Cruising Bali

A few days ago we said goodbye to the wonderful children at the orphanage. We woke up early in the morning and waited by the front gate and said goodbye as they departed for the day. Some kids walked to school while others were picked up by their friends on motor bikes. There are so many young kids driving these things! Later that morning we were picked up by Dewa our new Balinese friend. Our friends Charlie and Christy connected us with Dewa. Charlie and Christy have a business in the states called High Sierra Wood Carvings (www.highsierrawoodcarvings.com). All their products are hand made by Balinese craftsman. I recommend checking out the beautiful carvings on the website. Dewa manages the Bali side of the business. We rented a car for a few days and Dewa showed us around this gorgeous island. We made our way through the town of Ubud, known for its artistry and rice farming, our home base. From there we drove East Lake Batur and Batur Volcano. Then we drove to the north part of the island to the town of Lovina where we hoped to swim with the dolphins. I (Craig) went for a swim, but no dolphins were seen with the exception of the statue. Later we went for a dip in the hot springs. The next day, February 5th, Dewa took us to the East Coast to snorkel at Tulamben. This was a highlight for Mariella and I. Off the shoreline is the coral encrusted wreck of the U.S. cargo ship “Liberty”. We snorkeled with all kinds of beautiful fish. We were blown away by the creative beauty of the neon blue fish among others. While we were swimming around the wreck a massive school of bright silver fish a couple feet in length engulfed us like a cloud. The schools of magnificent fish were above us, below us and on all sides. Crazy! The fish were not scared by our presence and were within arm’s-length. Side note: When in Bali, prepare to meet some “polici” with motive to extort money, without shame from locals and tourists alike. We’ve grown to dislike the police corruption. During the past couple days of driving we’ve been stopped by police who just point cars to the side of the road and ask for money. There is no law being broken they just demand money. People just give them the money they ask for. It is ridiculous. The sums of money is usually not large, but significant for the Balinese people. These police are making a ton of money. One police officer was sitting in a parking lot where we were having lunch. When we got in the car it was pouring rain. Instead of coming to the window to ask for money he told the parking lot attendant to get money from us. We had to pay for parking and pay the lazy corrupt cop who was sitting under the shelter of an awning. Other than the Police incidents, Bali is great. We are having the time of our lives. We like hanging out with Dewa learning about the Balinese culture through his knowledge and experiences. The conversation is seasoned and fruitful. Thank you Dewa! Tomorrow, the 7th, we hope to leave Bali from the east coast town of Padangbai where we will head to the island of Lombok and then to the Gili islands. We’re not sure what internet connections will be available. We’ll keep you posted as we can. Many blessings!