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
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