Indonesia: Surfing

I wish I could say we rip it up on these perfect Indo waves, but we don't. Matt is an excellent surfer and has taken us to a couple surf spots on Bali and Lombok, one of which is arguably the best surf spot in the world: Tablet.

We took a 4-hour ferry across the Bali Strait to the island of Lombok. Thankfully, we had our International Driver's license obtained from AAA before we left. It turned out to be a brilliant last minute after thought as the police definitely check for proper license and registration at the borders. A 3-hour drive south landed us in Banko Banko and finally Tablet, a very small and basic surf village at the end of an incredibly rocky and pothole filled 5 km dirt road. Alas, the back of the bike slipped out going up a steep and very dry dirt and rock portion and Andy and I tipped left on the bike, and thankfully were caught by our left feet on the ground. Unfortunately, our right lower inside calves landed on the hot muffler, mine a bit more than Andy's and left me with a second degree burn. Upon arrival we met Augusto, a native Lombok surfer with dreadlocks, who manages the bungalows and warung (Indo restaurant). I smiled with relief as he handed me a chunk of ice for my quickly swelling and throbbing calf. Made purely from bamboo and palm leaves, our bungalow was very basic but comfortable with a couple of beds and a roof. The camp is adjacent to a small fishing village and farm so roosters and chickens ran freely along with the locals. We bathed with water from buckets in a deep well. We were fortunate to arrive after a squat toilet was recently put in. When I went to use it for the first time, it was already dark so with my headlamp I braved the way. I heard cowbells and saw wide apart glowing eyes and finally a roofless square built from palm leaves and Eureka, I had found it. We slept very well with the only sounds of the crashing waves and crickets until dawn when the multiple roosters gave us a cockle-doodle-doo wake up call. Earplugs are by far the best travel accessory in my bag!

The Tablet wave is a perfect barrel reef break. Andy and I watched intently from the bamboo lounge chairs facing the bright blue water, somewhat jealous but also thinking it's kinda scary to get pounded by 6 foot waves over the reef! Surfers came in with bacteria infested cuts that need to be treated quickly and thoroughly with antiseptic or a bad infection will prevail. Instead, we decided to snorkel and swim past the break but the tide wasn't low enough and the waves just pounded us. I lost a shoe that floats soI found it, but Andy's mask and snorkel that doesn't float for some odd reason got ripped from his neck and is now sitting on the ocean bottom somewhere. He tumbled a bit and the reef scraped him in a few places. Walking in from that semi-scary experience we decided that we are moving too fast! We should have just been patient, waited for the waves to settle and walk around the point. I realized in addition to the leg burn that the lesson here is to slow down. Just slow it down. There is no need to rush or act like a hero. We counted our blessings that we were safe and sound and really it could have been much worse. I did go for a snorkel myself (since I still had my mask, sorry Drew!) after the tide went lower and walked around the point. Deep channels of reef dropped off into the ocean as I entered very carefully and slowly (per my lesson learned) and relished in the cool, calm waters around the point. I received the wonderful and memorable gift of seeing a giant sea turtle along with beautiful fish.

Another great surf spot we visited was Dreamland in south Bali. Another beautiful wave, this time a barrel shore break. Matt surfed and Andy body surfed while I laid on the beach and got a massage. You can't sit on a popular beach in Bali and not get harassed by locals selling you jewelry, DVDs or watches. It's their livelihood so I can't blame them, but as you might expect it does get a little annoying so we've learned the stern yet important phrase of tidak mao meaning no way! But I did surrender here on the beach as I slept on a crummy pillow the night before and my neck was tweaked. I laid down and felt a pair of hands on my back then wait...another pair of hands then yet another? Is that six hands?! This was a first! So for an hour I relished in a massage by three ladies listening to their Indonesian banter while the boys enjoyed the waves. I overpaid them all (a total of $10 US) since Matt knew them and they showered me with hug after hug after hug. It put a smile on my face to know how happy the extra money made them.

So surfing...well, I decided it's not for me. Since we are back in Kuta now for the next few days with a gentle wave break Andy is going to brave it. I will be quite content on the beach reading the novel Shantaram and allowing my burn to heal.

[Photos hopefully coming soon...the connection is slow here and the power has already gone out once, wiping out the hour and a half of downloads I started...]