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
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