that was the view and where the breeze was coming from for the duration of the treatment. The music that the wind can make in those bamboo trees and the sound of the creek tripping along is nothing short of nature's version of a full blown orchestra. Couple that with a perfect temperature today and a 90 minute massage and you have....well.....you have my version of bliss. Agggghhhhhhh..... :-)
The biggest event of the rest of today was that Lynda and I managed to break our previous record for number of times we could volley a ball in the pool. Previously our record had been set at 41 and today (maybe it was the massage) we smoked that! Tomorrow we'll be trying to beat 99!!!
I neglected to write anything about our breakfast adventure from yesterday so I'd better take a minute to do a little review. We arrived at our destination right on time (9:00 a.m.) and discovered that our hostess had brought in a round cement table and two metal chairs for us to sit at. Who knows where they brought that table from but I'm telling you....it would have weighed a ton! The table and chairs were set up in the outdoor living space adjacent to their home. This outdoor living space also doubles as their carport and temple. As well, it is the yard where the kids can play and where the dogs, cats and chickens make themselves at home.
A couple of their kids were there playing when we arrived and in no time English class was underway. Almost as soon as that began more kids materialized out of the house and from across the street so ultimately class consisted of about 8 kids of all ages. Eensy Weensy spider and Old MacDonald Had a Farm were on the agenda and then the action words like "walking", "running", and "jumping" took over. Lynda worked up a good sweat demonstrating the words while I videotaped the proceedings. (My mamma didn't raise no fool! LOL). The kids sang Balinese songs for us, the grandma (our host) demonstrated her daily exercise regime and fun was had by all.
While all of this was going on our host was wielding a massive machete to prep our coconuts and her daughter (mother to a couple of the kids) was cooking our nasi goreng (fried rice). The cooking all took place in a little outdoor kitchen and somehow out of that she was able to present us with a beautiful plate of a perfect mound of nasi goreng and an edible garnish of a tomato rosette with cucumber leaves. It was every bit as beautiful as it was delicious! Our cook originally learned her trade in a restaurant but since then she has come home to have her babies and raise her family near her mom. Her husband continues to live and work in Ubud (about 3 hrs away) and he comes home every couple of weeks for a visit.
All of the houses in the little area of the village we were in seemed to be related to this family in some way and that seems to be the norm here. Living as an extended family is common and those that go away to work, send money home to help out. In this family, one of the sons is away working on the cruise ships, another is in Ubud (the husband of our cook), and one of the sons lives there at the property where he is putting in a garden that looks like quite the undertaking. He has raised beds and an irrigation system....perhaps he plans to sell some of his produce.
Another thing we learned today is that our cooks father (our host's husband) has two wives. Both of them live in this same village but in two different homes. The daughter tells us that this is very common here....will have to remember to ask Birgit about it too as I'm curious. I asked her if women were allowed to have two husbands too and she replied very quickly with "NO!" "One is enough!" Her vehement response resulted in much laughter....and her reassurance that she wouldn't want any more than one husband!
We had a great morning and it is likely that we'll go back there again for dinner some time before we leave Lovina. It is nice to be able to support the local community outside the restaurants too. In fact, tomorrow, Gooday will be cooking dinner for us right here at our place. He only works 1/2 day tomorrow so we've given him some money and he will go buy all the stuff and cook something that is very traditional Balinese for us to try. My hunch is that it is going to be some kind of feast and we're both looking forward to it. You'll have to wait till the next missive to find out just how it all turns out though.
So....till next time,
L & L
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
December 14, 2016
For those of you who know me it won't come as a surprise when I say, "Me and any form of the deep blue anything are not particularly good friends". But.....this morning I overcame my distaste for the deep blue of the Java Sea and by 6:00 a.m. (Before the sun was even up!) we were out on a traditional Balinese boat with our captain Maleck and a couple from Russia. We were in search of the dolphins that are known to frequent these waters in the very early morning. And yes.....we found them! They are HUGE! Honestly, we both described them more like really small whales than any dolphins we'd seen before.....but then again....I can't think of a time when I've seen dolphins up this close before!
We set out this morning from the Lovina fishing village and there were only about half a dozen boats with us at that time. By the time we got out to where the dolphins were (a good 1/2 hour out) we counted 70 boats! We're not sure where all the other boats came from so are guessing that every little town along this coast has similar fishing boats for hire to see the dolphins too.
As much as I'm not a morning person (nor a water person) I have to admit that I'm thankful Lynda woke me up for the trip this morning. At the start I can't say that was my perspective (I think it was something a little grumpier sounding than that) but by the time we were out on the water (and the sea was calm) all was good as my attitude began to wake up too.
We were out on the water for a total of about 2 hours and in addition to having the opportunity to see at least a dozen sightings of the pod (At least I think that is what a group of dolphins is called) we also got to watch our captain fish on the way back to the village. When you think of a fisherman fishing....do you think of rods and nets or do you think of a simple spool of nylon line held in his hand and tossed out over the side of the boat whenever there was an obvious bunch of fish breaking the surface of the sea. Every time Maleck (our captain) saw their silvery bodies reflecting the sunshine on the sea's surface he would turn the boat in that direction and drag his "line". Unfortunately there was no fish for breakfast this morning but it was fun watching him fish in this traditional way. He had a fly/hook on the end of his line but honestly....all it was was a spool of line and his bare hands.
Sooooo we got to see the sunrise on the sea. We got to see LOTS of huge dolphins up close and personal (the closest were maybe 15 feet from our boat). We got to have a fantastic boat ride in a traditional Balinese fishing boat. We got to watch a "real" fisherman at work. And.....we got to have an adventure walking home too.
Yes, the day was just beginning as the dolphin tour ended. We came home via the fishing village and before we'd even left the beach we were invited to join a family as they sat on a makeshift bench (I think it was an old door laid across two logs). The two women and their children had an abundance of smiles for us along with an offer of Bali coffee. The generosity and hospitality of the people here is endless. This family had so little (in terms of material goods) but they had coffee and they have a desire to share whatever they have. We weren't able to stay for coffee as our breakfast would be waiting at home. Perhaps another day.
