Kinda Surgery

I dreamt about a friend who is a plastic surgeon, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. Well the next day as I was coming out of the water I timed the waves at the beach break incorrectly, and I fell with my board. Got a big bruise on my leg from the board and a long, clean slice from the fin. Please let him stay out of my dreams going forward!

Taxi tour through the wet countryside

Julia, Ella and I hired a driver to explore more of the countryside. First we saw a traditional Balinese dance performance. I finally heard and saw the Gamelan in action (I read a lot about it in Colin McPhee's "A House in Bali.") Here two "servants" are dancing:

At a restaurant we ran into some Thai brothers- one of whom had worked a bit in Boston, and the other who wore both the souvenir Yankees cap and the Sox t-shirt at the same time. The horror! The first of what I assume to be many shots of rice fields: It actually wasn't raining when we got to the "Mother Temple"- there were lots of ceremonies going on in the various areas, and these kids were waiting for their parents to catch up to them: But then it started to pour, and I mean POUR when we were halfway through exploring the temple:



I'm still a bit unclear on the explanation, as by now I've now gotten 3 different versions, but as there was a new moon on Sunday night, it was a day of special significance, and people were praying IN the road. There were security guards creating a flimsy barrier between the people and the heavy traffic in Denpasar. Evidently it has something to do with praying in a place that is really mundane and the opposite of a holy holy temple- it was fascinatingly eerie: PS I will do a Gamelan exclusive post soon- the videos each take >45 minutes to upload so I have to spread out the "live action" posts.

Butterfly Farm and Tanah Lot

After a somewhat lame surf session on Saturday AM (I was knackered after 8 days of surf) a group from the camp piled into the minivan to explore more of Bali. 1st stop was a butterfly farm. And this was the closest we got to seeing an actual butterfly: or maybe this snail was (it was about 4" long) It was pouring out so the butterflies were in hiding. They can't fly so hot when they're weighed down with water. Even this something or other bug seeked (sook?) refuge The humans though, braved it. Here are Julia & Cornelia making the most of the weather. Something makes me think that Cornelia's shirt might just be a rip off Roxy shirt. Or else Roxy's spell check is broken:
Afterwards we headed to Tanah Lot temple. Only the faithful can enter in- so here we see Hindus going up the steps. and to the east we watched the short lefthander a bit:

Surfer Girl with Pigtails

When I got off the plane there was a huge billboard for the Surfer Girl shop in Kuta. I thought it would be just a normal surf shop, but no, it's HUUUUUUGE! They carry everything in terms of clothes, bathers, rashguards (except for O'Neill). I got a Wonderwoman blue rashguard, and a pink wetsuit for back in NYC. Though I'm somewhat insulted that I had to go next door to the "boys shop" to buy wax and a leash. Passion for splashin' fashion?

Kedungu

1st stop in front of the Ku De Ta hotel was too flat. The instructors couldn't tell me whether or not it was a play on words with coup d'etat. This is a remnant from the holiday that celebrated everything made of metal- all bikes, motorbikes, and cars had garlands and palm decorations this past weekend: We ended up going to to Kedungu where there was a beautiful long left: My instructor Wayan and friend Mirja powered up with some peanuts before hopping in.
The waves were gentle, but really big. About 3/4 of the way through a session I got washed by a big set, and while under the water I noticed that my right leg suddenly didn't have the usual tugging feeling that happens when you lose your board. When I surfaced I saw my board hurtling 100m away towards the beach- I had a 15 minute swim/paddle in. Luckily my instructor had a backup leash so I was able to catch one more long wave before calling it a day.

When I got out of the water (the second time) there was a lot more activity on and around the beach- here people are bringing things to a memorial service at one end of the strip. And here they are praying on the beach for the memorial service: In the middle of the beach these women were doing each others' hair: And at the other end of the beach the men were gambling:

2nd day of surfing in Bali: Roll with it

2nd day of surfing was much better- we walked/paddled 20 minutes over a reef to get to glassy smooth rollers. Heaven. And then the day was capped by a massage- the massage was okay, but at the end the masseuse drew a bath in an enormous bathtub (my toes stretched out didn’t reach the end) and tossed in handfuls of rose petals and frangipani buds. Not sure if I enjoyed the bath or the rollers more!

1st Day Surfing in Bali

1st day surfing was tough- not in that it was hard to get out or that I was getting thrown around- it was that I was getting tossed around. It was like Moby Dick with dark, big, choppy, irregular waves. As is par for the course for me in those conditions, I wanted to curl up and toss my cookies. I’m beginning to think that I should roll with the inauspicious starts because they make me appreciate the bigger picture that eventually unfolds.