The house we are staying in is called "Asmara Villa"--and Asmara means "love" in Malay. The people are so kind here on the island. The brother who drove the truck from the yellow bridge out to the house are hired by the owners of the villa (who live in Australia). They offered to cook breakfast in the morning, so we ate delicious, home cooked omlettes and fruit for breakfast. We spent the morning lounging on the beach and by the pool. This is the view from our villa, so incredible!
Later in the afternoon we walked around 3 km to a cafe for lunch. Every restaurant, bar, and cafe here are decorated so uniquely. I love all of the colors and individualized touches--each place really has it's own personality. The staff is all so friendly and kind too. We got these delicious smoothly bowls full of pureed banana and mango and topped with fruit, granola, and coconut, and some pancakes.
On the walk home back to the beach house we saw ducks, cows, chickens, roosters, dogs, and kids playing on the recently constructed Nyepi sculptures.
When we got back from lunch, the tide was going out and I think it was very close to low tide. There was a lot of exposed tidal pools and volcanic rock shore areas the were previously not as accessible. Bren and I walked around the tidal pools and around the cove to a beach area further down from our house. We collected shells and knick-knacks that had floated ashore. There are temples everywhere in Bali--even built into a kind of creepy beach cave.
Bren wasn't feeling good so he relaxed while Shane, Daris and I walked to a restaurant on the back side of the island near secret beach. We were the only people in at the restaurant for the hour and 45 minutes we were there. I ate chicken satay and rice, Shane got a tuna steak, and I can't remember what Daris ordered, but it was all delicious. All the restaurants on the island are open more like open air huts and has the feel of eating on your neighbors porch. The whole island seems pretty unoccupied and through our conversation with the waiter at dinner, it is very unoccupied. He said we were the only customers all day. When we asked how they stay open, he says that it gets very busy May-August (high season) when lots of Australian tourist visit. It was neat talking with him though. He was 21 years old and had grown up on the island. He said his dad bought and cleared the land that their home and restaurant are located on. He bought this large lot less than 50 years ago for 1 million rupiah (currently $72.70 US dollars). He said he travels by scooter to the "main island" Nusa Lempongan and then to the real main island of Bali to stock up for the restaurant supplies. During high season he said he'll make that trip weekly. It was nice and informative talking to him. I love this place and its people!
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