Also en route home we passed a woman cooking. Lynda had spoken to her already a couple of times. Well, I may be exaggerating there as Lynda doesn't speak Bahasa or Balinese and this lady doesn't speak English but.....they had communicated enough for Lynda to know that she wanted to support this woman in her "warung". As luck would have it, our host Birgit also happened along at the same time. Birgit is fluent in Bahasa and Balinese and so Lynda and I have put in our order for Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and fresh coconut tomorrow morning at her warung at 9:00 a.m. I'm calling her place a warung but this isn't a restaurant....this is truly where the locals stop to pick up something. Our meals tomorrow morning (including the fresh coconuts) will be a total of $5 and I'm betting it will be tasty too!
Walking back along the narrow little "road" from the village was so beautiful! The trees created enough shade that the temperature was comfortable. There were children riding their bikes, fishing in the creek, and just being kids all along the way. The kids who were fishing were using an old plastic water bottle as their fishing pole. The fishing line was wrapped around the bottle and there was a hook in the end. To "reel in" their catch, they just wrap the line around the bottle and to cast for fish they just let the line slip off the end of the bottle. It is quite an art and not as easy as it sounds. We've watched people in Mexico fish like that there too and are always amazed that they consistently have success with their primitive (but creative) fishing pole! There was a guy sitting on the bank of the creek with his fishing pole looking like he had nowhere else to be for a very very long time. There was an old man (and I mean OLD) squatting down chopping down weeds with a curved blade in his hand. The sights along this little roadway were like something you might see on a documentary....this was the real people living their real lives in a real little village....NO tourism here!
As we left the paved "road" we turned on to the short cut that would bring us directly back to Saraswati (our home). That short cut really is a bit of an adventure! First you walk along the top of a concrete wall that is one side of the creek channel. The top of that wall is about 6-8 inches wide and the drop to the creek is more than 10 feet. When you first step onto it there are some bamboo tree trunks you can grab hold of but once you're on there it is a balancing tight wire act for a good 30-40 feet before you come to another bit of bamboo you can hold on to. Once you've made it across the top of that wall then you move on to a much lower wall and you can either balance on that 10-12 inch wide wall or straddle the ditch that it is one side of. That ditch is about 2 feet wide so straddling it is possible but a bit awkward. As this was my first attempt at this "adventurous short cut" I initially tried straddling it but grew tired of that after a few steps and switched to the balancing act once again. Lynda knew what was coming next and so she had stayed back a little with camera in hand so she could capture the image of me taking my first steps into this tropical adventure trail! You're gonna have to go to Facebook to see those pics though cuz I still can't seem to get them to load to this blog.
Since our early morning antics it's been a pretty uneventful and lazy day so till next time....
L & L
P.s.
Lynda says that if we stay here long enough and if we practice every day she is pretty sure that either of us could qualify for the Canadian team at the next Olympics. We'll likely win the balance beam portion! (The only caveat here is that they can only judge us on the walking part of the balance beam....no dismounts.....no jumps.....no fancy stuff.....just one foot in front of the other without falling into the creek. In fact, now that I think about it, those athletes aren't that impressive at all! They don't have the risk factor of creek beds that are meters below! They don't have the risk of frogs, spiders, and poisonous snakes jumping out at them from the bamboo! WTH? We're already practically perfect! Our intention is to suggest that the Olympic committee add a little spice to those gymnastic events. If there was the added excitement of surprise those little bitty gymnasts wouldn't have a chance against us stable old grandmas. We're kind of like Rocky Balboa....this real world practice will serve us well when we make our international debut! )
P.P.S.
There has been a sudden change of heart! Someone who is on the patio of our hosts home next door to us here just sneezed and we both jumped out of our skin! Crap! We might have to practice a lot longer before we can do the balance beam and win.
We set out this morning from the Lovina fishing village and there were only about half a dozen boats with us at that time. By the time we got out to where the dolphins were (a good 1/2 hour out) we counted 70 boats! We're not sure where all the other boats came from so are guessing that every little town along this coast has similar fishing boats for hire to see the dolphins too.
As much as I'm not a morning person (nor a water person) I have to admit that I'm thankful Lynda woke me up for the trip this morning. At the start I can't say that was my perspective (I think it was something a little grumpier sounding than that) but by the time we were out on the water (and the sea was calm) all was good as my attitude began to wake up too.
We were out on the water for a total of about 2 hours and in addition to having the opportunity to see at least a dozen sightings of the pod (At least I think that is what a group of dolphins is called) we also got to watch our captain fish on the way back to the village. When you think of a fisherman fishing....do you think of rods and nets or do you think of a simple spool of nylon line held in his hand and tossed out over the side of the boat whenever there was an obvious bunch of fish breaking the surface of the sea. Every time Maleck (our captain) saw their silvery bodies reflecting the sunshine on the sea's surface he would turn the boat in that direction and drag his "line". Unfortunately there was no fish for breakfast this morning but it was fun watching him fish in this traditional way. He had a fly/hook on the end of his line but honestly....all it was was a spool of line and his bare hands.
Sooooo we got to see the sunrise on the sea. We got to see LOTS of huge dolphins up close and personal (the closest were maybe 15 feet from our boat). We got to have a fantastic boat ride in a traditional Balinese fishing boat. We got to watch a "real" fisherman at work. And.....we got to have an adventure walking home too.
Yes, the day was just beginning as the dolphin tour ended. We came home via the fishing village and before we'd even left the beach we were invited to join a family as they sat on a makeshift bench (I think it was an old door laid across two logs). The two women and their children had an abundance of smiles for us along with an offer of Bali coffee. The generosity and hospitality of the people here is endless. This family had so little (in terms of material goods) but they had coffee and they have a desire to share whatever they have. We weren't able to stay for coffee as our breakfast would be waiting at home. Perhaps another day.
Also en route home we passed a woman cooking. Lynda had spoken to her already a couple of times. Well, I may be exaggerating there as Lynda doesn't speak Bahasa or Balinese and this lady doesn't speak English but.....they had communicated enough for Lynda to know that she wanted to support this woman in her "warung". As luck would have it, our host Birgit also happened along at the same time. Birgit is fluent in Bahasa and Balinese and so Lynda and I have put in our order for Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and fresh coconut tomorrow morning at her warung at 9:00 a.m. I'm calling her place a warung but this isn't a restaurant....this is truly where the locals stop to pick up something. Our meals tomorrow morning (including the fresh coconuts) will be a total of $5 and I'm betting it will be tasty too!
