Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Back in Bali


Back in Bali for the first full day. It feels like home almost. We have come and gone from this place 3 times now. This time we returned to find the place filled with surfers which was fun. J, D, and myself went to Uluwatu for the morning session and saw it go through major transformations as the tide dropped out during the 3 hours we were in the water. Paddled out at high tide and came back across a low tide exposed reef. The cave is very intimating at high tide as the waves wash in but it is just rough water that does not have any current so it is just a washing machine. That is a term I learned as a teenager. You need to paddle between these knarley rocks through rough water but it is really a piece of cake until you get to the impact zone. There is no timing the sets on this paddle out as you can not even see the waves when you start the paddle. I actually anticipated the worst but never even got my hair wet on the way out. The surf was 5-6 feet which is decent size! Of course Dillon wanted to drive the motor scooter everywhere. I had dropped off my surfboard to have a ding in the nose repaired. I hope it hit the reef and my head because the ding was not minor! The guy “Jocky” had told me (Rupia) RP 300,000 which is 30 dollars for the repair which would have been a deal back home. When I went to pick it up the repair was first class. Jocky has 3 kids that I could see plus a wife and numerous other folks,2 dogs, and 3 birds around the house. This was the second time we have had him do board repair for us so we felt like locals! Haha! Any way I gave him the 30 dollars plus an extra 10 dollars for doing such a good job in less than 12 hours! He immediately gave me a hug and said he was so appreciative that it would help his family. This is the sincerity we have received from most of the people we have encountered on our trip here in Bali! It gives you a very warm feeling about these folks.
After lunch Dillon just wanted to go ridding/driving ( he is a good scooter driver) so we made the rounds then went surfing at Padang/ Impossibles till the sun set. Impossibles is just as the name says, you can make it for awhile but almost never all the way. It is the ‘almost’ part that keeps you coming back for more! Joanthan paddled the 15 minutes to Padang and on his first wave broke his Merrick again! He said retrieving the other half off the rocks was a little on the tough side as in sharp rocks!
Sat around talking to the Surf club guys from Calif. They have competitions between the different high schools depending on how far they are away from the beach. The surf class goes to the beach for practice 3 times a week. In there school they can choose between the normal sports and surfing ! How cool is that!!
OK I just ran out of things to say so good night, jim

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