January 10, 2017

Just posted a couple of videos to facebook so you could see our view from the little restaurant we're visiting this afternoon.  Not sure if this is a late lunch or an early dinner but in truth here in Bali this seems to be the norm.  A leisurely morning and late breakfast and then just one more meal.  If I'm totally honest we sometimes fit in another little snack too (or maybe a dessert) but as delicious as all the food is here....eating isn't a big priority.  Maybe that is because it is just too hot to even think about food!

LOL....a monkey just came into our restaurant and tried to steal a coconut!  There have been a group of at least 30 or 40 of them who must have decided they wanted to explore the world outside the forest this afternoon and as a result they've been all over the roofs of the buildings, sneaking into shops and restaurants and eyeing up the tourists looking for an easy target.

Which leads nicely into the story I wanted to share with you about this morning.  Lynda had gone down to Coco's (a larger store) in search of a couple of specific items.  The story really begins on her journey home though.  You see....she had to travel right past the Monkey Forest to get home.  You've heard us tell you before that we're not overly fond of those little buggers and you may even remember that the first time Lynda walked by the forest one of the guards had to "protect" her from the monkeys who were on the road beside it.  Well....a lot has changed since then!  It's amazing what a little desensitization can do!  This morning as she was walking home carrying her purchases in a single plastic grocery bag (no food) one of those little buggers snuck up behind her and grabbed it right out of her hand!  But don't despair....Lynda went immediately into warrior mode and in no uncertain terms gave that monkey a piece of her mind as she shouted and shook her finger in his face.  That monkey didn't know what to do.....this was a new experience for him.  Usually the tourists are more afraid of him than he is of them.  Today though he learned a lesson....don't mess with a grandma who is overheated and sweating and who is NOT interested in having to return to the store to re-buy stuff she's already paid for!  In the end Lynda recovered all of her purchases and made it home with a story to tell.

While Lynda was off fighting monkeys I was at home fighting spiders.  There wouldn't be too much of a story in that except that I had forgotten my lesson from Lovina with the flip flop.  It was one of those awful jumping spiders....I really don't like any spiders but those ones really freak me out because they can jump so far and so fast.  This guy was on the wall beside the head of my bed when I tried to swat him with my book.  As I lifted the book expecting to see his squished body either on the wall or on the book I was disappointed to see neither of those things.  I could not figure out where he'd gone until I spied him on my hand!  I shook him off and he landed on the floor about 4 feet in front of me.  It was then that my primal instincts kicked back in and used that book as though it was my flip flop.  That book shot out of my hand like a missile and landed flat on that little spider who didn't have any idea what had hit him.  There was no doubt that this time I'd been successful.  I gotta take this as a lesson and remember to use my Tai Chi move when it comes to killing!  LOL

So that was pretty much the extent of our morning.  Other than that I picked up my laundry (which MaeMae had washed, dried, and folded for a $2 fee), checked to see if the custom ordered strap had come in for my purse (it hasn't), and beyond a little yoga and a shower that about kills a day in the life we're living here.  Again.....easy to get used to!

We finally heard back from our agent and so tomorrow we have an appointment in Denpasar to get our fingerprints taken at the immigration office.  They say that it will only be about 1/2 hour but.....time will tell how accurate that estimate is!  We've booked Jati for the whole day so even if it's longer than a 1/2 hour we'll have plenty of time to explore the south coast.  With any luck we will make it all the way to Uluwatu where (if the weather holds) we'll see another version of the Ketcak dance (fire dance) at sunset.

Till next time,
L & L