Paradise

I am siting here just above the rocks as the waves come crashing in, hearing their thunder and feeling their concussive impact on the rocks below, as the spray lands all around me. The boys have headed to Ulu's and I have decided to stay here - reading, writing, and when the tide gets lower, taking some photographs of Rock n' Reef from the beach. Sam Miller joined us here for a sunset dinner and we enjoyed hearing the trials and tribulations of doing business (Bombastic Plastix) in Indonesia and sharing our Bali adventures with him. Sam said Bali chooses who it loves. Bali must love us!

Uluwatu

The swell is small at Impossibles, so a taxi took us to Uluwatu - definitely not the quite, mellow scene at Impossibles. Ulu is not only a wave magnet, but a magnet for everything. The stairs down to the beach were like a narrow street, lined with small restaurants (warungs), shops selling everything imaginable and everyone wanting to sell you something. A woman latched onto me immediately, spotting quickly that we didn't even know how to get down to the beach. She led us down to the point where the boys had to swim out through a cave to get to the break. Luckily a photographer, coming in, gave a little instruction - "Paddle like hell to the left to avoid the rocks and then let the current take you out. Don't fight the current." And off they went. There was no beach or shade at high tide, so our "guide" led me up another staircase to a spot overlooking the break where I could rent a lounge chair under an umbrella. I looked down and saw Tom and Carl paddling out of the cave, and with the binoculars, I could easily spot them on the waves. When they each caught a wave, I relaxed, but was going to have my "guide" until I bought a tee shirt or had a massage. I opted for the massage. The break was crowded - at one point there were 40-50 surfers - spread over 3 sections, Temples, The Peak, and Racetrack. The level of talent in the water, as described by Carl, was a humbling experience. Roundhouses, arials, tubes, cutbacks and floaters practiced by The Ripcurl Grom Team (hence the photographer) were awesome to watch. Tom and Carl were in the arena of the professional surfers. Through the binoculars, I saw Tom get a tube at Racetrack, and Carl get an amazing ride from The Peak through Racetrack, passing 30 surfers in the wave.

Jimbaran

In the afternoon Made drove us to the temple at Uluwatu and to Jimbaran for dinner on the beach. Pura Luhur Ulawatu was built to honor the sea spirits in the 11th century and expanded by Nirantha who spent his final days here after attaining moksa, freedom from earthly desires. Perched on the highest point on the Uluwatu cliffs, the inner temple cast a beautiful silouette amidst sky, sheer cliffs, and blue green surf pounding below. Statues of Ganesha flanked several of the gates. We did see the bad monkeys, as Made described them, but all our guide had to do was to show his sling shot and they backed away. I think Carl was hoping for a scary monkey encounter, but I wasn't!
Along Jimbaron Beach, tables are set up by the many different warungs, for candlelight dining and grilled seafood. We selected our fish from Morenga Cafe - a Crazy Yellow Fish (which Carl said looked like a Beeliner) along with red and white snappers and were seated at a table closest to the water. The setting was perfect - the sun going down, the candles flickering in the slightly smokey air, the sound of the ocean, clinking glasses and music from a group of roving muscians in the air. Not to mention the scrumptious fish, fileted, split served with head and tail, that was marinated with galic, lime, and a
chili sauce, then grilled over a coconut husk fire. There was a garlic butter sambal as well as a tomato chili and traditional ones but the fish was amazing just by itself. No leftovers!

On the Rocks

5/4/12
We arrived at Rock 'n Reef on Monday for the last leg of our Bali adventure. Following the directions, we came to the end of the road. A small paved path turned into steep twisting, stairs carved right into the cliff face the rest of the way down. We are literally nestled in the rock cliffs of southern Bali, near Uluwatu. Looking from our balcony, the break Impossibles, is right in front of me and I can see Padang Padang to my left, a perfect clear green tube pounding onto the reef. At low tide the reef is nearly dry, and we walked out to the point to watch it break right in front of us - an amazing sight.

Medewi Beach

6/3/12
This afternoon we drove to Medewi Beach, a rocky left point break that wasn't happening. It needed to be high tide (6am or late afternoon) for it to break and the boys prefer Balian. We traveled on a little further paralleling the Java Strait to another of the sea temples, Pura Rambut Siwi, no crowds or vendors in sight. There are cave temples here in additon to the main one, the concrete made with the black volcanic sand and a sea wall to protect it from the high tides. In one directon, views of Java across the Strait and in the other, rice fields completed this beautiful vista.

