Bali Bliss and a little Gili T!

Today I received two great messages from friends. The first was a heartfelt message thanking me for writing these blogs and reading that message from her made my heart swell. The second message I received was one reminding me to update my blog as it has been too long. Touché. I have been going through a selfish phase as I embark on these last few weeks in Bali. I also am not sure how to even describe it here without sounding like a big bragging asshole,"my life is so great I'm in BALI" type but here goes. Ask and ye shall receive.

Bali is pretty much as you would expect- magnificent. We were promptly picked up at the airport and greeted with cool fresh washcloths and bottled water. Please note I will also be expecting this treatment from my friends when picking me up from anywhere in the future. Im not getting in the car without a cool washcloth and a smile. We arrived at our super cute B&B and headed straight for the beach without delay.

You can imagine my great shock when I soon witnessed a girl holding a baby sea turtle by the shore. It was just a baby and flapped its tiny turtles toes as she gently placed it into the waters of freedom. As much as I told myself I was not going to be a sucker and spend a bunch of money to hold a sea turtle I knew I was just lying to myself. I didn't give a damn what it cost this was true love and I needed to feel that little turtle heartbeat in my hand. But how could i justify the cost? A wonderful idea sprang into my head. Turtles are my mom's "spirit animal" (my words, not hers) and I would buy this turtle and set it free in her honor of her upcoming birthday! So for the bargain price of $28 I am now the proud mama of my adopted sea turtle daughter, named Lisa Hazelgrove Garbin Turtle. This adoption was a bit of a joke as they didn't even do a background check or drug test. They just let me pick my 10 week old turtle child, we took some photos together, I whispered a few words of advice (don't trust the extremely good looking turtles they will break your heart, don't drink too much saltwater and make a fool of yourself) and then I set her free in the warm waters of Bali. She swam off to freedom as I waved goodbye. Kids... They just grow up so fast and before you know it they are gone. At least I will always have the souvenir photo to remember her by. The money actually goes towards an important conservation project so I supported a positive cause and selfishly fulfilled a dream of holding a sea turtle. With my support she will live a long happy life and I just know she's got potential to really make a difference in the lives of other marine creatures.

The next day we went to an amazing Balinese market and I participated in some retail therapy to forget about the loss of Lisa H.G. Turtle. Ooh the shopping in Bali is splendid. After a few hours we went back to the beach and selected our fresh snapper and tiger prawns and ate a phenomenal dinner with our toes in the sand. Food tastes better with your shoes off and the sun setting in the distance.

The next morning I tried one of Indonesia's claims to fame- coffee Lewak. Literally the most expensive coffee in the world. The fresh coffee cherry is eaten off the plant by a civet, which is a marsupial/cat like creature of sorts. It then poops out the actual coffee bean which is collected, further shelled, cleaned, and roasted. Due to the digestion process it is believed to somewhat ferment the bean and give it all sorts of beneficial health properties. I was horrified at first but then decided to live by Brad's credo of "yes to life" so I had a cup of that special joe and it really wasn't so bad. A little bitter but I think that was the point. I do enjoy expensive things so it was a worthwhile experience but I believe I would still prefer a good old fashioned caramel latte. Civet poo coffee- check.

We also embarked upon a white water rafting journey near the town of Ubud. I didn't really believe there were class 4 rapids here in Bali and I turned out to be extremely wrong. It was just as intense as being in Colorado but different, as the river was much more narrow and the rapids continuous. The vegetation on the cliffs all around us was tropical and overgrown and a ridiculous number of gorgeous waterfalls spouted out from overhead. It somehow seemed prehistoric and I couldn't shake the sensation that a stegosaurus was going to come tromping out of the jungle at any point. In between moments of complete panic and exhilaration i would find myself singing the theme song from Jurassic Park. Thankfully rafting was a blast and everyone stayed in the raft despite several close calls. I would have to say the scariest moment of the day was when we stopped at a waterfall for a few photos and I looked down at my leg to see a leech trying to hitch a ride and catch a quick meal. I got it off quickly before it attached but I was so preoccupied with leech thoughts I forgot to be scared of the rapids for a good ten minutes. After our rafting extravaganza came to a close we headed out for hot stone massages. It had been a tough day and my arm hurt from all that paddling. For the bargain price of $9.50 Brad and I each got an 80 minute hot stone massage from little Balinese girls with hands of steel. Just a word of warning- if you are modest at all I would not recommend getting a massage in Asia as my butt was being massaged with a hot stone at one point. Talk about vulnerable.

We left Bali and headed off via fast boat to a far more deserted island called Gili Trawangan. Bali is actually quite large with 4 million people who reside there on a consistent basis. Traffic is ferocious and it takes hours to drive to various points on the island. When we arrived on Gili T we found that there are no cars or motorcycles, only horse drawn carriages and bicycles. You can walk the entire island in 2 hours. The water is turquoise, it's surrounded by coral reefs, the sand is white, and I am in absolute paradise. I must have it known though that I am refusing to take the horse carriages as I do not think they are humane and the horses look thirsty. Many of you know my stance on horse carriages and I have been known to shout,"Free the Horses!" and verbally abuse those who ride them in cities. Assholes. You are asking for my verbal lashing if you are riding down 16th street in one of those carriages you should be taking a taxi like normal people. At least this is not Denver or Charleston though and there are not cars and trucks and pollution whizzing past the horses making the situation worse. I would still like to free the horses but on an island this small they really have no where to go. I guess no place is perfect although this is as close as it can be. I have now also seen firsthand what a lack of freshwater there is on tropical islands. I swim in saltwater in the ocean and then have to shower in saltwater. Super salty. Freshwater is so expensive that most hotels pipe saltwater in the rooms. Oh the things we take for granted at home-I realized the other day it has been six months since I have brushed my teeth using water from a faucet. Don't get me wrong though I love being here on a tropical island and saltwater showers are a minor inconvenience.

Gili T is a tropical paradise of sun, sand, shells, seafood, and wifi access. Tomorrow I have a big day including eating breakfast, renting a bicycle, and swimming/reading on the beach. I think I will also do some snorkeling on the amazing coral reefs. I could not be more at peace out in the middle of this tiny island in Indonesia.