Lovina Beach, Bali

September 27, 2013

We just spent 5 amazing nights in Lovina Beach, Bali being tourists for once in a tourist filled town.  Our hotel was amazing!  The beaches perfect!  The scuba diving great!  And there was a TON of things to do there.  

We splurged for a few nights on an incredible beach side hotel - Cleopatra's.

The amazing swimming pool at our hotel.

Omar and I found a delicious Thai food restaurant - meals for $4.  (That's expensive for here.  Local dishes are about $2 each.)

We went out after dinner to Kantin 21 to share a mojito and listen to music.

Putu and I shopping at the local market - I took a traditional Balinese Cooking Class with Putu in his house.

I learned how to make 6 different vegan dishes, all of which use a mortar and pestle for the spices.

Top: eggplant curry, tofu in sweet soy, mi goreng (fried noodles)                                          

Bottom: fried peanuts, garlic, and shallots for toppings, spinach with garlic, gado-gado (peanut sauce over vegis)

I couldn't fit the fried tempeh in the photo . . . it was all delicious!!!  Better than restaurants.

Omar and I borrowed a scooter from our hotel every night to go into town for dinner.  And yes I sit side saddle on them.

Omar and I spent a day diving off Menjangan Island and National Marine Park now that he is a certified open water scuba diver.

The island has a huge Hindu Shrine on it that people come to worship at.  Bali seems to be either Hindu or Bhuddist.

We rented a driver for the day to see the sights around Lovina Beach  . . . here is the TriDharmas Chinese Temple.

Take that Zoolander!

Omar molesting the good luck turtles of longevity.  (He will either live forever now or be struck down for harassing the sacred turtle.)

Matt (our newest crew member from Denver) and Omar in front of Git Git Water Fall.

Standing under the falls felt like a back massage!

The twin lakes in the mountains over Lovina Beach.  (There's another lake on right side of this one!)

Matt, Omar and I drinking poop coffee!!!  I am sure you have heard of it - the world's most expensive coffee!  I can't lie - it was delicious!!!

The 3 amigos bathing in the Natural Hot Springs.

The hot springs were full of tourists and locals alike.  We spent an hour here!

The largest Buddhist Temple on Bali.

It was incredibly serene here.

When in Rome . . . our scooter taxi (or ojek) insisted on taking us both at one time on the back of his 125cc scooter.

Dinner with the Prez

We decided to stay in Labuan Bajo to have dinner with the president of Indonesia and participate in the boat parade.

Here are the whip dancers again. They hit each other with the whip and attempt to protect themselves using their shield. If they are not quick they get lashed and draw blood - a sign of a strength. Notice the lack of eye protection.

A local dancer at the gala dinner.

The dancing troop selected to entertain the president.

A lineup of dancers at the door received the president.

My buddy Susilo. You might know him as the democratically elected president of Indonesia.

Lots of ships from many countries showed at the harbor. This is a Chinese hospital boat.

Here is Vincent on the bow of Tenacious. Vincent is an Sail Indonesia representative and guide has been very helpful in our trip.

The big ships of the parade.

The little sailboats at the parade and Ali in the VIP viewing deck.

Powered paragliders participated as well. The president, government dignitaries, and the residents of the Island were enjoying the parade from the beach.

What is a blog post without a beautiful sunset picture. This one is for Madi since it actually is an active volcano and you can see the fumarole at the top of it. 

Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo was a busy stop and apparently the heart of the Sail Komodo festivities. Since we arrived a few days early we took some time to explore the town. This stop kept us well fed with all the gala dinners here! I also took the opportunity to go diving.

Last sunset prior to arriving at Labuan Bajo. It was getting late and we found a good anchorage. We don't even know the name of it.

Here is Ali is pretending to be a local fisherwoman or maybe she just got a ride.

We were well received with a dinner and a dance competition.

Here is one of the winners. We met this young fellow in Lembata if you remember him.

This is the team from Alor. I love those headpieces.