Into the Mountains

6/2/12
After the morning surf, we headed up into the mountains through the ricefields of Blimbing and Sanda, to the clove and coffee growing areas of Pupuan and Munduk. Dawa, our driver, found places for us to stop and take pictures, and today we could see Ganung Batakaru, usually hidden in the clouds. We saw the tall clove trees and smelled the green cloves drying on mats along the road side. Most of the cloves are exported to make Jakartas - the strong clove laced cigarettes that are smoked throughout Indonesia. Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa are also grown up here on this spice island. We bought some vanilla tea and cocoa, but passed on the cat poo coffee, supposedly a delicacy.
The road climbed steeply, with many switchbacks up the old volcanic slopes flanked by coffee and cloves. We stoped and hiked to a beautiful waterfall near Munduk, the mist filling and cooling the air - a waterfall as majestic as any we had seen in Hawaii. The hike reminded us of Lombok and the stairway to Heaven. Incredible views down to the ocean from Ngiring Ngewedang, where wew stopped for a late lunch. The food was as good as the view - fresh strawberry juice, a delicious tomato soup, satay, and rice noodles with vegetables, to which I added just a touch of the hot pepper sambal. From Munduk, the road descended to the crater lakes of Tamblingan, Buyan and Bratan, where we stopped to visit the temple, Pura Ulum Danu Bratan, to the goddess of the lake Dewi Danu.

Surf at Balian Beach

6/2/12
The surf is bigger today - I could tell by the sound this morning before I opened my eyes. Sitting by the pool, I can see the boys surfing as I write. After all the scurrying around in Ubud, it was nice to just swim, relax by the pool, do some yoga with the boys, and explore the beach - smooth black pebbles shinning on the black sand, bleached white drift bamboo in imaginative shapes, local fishermen in their brightly colored boats, shells....

Villa Tao

5/31/12
Today we left Ubud, said goodby to Putu and the staff, and, via Tabanan, arrived at Villa Tao on Balian Beach. We explored the black sand beach, river mouth, caves and rocky point before enjoying the sunset. From the villa, I look out across the pool to the break the boys will be surfing. Tom has found another beautiful villa - very modern in design and furnishings. The center living portion of the villa is open - floor to ceiling glass doors on the back which are left open, and on the ocean side, there are only bamboo curtains which could be lowered if it were raining in. Small bats fly through the house at night - a little unnerving, but I know they won't hit me. Our bedrooms are raised on either side of the living area, and we do keep our doors closed at night!

Artists

Ubud is the center for arts and crafts - painting, woodcarving, stone sculpture. From the market we went to the art museum, then to various artist's studios in our efforts to understand, judge the quality, and determine what we liked in Balinese art. Traditional to modern styles, themes from epic stories to village life, the detail could be utterly amazing. It was facinating to meet the artists and experience their humor, their humble and sincere appreciation and again their spirituality. It is difficult to describe, but I felt they needed to get to know us, to see that there was good karma. They wanted to know that the work would have a place of honor in our home. Just to see the care with which they wrapped the pieces we bought was amazing. Hopefully we can bring home some of their gratitude for life and living.

Ceremony

As we walked into Ubud this morning we noticed that something was different. The sweet smell of incense filled the air and more than the usual number of women in temple dress with baskets of offerings on their heads were headed to the market, as we were. When we arrived, it was evident that we were in the midst of a huge ceremony to Rambut Sedana, the goddess of prosperity. The market temple was packed with worshipers and offerings for blessings of prosperity for their families and businesses. The ceremony continued all day and Tom was able to get some amazing photographs of the different parts of the ceremony. Worshipers prayed, were sprinkled with and drank holy water, and placed a small amount of rice on their forehead before eating it. The temple was full of offerings - incense, flowers, and food. Gamelin music played, and the ceremonial gong sounded calling worshipers and gods to the temple.

Padmasana

The empty throne shrine in the holiest corner of the temple aludes to the supreme being Sanghyang Widi Wasa, manifested by fhe Hindu trinity of Brahma, Wisnu (Vishnu), and Siwa (Shiva). Their interactions with the world are the subject of much Balinese art and drama.
Brahma, the Creator, often depicted riding a bull, represents fire (red). His consort, Saraswati, is the goddess of learning and art.
Wisnu represents the life giving water, is honored by the color black, and rides the garuda - half man, half bird.
Siwa, the Distroyer or Dissolver, represents air - rebirth and death, and is honored by the color white. Ganesh, the elephant headed diety, is the son of Siwa and the widow witch, Rangda. Ganesh is seen as the remover of obstacles.

Colors

The black and white check fabric seen adorning statues at temple and home gates symbolizes the interplay of good and evil, ying and yang. The color red is a holy color and yellow symbolizes the life force. These colors stand in vivid contrast to the mossy gray and black stone figures of gods, goddesses, and spirits, both good and evil, that they encircle.