Walking back along the narrow little "road" from the village was so beautiful! The trees created enough shade that the temperature was comfortable. There were children riding their bikes, fishing in the creek, and just being kids all along the way. The kids who were fishing were using an old plastic water bottle as their fishing pole. The fishing line was wrapped around the bottle and there was a hook in the end. To "reel in" their catch, they just wrap the line around the bottle and to cast for fish they just let the line slip off the end of the bottle. It is quite an art and not as easy as it sounds. We've watched people in Mexico fish like that there too and are always amazed that they consistently have success with their primitive (but creative) fishing pole! There was a guy sitting on the bank of the creek with his fishing pole looking like he had nowhere else to be for a very very long time. There was an old man (and I mean OLD) squatting down chopping down weeds with a curved blade in his hand. The sights along this little roadway were like something you might see on a documentary....this was the real people living their real lives in a real little village....NO tourism here!
As we left the paved "road" we turned on to the short cut that would bring us directly back to Saraswati (our home). That short cut really is a bit of an adventure! First you walk along the top of a concrete wall that is one side of the creek channel. The top of that wall is about 6-8 inches wide and the drop to the creek is more than 10 feet. When you first step onto it there are some bamboo tree trunks you can grab hold of but once you're on there it is a balancing tight wire act for a good 30-40 feet before you come to another bit of bamboo you can hold on to. Once you've made it across the top of that wall then you move on to a much lower wall and you can either balance on that 10-12 inch wide wall or straddle the ditch that it is one side of. That ditch is about 2 feet wide so straddling it is possible but a bit awkward. As this was my first attempt at this "adventurous short cut" I initially tried straddling it but grew tired of that after a few steps and switched to the balancing act once again. Lynda knew what was coming next and so she had stayed back a little with camera in hand so she could capture the image of me taking my first steps into this tropical adventure trail! You're gonna have to go to Facebook to see those pics though cuz I still can't seem to get them to load to this blog.
Since our early morning antics it's been a pretty uneventful and lazy day so till next time....
L & L
P.s.
Lynda says that if we stay here long enough and if we practice every day she is pretty sure that either of us could qualify for the Canadian team at the next Olympics. We'll likely win the balance beam portion! (The only caveat here is that they can only judge us on the walking part of the balance beam....no dismounts.....no jumps.....no fancy stuff.....just one foot in front of the other without falling into the creek. In fact, now that I think about it, those athletes aren't that impressive at all! They don't have the risk factor of creek beds that are meters below! They don't have the risk of frogs, spiders, and poisonous snakes jumping out at them from the bamboo! WTH? We're already practically perfect! Our intention is to suggest that the Olympic committee add a little spice to those gymnastic events. If there was the added excitement of surprise those little bitty gymnasts wouldn't have a chance against us stable old grandmas. We're kind of like Rocky Balboa....this real world practice will serve us well when we make our international debut! )
P.P.S.
There has been a sudden change of heart! Someone who is on the patio of our hosts home next door to us here just sneezed and we both jumped out of our skin! Crap! We might have to practice a lot longer before we can do the balance beam and win.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
December 12, 2016
On our way to Lovina (from Ubud) we stopped and saw many sights along the way. As it is raining here this afternoon I am going to try to get some photos to load into the blog. Wish me luck!
These first two are the bamboo lookout we used to get the BEST view of twin lakes at the summit of the mountain we had to cross to get here. Lynda wasn't so sure she liked it though!!
This one is of a guy who was bringing home the firewood. Passed him on our way down to see the waterfall. Remember....this is the trail that we will be coming up on the back of a motor bike. Right here at the top of the trail it doesn't look half bad.....a little further down is where it's not looking like anyone should be on the back of a motorbike...especially a couple of grandmas!
This next one is of us standing in front of the temple by the lake. This is the place that Lynda dubbed "the Butchart Gardens of Bali" and rightly so! The gardens surrounding this temple area were gorgeous.
Not sure how these photos are going to copy over into blog soooo....will leave it for now and see if it works to get these posted.
L & L
......well......that answers my question! Didn't work at all. Sorry.....I tried but loading photos to blog is not as easy as you might think. Have been putting some up on Facebook so if you have access to that, you can see what we've been up to. :-)
These first two are the bamboo lookout we used to get the BEST view of twin lakes at the summit of the mountain we had to cross to get here. Lynda wasn't so sure she liked it though!!
This one is of a guy who was bringing home the firewood. Passed him on our way down to see the waterfall. Remember....this is the trail that we will be coming up on the back of a motor bike. Right here at the top of the trail it doesn't look half bad.....a little further down is where it's not looking like anyone should be on the back of a motorbike...especially a couple of grandmas!
This next one is of us standing in front of the temple by the lake. This is the place that Lynda dubbed "the Butchart Gardens of Bali" and rightly so! The gardens surrounding this temple area were gorgeous.
Not sure how these photos are going to copy over into blog soooo....will leave it for now and see if it works to get these posted.
L & L
......well......that answers my question! Didn't work at all. Sorry.....I tried but loading photos to blog is not as easy as you might think. Have been putting some up on Facebook so if you have access to that, you can see what we've been up to. :-)
Sunday, December 11, 2016
December 11, 2016
Oh the difference a degree makes! Last night the thermometer in my room dipped just below the 27 degree mark to 26.8 and honestly you wouldn't believe how much better I slept. Perhaps it is that I now have the angle of the oscillating fan figured out too but whatever it was I am in heaven this morning! Lynda says that she even had to use a blanket last night! Interesting how those little things (like sleep) that we often take for granted seem so spectacular when they return after alluding us for even a few days! Gotta be a lesson in there somewhere and we're in the perfect place to reflect on stuff like that. Bali really does have such a zen-like vibe that it is easy to fall into healthy habits.
