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.