Cooking Class

Last night we learned all about a Balinese home - it's specific directional layout, the house temple, and the kitchen as we cooked a traditonal Balinese meal. Wayan and Puspa were great hosts answering all our questions about the ingredients and how they are grown. Fresh tumeric, galangal, ginger, garlic, shallots, lemongrass and candle nuts along with white and black peppercorns, coriander, cloves and a dash of nutmeg all go into the basic yellow sauce or gede. The evening was a feast for our eyes as well as our taste buds!

Ric

Ric Hostetter (Atlantic Beach) joined us here on Lombok via Malaysia where he was installing an attraction for Sally. Funny and great company, Ric survived Outsides with Tom and Carl.

Coral Reef

In the middle of Ekas Bay there is a stunning coral reef! Layers and layers of coral stacked picariously like dishes at a flea market. A density of coral I don't remember in Hawaii, amazing in it's varitey of shapes and colors - blues, reds and pinks. Platters and saucers of green coral, branched coral like bushes with tips of white, and heads of brain coral, all providing food and hiding places for a variety of butterflyfish, neon blue wrasses, bannerfish, and parrotfish. Bright yellow dottybacks flash in the sunlight, darting under a coral shelf and clown fish can be found sheltering among the anemone and urchins. I am ready to go again!

Kecak Fire and Trance Dance

The Kecak is a special dance, accompanied by a capella male voices like the Greek chorus, that tells a story from the Hindu epic, Ramayama. This Balinese dance, resplendant with brightly colored and elaborately detailed costumes and hand movements, involves Hanoman, the white monkey, and Rama in the rescue of Sita, Rama's wife, from the demon, Rahwana. The mythical bird, Garuda, participates as does Sugriwa, the red king of the monkeys in the escape and ensuing battle. This adventure story was followed by a chanting induced trance during which the horse rider kicks and dances through burning coals. Exciting!

Market

The Ubud market is a riot of color, endless choices and extreme bargaining. Carl tells me to put my sunglasses on and keep walking, so the vendors can't see where I am looking! It is overwhelming. Beautiful fabrics I see at every turn. Exploring a gallery, I see a small boy on a stairway flying a kite. By our third trip to the market we know what we want, the best price, and how to bargain for it!

Villa Shanti

5/26/12 Ubud
Tom has found another heavenly spot, 180 degrees from the Lombok experience. Perched in the ricefields above Ubud, our villa is a gallery of Balinese art. The owner, a San Diego antiques dealer, has stone and wood carvings placed just so your eyes can feast on them, not to mention the design and appointment of the villa itself. The smell of incense drifts up to the porch from the offerings below as I write.

South Beaches

Super drove us to the south beaches, outside Ekas Bay on the Indian Ocean.
Tom, Carl, and Ric in the back of the pickup, me in front, we slowly made our way along the steep, pocketed, dirt roads. As we passed through the small villages, all the children would run to the road to wave and say hello to us. We were definitely a novelty! The dry season has begun, but everything is still lush and green, though by the end, it will all be brown. The most prevalent money crop is tobacco, which seemed to be growing well in the low lands, flooded in the wet season. They also harvest nuts from small planted trees that is pressed into oil. The cliffs and high plateaus are suitable for grazing - water buffalo, sheep and cows herded by weather beaten old men and young boys, a young sister in the mix. I don't think any of us were able to photograph the wonderful image of a woman walking along the road with a basket full of red and yellow chili peppers balanced on her head. The Sasak like their food hot!
The trade winds blow strongly from the southeast this time of year making the surf giant and out of control, amazing to watch from the cliffs. Down on the beach the pounding surf had smoothed these shells to look like eyeballs looking back at me. A beautiful old button caught my eye - bet it has a story to tell! We had a few tense moments when the truck got stuck, but Ric, taking over the wheel, was able to ease it out with Tom, Carl and Super pushing, burned up clutch avoided.

In Every Paradise

In every paradise we have visited there is always an annoyance - even paradise is not perfect. In New Zealand there were sand flies, midges in Scotland, roosters in Kauai and here there are rats at night. Tom hears them and does rat patrol with the flashlight - no electricity after midnight!

Friends

We have been here long enough to make friends. For the last 2 nights we have shared sunset tables with Ken, Guy, Simon and Ping, Flo and Ish. Guy built a new house on the cliff and Ken, also an Aussie, visits here frequently as do Simon, a Brit, and Ping, who is Thai. Flo and Ish are French and speak perfect English, having lived in Melbourne, FL while Flo studied oceanography and coastal engineering at FIT. He knows our Atlantic Beach neighbor, Kevin Bodge, and has surfed The Poles at Hanna Park. Six degrees of separation - I am continually amazed how small the world can be.