Speaking of reflecting.....some of you may be thinking....."WTH do they do there? Anything but type in the blog?!" In answer to that (if you are wondering)....yes we do. We do lots in fact and at the same time you gotta know that when there is no TV, no phone, no netflix, no radio, no housework, laundry, or cooking, no tree to put up or decorations to hang, no baking to do or cards to mail.....there is a lot of extra time in the day! (...thats not to say that we don't miss some of that stuff and we certainly miss all of you!) As well, as much as many of you have mentioned how much you enjoy reading along it is actually pretty fun reviewing our day as we reflect over a few of the things that we've seen and done. In addition, being able to go back over it years later is a HOOT! In fact we got into one of the Mexican ones the other night as our entertainment for the evening and we both peed our pants laughing!! I do have to share with you something my sister Karen sent me in a text this morning. Karen prints off the blog for our mom to read and over the years Karen has given me a hard time (in a good way) about my verbosity (ie: I talk a lot!). In our first text a couple weeks ago I asked her if she was able to keep up with printing the posts out for mom and she replied that "those aren't posts....you're building a fence!" Last night in another text she added, "I've had to petition the forest industry to extend their clearcut on the surrounding mountains in order to fill the paper supply needed to print your blog!" Good one Karen! I might be verbose but you are hilarious!
Life here is tranquil and as we all approach this busy Christmas season know that there is nothing "busy" going on here at all! Evidence of just how "in-the-moment" it is here was presented to us last night when we were out for dinner. The owner of that little place also has a boat and Lynda asked him whether he'd be going out in the morning. He replied that "maybe...it would depend on the weather" (consequences of the rainy season and the recent earthquake). Lynda then asked him what day it was (as we have no idea) to which he replied, "I don't know". If that isn't evidence of just how laid-back life here is I don't know what is. Lynda just came up with another challenge for all of you. Sit down, clear your mind of everything that you have to do, take your phone off the hook (or turn it to silent), and look at the clock and keep looking at it for 15 minutes. Or if you don't have 15 minutes (which means you're WAY TOO BUSY) then just do it for 3 minutes. Done? See how long it takes when there is nothing else to do but just that one thing.....well that is how it is here EVERY DAY......ALL DAY..... Now you know what it is like to "live" in Bali. We have our little "vacations" here when we run around like all the other tourists fitting 2 days worth of stuff into 1 but the rest of the time we just "live" here and "living here" is pretty laid back!
Sun is shining in blue skies so we're guessing its gonna be a scorcher today. The couple in the bungalow next door were off bright and early this morning and won't be back till dinner time so we have the pool to ourselves again today - wahoo! I love it that tourists try to fit too much stuff into their time here...it means they have to leave the property all to us. :-).
I see that it is approaching 10:00 a.m. so time for me to hit the kitchen and come up with something delicious again which isn't hard to do when all of your ingredients are organic and as fresh as fresh can be. So.....till later folks......
As seems to be the theme of our days in Bali....we did a whole lot of nothing again! Pool was perfect, sun was toasty, and wind in the leaves was just as pretty today as it was yesterday.
Tonight on the other hand we lived it up large! Well....not really....we just went back to the same little warung and enjoyed another meal of Nasi Goreng (fried rice with lots of veggies and a nice side salad). The big news of the evening was when we stopped in to book Maday for a tour of Lovina and area for tomorrow. We see Maday every evening as we walk by his shop. He is the guy that has the Karma shop where we bought our sarongs that first night. Since then we've met Maday's wife, Neeya, and his two sons, Indra and Andre. Indra is the littlest one - he is 8 yrs old and Lynda has taken on the job of his personal english teacher. Today, the test was "nose, eyes, ears, teeth, and elbow". Even though it had only been 24 hours since he first learned those words he managed to master them all tonight. The funny part though was that as soon as he saw us nearing the store he made a beeline for the back room in the hope of hiding. His mom and dad would have none of it though and little Indra found himself in English class again. School is out for the semester break here until the new year but poor Indra will get no break this term. LOL. Actually....I'm betting he's loving the attention and his cute little smile when he gets the words right gives him away every time.
As well, tonight while speaking with Maday and family Neeya explained that she and Andre had rice mixture smeared on their backs because they're feeling cold. I can't figure that one out because it is still almost 30 degrees here! The rice mixture is made up of soaked mashed rice and grated galanga (asian ginger) until it is a paste-like consistency. That gets smeared on their full back and after about 15 minutes the chunks fall off and just a white really thin paint is left behind. Supposedly, that helps warm them up and makes them feel better. Maday put some on Lynda's wrist and I offered up my buggered up knee to see what would happen. As a result both of us are now sporting whitewash on part of our bodies. I'll go outside to knock all the chunks off before I go to bed but am going to be just like a Balinese and leave the "paint" till morning. Wouldn't that be funny if I hop out of bed in the morning without a buggered up knee?!
Nothing more to report for this day so here's L & L signing off from Lovina.....till next time....
L & L
Speaking of reflecting.....some of you may be thinking....."WTH do they do there? Anything but type in the blog?!" In answer to that (if you are wondering)....yes we do. We do lots in fact and at the same time you gotta know that when there is no TV, no phone, no netflix, no radio, no housework, laundry, or cooking, no tree to put up or decorations to hang, no baking to do or cards to mail.....there is a lot of extra time in the day! (...thats not to say that we don't miss some of that stuff and we certainly miss all of you!) As well, as much as many of you have mentioned how much you enjoy reading along it is actually pretty fun reviewing our day as we reflect over a few of the things that we've seen and done. In addition, being able to go back over it years later is a HOOT! In fact we got into one of the Mexican ones the other night as our entertainment for the evening and we both peed our pants laughing!! I do have to share with you something my sister Karen sent me in a text this morning. Karen prints off the blog for our mom to read and over the years Karen has given me a hard time (in a good way) about my verbosity (ie: I talk a lot!). In our first text a couple weeks ago I asked her if she was able to keep up with printing the posts out for mom and she replied that "those aren't posts....you're building a fence!" Last night in another text she added, "I've had to petition the forest industry to extend their clearcut on the surrounding mountains in order to fill the paper supply needed to print your blog!" Good one Karen! I might be verbose but you are hilarious!
Life here is tranquil and as we all approach this busy Christmas season know that there is nothing "busy" going on here at all! Evidence of just how "in-the-moment" it is here was presented to us last night when we were out for dinner. The owner of that little place also has a boat and Lynda asked him whether he'd be going out in the morning. He replied that "maybe...it would depend on the weather" (consequences of the rainy season and the recent earthquake). Lynda then asked him what day it was (as we have no idea) to which he replied, "I don't know". If that isn't evidence of just how laid-back life here is I don't know what is. Lynda just came up with another challenge for all of you. Sit down, clear your mind of everything that you have to do, take your phone off the hook (or turn it to silent), and look at the clock and keep looking at it for 15 minutes. Or if you don't have 15 minutes (which means you're WAY TOO BUSY) then just do it for 3 minutes. Done? See how long it takes when there is nothing else to do but just that one thing.....well that is how it is here EVERY DAY......ALL DAY..... Now you know what it is like to "live" in Bali. We have our little "vacations" here when we run around like all the other tourists fitting 2 days worth of stuff into 1 but the rest of the time we just "live" here and "living here" is pretty laid back!