Ali going for a dive.  I wish I had lots of diving pictures to show you but my iPhone case is only good for 3 meters and we were definitely deeper than that. Labuan Bajo is known for its great diving sites and my dive was absolutely amazing. I saw sharks, baby sharks, turtles, eels, and purple and a black banded snake that looked straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

We got to enjoy the town parade while eating sorbet. This one looks just like Tropicbird!

The little princess.

We spent a day at Komodo National Park to go visit this little fellow. He is about a year old and lucky his mom didn't turn him into an omelet. Komodos are canibalistic!

This one is for Rich. Here orchids just grow on trees and nobody takes them in and out or sprays them up. You'd go crazy!

That is a momma komodo taking a nap from not eating her young.

Here is papa, looking after momma and showing you some claws to keep some distance.

This is the artsy picture of the post. The back of the Bajo Ecolodge. Thanks for letting us use your pool, showers and keeping our beers cold.

More Labuan Bajo on the next post!

Whale Shark

Some time ago… 2013

Not the best photo…. but it's better than nothing!  At least Jill had her cell phone on her at the time to even take a picture!  The rest of us were too mesmerized to move.

 

Kick A$$ Komodo

September 15, 2013

This might have been the best stop so far!!!  Komodo National Park was incredible fun both in and out of the water! The town of Labuan Bajo is quite a big scuba diving destination and so it was a real treat buying western products in the markets, eating a variety of foods I hadn't had in months and not being mobbed for photos while walking down the street!  Not to mention this town was a military party with the president coming to meet us Sail Komodo folks.

 

Noelie, Rogelio, Omar and I at a Greek restaurant in town.  The pita wrap was delicious!

And the shabby-chic restaurant was a great place to lounge with free wifi!

Us crew dining at Made In Italy . . . the second best Italian meal I have ever had in my life! (And I was just in Rome!)  Sorry mom - the gnocchi here was better than yours!

Happy to report my hair did not catch on fire while I got my first ever ear candle cleaning.  I did however become a little more hippy.

The best spa around - cheap massages and HOT water showers!!!

Omar and I on our dive boat about to go on the best dives of my life . . . sharks everywhere and coral in colors that put Willy Wonka to shame!!!

Omar getting excited for his first dive ever!

There was a surprise Sail Komodo parade one day . . . complete with Muslim cheer leaders and….

…not so Muslim cheer leaders!

And what's a parade without drag queens???

Parade traffic.

The town of Komodo on Komodo Island and National Park.

Don't get bitten or you will die!!!  The komodo dragons have over 60 different types of bacteria in their mouth and venom.    

A baby . . . ahh . . .  how cute.

Here are a bunch of us Sail Komodo folks on the free tour.  I had to pee in the bushes right before this photo, which meant a guide coming with his giant forked stick to make sure I was safe first.  Death by a komodo dragon bite - badass.  Death by a komodo dragon bite while peeing in the bushes - embarrassing.

Check out the claws on this big boy!!!

That is a komodo dragon behind us . . . about 14 feet long.

Here's another big boy in action!

The military police here are way more relaxed than America!  That or they don't know me very well.

Omar and I dressed up for a gala dinner at a 4 star hotel. I probably should have cropped out the shoes . . . I think it's time to go shoe shopping!

The kiddies sang their national anthem for us at the gala dinner.  (This was gala dinner 2 out of 3 while we were in Labuan Bajo.)

To end Sail Komodo week with a bang, there was a big Navy Pass (boat parade) with the Indonesian Navy and the sail boats. The Chinese Navy and the Singapore Navy were also here and the American Navy was trying to send a ship to join in the fun but they didn't make it. 

The Chinese Navy ship decorated for the parade . . . here to do good medical deeds!

Strict military formation . . . unless you waved as they would wave back.

The sail boats brought up the rear off the parade.

The military also dropped parachuters for circumstance and pomp.  That dark mass on the beach in front of the hotel are thousands of locals and who came to join in the festivities.