Bali 1

Woke around 8:00 a.m. for morning tea.  There were one or two people by the pool in the morning sun.  Strolled over the alfresco dinning room for a leisurely breakfast – fruit, juices, toast, Balinese omelette and pancakes. Then a stroll round the site and into costumes to rest by the pool – very well-designed and set out.  Towels on loungers under umbrellas and iced water served.  We had a free spa treatment booked for 1:00 p.m. and walked over to be greeted with cold ginger tea.  Decided on an hour’s Balinese massage each – oiled with their Signature scent and pummelled into a hazy daze to the sound of the waves washing in and out! 

Had a late lunch and signed in for the Satay dinner at 8:00 pm.  Took a cup of tea and cake back to our room and rested on our comfy verandah, where there is a big lounger for two overlooking the pool and lawns.  The weather changed during the late afternoon and we were treated to a tropical deluge, complete with thunder and lightning.  A romantic setting with the rain pouring down and streaming off the edge of the thatch, with us dry and warm. The rain eased during the evening, but we still needed an umbrella (provided) to stroll across to the candle-lit dining room.  A super supper, with the satays cooked for us on a barbecue. Then a coconut sorbet and a snakeskin fruit compote for pudding.  Our interest in the fruit was rewarded with an example and an explanation.  The fruit really has got a skin like a snake, with overlapping scales.  I have saved the stone inside and will try to germinate it – hopefully it doesn’t need to pass through a bat, monkey or elephant! 

Slept well and went for a swim in the sea before breakfast – took the mask and snorkel, but it is sandy here and not a lot to see. We enjoyed our breakfast and saved some crumbs for the fish in the lotus pools that surround the dining room – a bit of a feeding frenzy was created amongst the water lilies.  We had decided to pop into the local village, Candedasa, and took the hotel minibus at 1:00 p.m.  As we arrived, there was a big parade for a local temple just starting out from the market place by the beach – great colours and music that halted the traffic.  We walked up the one street, looking at different shops – spotted postcards and bought water and Sprite for the brandy.  You can tell there is not much money here, with much work “in progress” and broken pavements.  That said, every house has a shrine and most concerns had flower and food offerings on the pavement.  At the end of the village, we headed off down a lane to the beach, but were only strolling past little homes with bananas and pigs, as well as villas and hotels.  As we didn’t approach the beach, we turned round and made our way back, stopping at several shops with Bali products – the wood and woven grass items are lovely.  Stopped finally at a smart silver shop and browsed, while a light drizzle fell outside.  We found some nice filigree earrings and bartered for a lovely pair.  Then waited for the minibus which duly arrived – a couple of hours was enough.  Back to the hotel for tea, cakes and postcard writing – then some reading, a snooze, a final swim watching the odd bat between the palms and time for a B&S with the waves breaking in the background.