Sun is shining in blue skies so we're guessing its gonna be a scorcher today. The couple in the bungalow next door were off bright and early this morning and won't be back till dinner time so we have the pool to ourselves again today - wahoo! I love it that tourists try to fit too much stuff into their time here...it means they have to leave the property all to us. :-).
I see that it is approaching 10:00 a.m. so time for me to hit the kitchen and come up with something delicious again which isn't hard to do when all of your ingredients are organic and as fresh as fresh can be. So.....till later folks......
As seems to be the theme of our days in Bali....we did a whole lot of nothing again! Pool was perfect, sun was toasty, and wind in the leaves was just as pretty today as it was yesterday.
Tonight on the other hand we lived it up large! Well....not really....we just went back to the same little warung and enjoyed another meal of Nasi Goreng (fried rice with lots of veggies and a nice side salad). The big news of the evening was when we stopped in to book Maday for a tour of Lovina and area for tomorrow. We see Maday every evening as we walk by his shop. He is the guy that has the Karma shop where we bought our sarongs that first night. Since then we've met Maday's wife, Neeya, and his two sons, Indra and Andre. Indra is the littlest one - he is 8 yrs old and Lynda has taken on the job of his personal english teacher. Today, the test was "nose, eyes, ears, teeth, and elbow". Even though it had only been 24 hours since he first learned those words he managed to master them all tonight. The funny part though was that as soon as he saw us nearing the store he made a beeline for the back room in the hope of hiding. His mom and dad would have none of it though and little Indra found himself in English class again. School is out for the semester break here until the new year but poor Indra will get no break this term. LOL. Actually....I'm betting he's loving the attention and his cute little smile when he gets the words right gives him away every time.
As well, tonight while speaking with Maday and family Neeya explained that she and Andre had rice mixture smeared on their backs because they're feeling cold. I can't figure that one out because it is still almost 30 degrees here! The rice mixture is made up of soaked mashed rice and grated galanga (asian ginger) until it is a paste-like consistency. That gets smeared on their full back and after about 15 minutes the chunks fall off and just a white really thin paint is left behind. Supposedly, that helps warm them up and makes them feel better. Maday put some on Lynda's wrist and I offered up my buggered up knee to see what would happen. As a result both of us are now sporting whitewash on part of our bodies. I'll go outside to knock all the chunks off before I go to bed but am going to be just like a Balinese and leave the "paint" till morning. Wouldn't that be funny if I hop out of bed in the morning without a buggered up knee?!
Nothing more to report for this day so here's L & L signing off from Lovina.....till next time....
L & L
Saturday, December 10, 2016
December 10, 2016
Once when I was on some heavy-duty drugs (it was a prescription people!) I was sitting on my deck looking at the wind in the leaves of the trees and I remember saying, "The wind in the trees is soooo beautiful!" Well guess what?! Here we are in Lovina saying exactly the same thing about the wind in the leaves of the bamboo trees that tower all around us and there are no drugs involved. :-)
We're finding it very interesting that even though it is well into the rainy season now....there is virtually no rain here on the north coast. While we were in Ubud there was very heavy rain most afternoons but here we really haven't seen any rain to speak of at all. There was that light little mist that fell yesterday morning for maybe 1/2 hour at most and we know there has been some rain overnight because we see evidence of it in the mornings but....that's it! What a treat! We were prepared for the fact that we might not be able to make use of our pool here but we were sure wrong on that front!
Jeez....it is like grand central station around here this morning. First Kadeck came by with broom in hand and then a minute later it was Birgit's husband cleaning the pool and now it's Gooday bringing us some beautiful little shallots to add to the eggs. Today we're going to have a cheese omelet! Guess I'd better get my apron on cuz cooking them is my job. Lynda's got the coffee done so I better get a move on!
Okay so that cheese omelet was damn fine if I do say so myself! In fact the edges of it puffed up so beautifully it was kind of like a cross between an omelette and a soufflé. We had two different kinds of cheese in it that was gooey and warm and that contrasted beautifully with the fresh tomatoes and golden brown shallots. Is your mouth watering yet....mine is starting to as it is almost dinner time already.
This morning Birgit (our host) donned her long pants and a long sleeve shirt. She put elastic bands around the bottom of her pants and the wrists of her shirt. Can you guess why? She was moving a swarm of indigenous honey bees that had decided they liked the eaves of our bungalow better than they liked the beautiful little box nest she has hanging for them in the tree. She was successful in getting them moved without any mishap and so everyone's fingers are crossed that they'll decide they like the nest better than the eaves. Birgit chooses to use indigenous bees over the honey bees we're familiar with because they are super hardy in contrast to the many problems (disease and mites) other bee keepers have with our type of honey bees. The other keepers keep trying with the honey bees though because they produce soooo much more honey than these little indigenous guys do.
What a lazy day today! We've played a game of Scrabble, several rounds of dice (5000 - the game is called 5000 - NOT that we played 5000 games!), and a game of SkipBo. We're not going to play any more SkipBo though because the cards are too yucky and they stick together and it's no fun having to be so careful that you just get one card at a time. Jeez....I just realized how spoiled I sounded there....hmmmmm.....
The new guests arrived late this afternoon and we only saw them for a second before they disappeared into their bungalow. They're only here for 2 nights so we may not even see them at all during their short stay. Unless something has changed on the reservations front, I think we are the only guests here till the 21st so we'll have the entire place back to ourselves again after tomorrow. Holy....that sounds kind of spoiled too.....what's up with that?! Maybe it's just because I'm feeling rather spoiled at the moment. :-). And how can I not feel spoiled? This morning after I made the breakfast all of the dishes and the entire kitchen was magically cleaned up and then while we were playing one of our many games our bungalow was also magically cleaned, floors washed, towels replaced, and beds made. Interesting how quickly we've settled into this very comfortable existence! :-)
It is a degree or two cooler today as there has been that light mist falling on and off throughout the day. In fact, it is falling again right now. It can hardly be called rain even though it gets the ground all wet but you can't even hear it falling. When you compare that to the torrential downpours we had every day in Ubud where the skies literally opened up and dumped; this is nothing like that at all. I say that it is a degree or two cooler and honestly I'm not kidding. The temperature really never changes. It stays at about a constant 28-30 day and night. When it is that temperature at home it's really kind of nice and here it is also nice as long as you're sitting under an overhead fan. Here the addition of high humidity makes that nice warm 28 degrees feel like a lot more.
Signing off for now so till next time.....
L & L
P.S.
Lynda is laughing about the fact that I've managed to get this much written for today. She says she could sum it up in a single sentence. Her blog post would be, "My ass is flat from sitting and doing nothing all day!"
Now aren't you glad its me writing and not Lynda?!
Nighty night. :-)
We're finding it very interesting that even though it is well into the rainy season now....there is virtually no rain here on the north coast. While we were in Ubud there was very heavy rain most afternoons but here we really haven't seen any rain to speak of at all. There was that light little mist that fell yesterday morning for maybe 1/2 hour at most and we know there has been some rain overnight because we see evidence of it in the mornings but....that's it! What a treat! We were prepared for the fact that we might not be able to make use of our pool here but we were sure wrong on that front!
Jeez....it is like grand central station around here this morning. First Kadeck came by with broom in hand and then a minute later it was Birgit's husband cleaning the pool and now it's Gooday bringing us some beautiful little shallots to add to the eggs. Today we're going to have a cheese omelet! Guess I'd better get my apron on cuz cooking them is my job. Lynda's got the coffee done so I better get a move on!
Okay so that cheese omelet was damn fine if I do say so myself! In fact the edges of it puffed up so beautifully it was kind of like a cross between an omelette and a soufflé. We had two different kinds of cheese in it that was gooey and warm and that contrasted beautifully with the fresh tomatoes and golden brown shallots. Is your mouth watering yet....mine is starting to as it is almost dinner time already.
This morning Birgit (our host) donned her long pants and a long sleeve shirt. She put elastic bands around the bottom of her pants and the wrists of her shirt. Can you guess why? She was moving a swarm of indigenous honey bees that had decided they liked the eaves of our bungalow better than they liked the beautiful little box nest she has hanging for them in the tree. She was successful in getting them moved without any mishap and so everyone's fingers are crossed that they'll decide they like the nest better than the eaves. Birgit chooses to use indigenous bees over the honey bees we're familiar with because they are super hardy in contrast to the many problems (disease and mites) other bee keepers have with our type of honey bees. The other keepers keep trying with the honey bees though because they produce soooo much more honey than these little indigenous guys do.
What a lazy day today! We've played a game of Scrabble, several rounds of dice (5000 - the game is called 5000 - NOT that we played 5000 games!), and a game of SkipBo. We're not going to play any more SkipBo though because the cards are too yucky and they stick together and it's no fun having to be so careful that you just get one card at a time. Jeez....I just realized how spoiled I sounded there....hmmmmm.....
The new guests arrived late this afternoon and we only saw them for a second before they disappeared into their bungalow. They're only here for 2 nights so we may not even see them at all during their short stay. Unless something has changed on the reservations front, I think we are the only guests here till the 21st so we'll have the entire place back to ourselves again after tomorrow. Holy....that sounds kind of spoiled too.....what's up with that?! Maybe it's just because I'm feeling rather spoiled at the moment. :-). And how can I not feel spoiled? This morning after I made the breakfast all of the dishes and the entire kitchen was magically cleaned up and then while we were playing one of our many games our bungalow was also magically cleaned, floors washed, towels replaced, and beds made. Interesting how quickly we've settled into this very comfortable existence! :-)
It is a degree or two cooler today as there has been that light mist falling on and off throughout the day. In fact, it is falling again right now. It can hardly be called rain even though it gets the ground all wet but you can't even hear it falling. When you compare that to the torrential downpours we had every day in Ubud where the skies literally opened up and dumped; this is nothing like that at all. I say that it is a degree or two cooler and honestly I'm not kidding. The temperature really never changes. It stays at about a constant 28-30 day and night. When it is that temperature at home it's really kind of nice and here it is also nice as long as you're sitting under an overhead fan. Here the addition of high humidity makes that nice warm 28 degrees feel like a lot more.
Signing off for now so till next time.....
L & L
P.S.
Lynda is laughing about the fact that I've managed to get this much written for today. She says she could sum it up in a single sentence. Her blog post would be, "My ass is flat from sitting and doing nothing all day!"
Now aren't you glad its me writing and not Lynda?!
Nighty night. :-)
Friday, December 9, 2016
December 9, 2016
Who'd of thunk?! Papaya and Peanut Butter = DELICIOUS!! It was completely by accident that I discovered that new taste sensation this morning. I'd had peanut butter on my toast and there was a little left on my knife. I cut into my papaya and in so doing left the residue of peanut butter on the papaya. Put that in my mouth and voila...a whole new concept was born for me. Tomorrow it won't be banana I put on my toast with my peanut butter....it will be papaya! :-)
Today will be the last day we have this whole place to ourselves so we are feeling a little sad about that but....the good news is that the guests who will be arriving tomorrow are only staying for two days. Yeah! Already we've become quite possessive about our little home away from home.
This place in Lovina is our Christmas gift to ourselves....can't remember if I already told you or not but it is a lot more expensive than we've been paying in Ubud. Almost 4 times as much in fact! As much as I've been whining about the heat and my sweating self....please know that we're enjoying it very much and all my whining is nothing more than that....just whining. :-)
Yummy....Lynda just arrived with a little pot of coffee for us to have with our Balinese cake. Not 100% sure what is in that cake but our best guess is some kind of rice flour cake with palm sugar, coconut, and dates. It is chewy and absolutely delicious! Coffee, cake, and a game of scrabble...sounds like a great way to while away the rest of this morning since there is a light mist falling on our pool at the moment.
Butterflies float on a tropical breeze,
Bamboo leaves sing the song of the trees.
Little birds flit from flower to flower,
I could just sit here for hours and hours!
Well...that was it folks.....my moment of artistic inspiration in this little corner of paradise.
What a great afternoon! Pretended to do some stretches in the water but really....it was more like just floating around. Once all that hard work was done....managed to make it as far as the lounge chair where the temperatures were perfect for a couple of hours at poolside. I'm so surprised here that neither of us are getting burned at all. Well, we did have that one day when we were at the hot springs for a long time and that was in full sun and with the reflection off the water we both got a little burn on our shoulders but other than that....it's all been good. Its not like we're out in the sun for extended periods but one would think that when you're just 8 degrees off the equator that even a few minutes without some heavy duty sunscreen would be a problem!
Lynda managed to kick my butt at Scrabble this afternoon so now we are even at one game apiece (cuz I kicked her butt yesterday). Maybe by the time 3 weeks here is finished we'll both be masters at Scrabble. LOL....well....maybe not masters but hopefully I'll be a little better than I am now at being able to see those really good opportunities to get points for two words at a time. Lynda is already pretty masterful at that art!
Ohhhhhh.....I see Lynda is bringing out the fruit that was leftover from breakfast this morning so we can have a little pre-dinner snack. Oh yummy....there is one of those hard shelled things that you suck the fruit (seeds and all) out once it is cut in half and oh yes....my fav....a mangosteen. I'm going for that one first!
You may be thinking....what are those girls doing? They've been there a month and they've hardly seen anything touristy. We're happy to say that when you have longer than the usual couple of weeks people spend here....you have the luxury of taking it in small bites and truly getting to immerse in the culture. By taking our time we're able to just stay in the moment and really absorb the feel of this land and its people. We both know how fortunate we are to have this opportunity and we're appreciating it every step of the way.
Our two staff here at Saraswati (Kadeck and Gooday) have already moved into a routine with us now that they know that we're not being driven by a busy agenda and that we're happy to just go with the flow and seize opportunity as it presents.
As I sit here typing this there is a crazy bird singing his very awkward song overhead. There is also another smaller bird adding his sweet song to the mix. Put that together with the throaty croak (aka squeaky toy) that is kind of like the drum to their song....we've got our own little jungle band. There are bamboo trees that are at least 60 feet tall (that's like a 6 storey building folks!) surrounding one side of our yard. Lynda's words to describe them is "spectacular" and she says they're like "fairy giants"...."massive and ominous in their own way but sooo dainty at the same time." Orchids are spilling out of pots around the pool area and have attached themselves as "hitch-hikers" or parasites on the many flowering frangipani trees and other trees and vines that are scattered throughout the yard. Yes, it is really that beautiful and we're just sitting here sucking it all up! :-)
Time to make a move and head out for a little walk and to find some dinner. We may have blown the budget on our room but we're still making up for it with meal costs. Since we only need to purchase one meal a day (breakfasts are sooo substantial) and since we mostly frequent warungs offering local fare we continue to pay approximately $15/meal for two people (including tip). If you're questioning yourself on the math....don't....you got it right.....about $7.50 each for food per day.
For those of you who are following along with this blog...happy to have you along for our Bali adventure. Sorry there are no photos included in the blog. I have such a problem getting them to load into the site that I've pretty much given up on that and have just been posting them to Facebook so if you'd like to see the photos too and if you're not already a friend on Facebook....let me know and we can fix that.
Heh...Lynda just found a little package of Balinese spiced peanuts that I got at the fruit stand on our way here so we've cracked them open and they are yummy! They have lots of flavour and no spice when you're eating them but after you're finished and they're long swallowed there is a really nice subtle little heat that lingers. There are little pieces of kaffir lime leaves in there too....super delish! Gonna have to look for these again!
We can hear kids playing soccer on the field that is located on the other side of those 60 foot tall bamboo trees. They gather there every night to play and it sounds like they're having lots of fun. From the sound of their voices there is quite an age range and lots of laughter. Nice!
Just returned from dinner down by the beach. As much as we've been bragging about sticking to our budget and doing so good on the spending for meals front....we kind of blew it tonight. We opted for the fresh jumbo prawns (6 of them per order) complete with potatoes, veggies, salad, and spring rolls for an appetizer. In addition we each had a freshly made lemonade and an iced mocha which consisted of chocolate syrup drizzled around the inside of the glass and then a blended concoction of espresso and ice cream poured into that chocolate drizzled vessel. Oh ya...and I guess we kind of shared a dessert of fresh pineapple fritters too. Yep....we definitely blew the budget tonight but even having done that our total food bill was $17 each for the whole of today so still not too shabby! :-)
It is very obvious that Lovina is hurting for business and so as we walked down to and along the beach every single person tried to engage us in a buying conversation. They would take us out to see the dolphins, they would do our laundry, they would sell us some pearls or this beautiful bracelet, or would we come into their restaurant to have a meal.....the pressure is definitely greater here because it appears the need is greater as there just aren't many tourists at all. The restaurant we ended up choosing is called Shri Ganesh and Komang (the manager) was as entertaining as the food was delicious. We will definitely be back to the Shri Ganesh during our time here in Lovina. Next time I'll be choosing the lobster for sure because the seafood here is amazing! We are situated right on the Java Sea so seafood of every variety is abundant.
Lynda just reminded me to challenge you all to something..... Take a minute and feel your elbows. Are they kind of rough? That's how both of ours were when we left home but somehow through the magic of sweating and the added moisture humidity offers our elbows are soft as a baby's bum! That is a silver lining to all this humidity for sure! LOL. Tonight I also realized that another silver lining to all this sweating is to get to know the contrast of how wonderful it feels when you're not sweating. That's how it was when we were sitting under a fan in the Shri Ganesh tonight....not sweating a bit and feeling like a million bucks with our baby soft elbows. :-)
So on that note we will say good night. Till next time....
L & L
Today will be the last day we have this whole place to ourselves so we are feeling a little sad about that but....the good news is that the guests who will be arriving tomorrow are only staying for two days. Yeah! Already we've become quite possessive about our little home away from home.
This place in Lovina is our Christmas gift to ourselves....can't remember if I already told you or not but it is a lot more expensive than we've been paying in Ubud. Almost 4 times as much in fact! As much as I've been whining about the heat and my sweating self....please know that we're enjoying it very much and all my whining is nothing more than that....just whining. :-)
Yummy....Lynda just arrived with a little pot of coffee for us to have with our Balinese cake. Not 100% sure what is in that cake but our best guess is some kind of rice flour cake with palm sugar, coconut, and dates. It is chewy and absolutely delicious! Coffee, cake, and a game of scrabble...sounds like a great way to while away the rest of this morning since there is a light mist falling on our pool at the moment.
Butterflies float on a tropical breeze,
Bamboo leaves sing the song of the trees.
Little birds flit from flower to flower,
I could just sit here for hours and hours!
Well...that was it folks.....my moment of artistic inspiration in this little corner of paradise.
What a great afternoon! Pretended to do some stretches in the water but really....it was more like just floating around. Once all that hard work was done....managed to make it as far as the lounge chair where the temperatures were perfect for a couple of hours at poolside. I'm so surprised here that neither of us are getting burned at all. Well, we did have that one day when we were at the hot springs for a long time and that was in full sun and with the reflection off the water we both got a little burn on our shoulders but other than that....it's all been good. Its not like we're out in the sun for extended periods but one would think that when you're just 8 degrees off the equator that even a few minutes without some heavy duty sunscreen would be a problem!
Lynda managed to kick my butt at Scrabble this afternoon so now we are even at one game apiece (cuz I kicked her butt yesterday). Maybe by the time 3 weeks here is finished we'll both be masters at Scrabble. LOL....well....maybe not masters but hopefully I'll be a little better than I am now at being able to see those really good opportunities to get points for two words at a time. Lynda is already pretty masterful at that art!
Ohhhhhh.....I see Lynda is bringing out the fruit that was leftover from breakfast this morning so we can have a little pre-dinner snack. Oh yummy....there is one of those hard shelled things that you suck the fruit (seeds and all) out once it is cut in half and oh yes....my fav....a mangosteen. I'm going for that one first!
You may be thinking....what are those girls doing? They've been there a month and they've hardly seen anything touristy. We're happy to say that when you have longer than the usual couple of weeks people spend here....you have the luxury of taking it in small bites and truly getting to immerse in the culture. By taking our time we're able to just stay in the moment and really absorb the feel of this land and its people. We both know how fortunate we are to have this opportunity and we're appreciating it every step of the way.
Our two staff here at Saraswati (Kadeck and Gooday) have already moved into a routine with us now that they know that we're not being driven by a busy agenda and that we're happy to just go with the flow and seize opportunity as it presents.
As I sit here typing this there is a crazy bird singing his very awkward song overhead. There is also another smaller bird adding his sweet song to the mix. Put that together with the throaty croak (aka squeaky toy) that is kind of like the drum to their song....we've got our own little jungle band. There are bamboo trees that are at least 60 feet tall (that's like a 6 storey building folks!) surrounding one side of our yard. Lynda's words to describe them is "spectacular" and she says they're like "fairy giants"...."massive and ominous in their own way but sooo dainty at the same time." Orchids are spilling out of pots around the pool area and have attached themselves as "hitch-hikers" or parasites on the many flowering frangipani trees and other trees and vines that are scattered throughout the yard. Yes, it is really that beautiful and we're just sitting here sucking it all up! :-)
Time to make a move and head out for a little walk and to find some dinner. We may have blown the budget on our room but we're still making up for it with meal costs. Since we only need to purchase one meal a day (breakfasts are sooo substantial) and since we mostly frequent warungs offering local fare we continue to pay approximately $15/meal for two people (including tip). If you're questioning yourself on the math....don't....you got it right.....about $7.50 each for food per day.
For those of you who are following along with this blog...happy to have you along for our Bali adventure. Sorry there are no photos included in the blog. I have such a problem getting them to load into the site that I've pretty much given up on that and have just been posting them to Facebook so if you'd like to see the photos too and if you're not already a friend on Facebook....let me know and we can fix that.
Heh...Lynda just found a little package of Balinese spiced peanuts that I got at the fruit stand on our way here so we've cracked them open and they are yummy! They have lots of flavour and no spice when you're eating them but after you're finished and they're long swallowed there is a really nice subtle little heat that lingers. There are little pieces of kaffir lime leaves in there too....super delish! Gonna have to look for these again!
We can hear kids playing soccer on the field that is located on the other side of those 60 foot tall bamboo trees. They gather there every night to play and it sounds like they're having lots of fun. From the sound of their voices there is quite an age range and lots of laughter. Nice!
Just returned from dinner down by the beach. As much as we've been bragging about sticking to our budget and doing so good on the spending for meals front....we kind of blew it tonight. We opted for the fresh jumbo prawns (6 of them per order) complete with potatoes, veggies, salad, and spring rolls for an appetizer. In addition we each had a freshly made lemonade and an iced mocha which consisted of chocolate syrup drizzled around the inside of the glass and then a blended concoction of espresso and ice cream poured into that chocolate drizzled vessel. Oh ya...and I guess we kind of shared a dessert of fresh pineapple fritters too. Yep....we definitely blew the budget tonight but even having done that our total food bill was $17 each for the whole of today so still not too shabby! :-)
It is very obvious that Lovina is hurting for business and so as we walked down to and along the beach every single person tried to engage us in a buying conversation. They would take us out to see the dolphins, they would do our laundry, they would sell us some pearls or this beautiful bracelet, or would we come into their restaurant to have a meal.....the pressure is definitely greater here because it appears the need is greater as there just aren't many tourists at all. The restaurant we ended up choosing is called Shri Ganesh and Komang (the manager) was as entertaining as the food was delicious. We will definitely be back to the Shri Ganesh during our time here in Lovina. Next time I'll be choosing the lobster for sure because the seafood here is amazing! We are situated right on the Java Sea so seafood of every variety is abundant.
Lynda just reminded me to challenge you all to something..... Take a minute and feel your elbows. Are they kind of rough? That's how both of ours were when we left home but somehow through the magic of sweating and the added moisture humidity offers our elbows are soft as a baby's bum! That is a silver lining to all this humidity for sure! LOL. Tonight I also realized that another silver lining to all this sweating is to get to know the contrast of how wonderful it feels when you're not sweating. That's how it was when we were sitting under a fan in the Shri Ganesh tonight....not sweating a bit and feeling like a million bucks with our baby soft elbows. :-)
So on that note we will say good night. Till next time....
L & L
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