Nusa Penida, Indonesia

Jim's Nusa Penida

Although Nusa Penida is one of the larger islands off the coast of Bali, the roads are still primitive, shocking the spine unexpectedly at every turn. Driving a motorbike became a game of stay to the left or dodge the pothole, drive over the sandpit or dodge the backhoe. But it is hard to beat the cost of transportation on the island and some places actually require a smaller vehicle due to width of the "road". What you get for $5 is 150cc's of freedom. Two up- we traveled around the island and to Crystal Beach and Kelingking - a story of its own.  Helmets - So yes, technically they're required and so is an international divers license. But this isn't Denpasar, this is an island with "roads" barely living up to their name. You won't see locals wearing them and the winding roads prevent any serious speed from building up. So why did I? Alisa! Have you ever had a passenger behind you wearing a helmet suddenly headbutt you when you apply the breaks when a Bali dog runs out into the middle of the road?  That's right, I wore a helmet to protect my head from Alisa. 

After a short tutorial on the basics of riding a scooter, Alisa worked up enough courage to drive on the grass, all by herself. Seems I should have went over the lesson on gravity in a bit more detail. Educators really are the worst students. To be fair, learning to ride a scooter on uneven rocky terrain probably isn't the best location. She later wrecked and the bike fell on her leg. I immediately said, "Awesome you have a scar from Bali!" She wasn't too happy with the new unwanted souvenir and pledged not to drive again (and to passive-aggressively headbutt me while I was driving).

Crystal Bay Beach

We took off towards Crystal Bay, which was about 25 minutes away. Twenty-five minutes going a normal speed. We were going slower than the 100 year old dogs crossing the roads. When the fourth 7 year old driver raced passed us, I had to add a little vroom to the trip, even if it meant more headbutts from my "slow-down" "advising" partner. 

We arrived at the entrance to the bay, paid our 2000 IDR for parking. (.14 US cents) After parking, we walked to the shore, we were greeted by they guys who have the greatest jobs out there. Brushing off sand from a chair and collecting money from tourist to sit in one of them. We paid 100,000 IDR ($6.77 USD) for two cushioned lounge chairs that were separated from each other by a small table and an umbrella. $7.00 for the entire day on the beach. 

After a few obligatory 60000 IDR ($4.06 USD) large Bintang's we took turns cooling off in the water and trying out the underwater camera. We met a couple from Tasmania, Australia and chatted with them a bit. As they left, I said "we are going to sincerely check out Tanzania, it sounds great." Have you ever cut yourself off from drinking beer while enjoying the beach, on vacation? Neither have I, but I came pretty close that time. I blurted out a quick, "Tasmania" but it was too late, the typical geographically challenged American had already lost face. 

I had just laid back down from waving our Aussie friends goodbye when I noticed someone I knew. I took a second look for confirmation. Unbelievable. I told Alisa and took off to say what's up to a guy, who I remembered half way there, couldn't speak English.  

So here I am grabbing both shoulders of a giant Chinese man whom I previously met in Ubud, our neighbor at the Green House. Didn't think this one out either. Luckily he remembered me and we both punched around like we were old friends who hadn't seen each other since high school. Until our wives came along and reminded us of proper social etiquette. Hugs for all. It was such a surprise to see the same travelers along our trail of life.  Awesome experience and awesome people. I once again was presented with a gift, a gold souvenir coin from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. I started to realize the language barrier between us could be overlooked as both attempted our best to communicate. But they were only on the island for the day and had plans to visit some of the many other spots on the island and had to take off. We parted paths once again but no doubt will one day meet back up. Here's to you Mr. Lou and your wonderful family! 

Angels Billabong

The roads to Angel Billabong were ridiculously pock-marked and paved what seemed like centuries ago. After a grueling hour dodging holes, dogs and headbutts, we arrived. If not for the trails we found, I'm not sure I'd even be writing about this place.

Let's just say they improve the roads and you do venture this way, check out the billabong and the "beach," but after that minute, walk to your right. There, you'll find seclusion and a plethora of trails endlessly paralleling the amazing blue water below. The trails overlooking the cliffs offer a birds eye view of the giant manta rays playing below while also providing enough solitude to actually enjoy their majestic water-flight. 

Kelingking Beach

OK, so this one, yeah it's legit. We heard the road to T-Rex was horrible from a father and son duo cutting their teeth on traveling internationally. Their perception of an 8 out of ten turned out to be a 4 out of ten. But we did see a few of those riders, with bloody legs, limping along the last few curves. 

Tip* - Don't expect to magically balance yourself (and your love) on two wheels instead of four if you've never done it before. 

The ride was pleasantly scenic, ending with the option of going to a Balinese temple situated on the cliffs or parking at the trail-head of Kelingking. We chose the latter. The "trail" down to the beach of Kelingking will test your will and stamina. The "trail" up will test your sanity. After thinking we may have actually lost our minds, we hit the trail.

Slowly descending the ladder of bamboo, my center of gravity kept creeping lower and lower until it was really nothing more than a dirt slide. Every foot was carefully placed to avoid the almost certain slip. The words of an ascender, which I silently called those climbing up, only intensified the gravitational force pulling me lower and lower.  Sweating, panting and bending over while gasping for oxygen, she spoke of the dangers to come. Awesome. The adventure was real, the view had been replaced with personal immersion. 

After the first switchback, I realized most travelers turned back and became ascenders. Only those brave stupid willing enough to risk the fall shall be rewarded. The two-person wide trail slowly progressed into a 12 inch wide cliff-side drop. Balinese saints dug out small cutouts in the rock which perfectly matched the length of my toes. We're talking two inches max. My 200 lbs were being supported by two inches of toe strength. Awesome. Right about then it hit me. I realized I was going to have to go back up this thing. 

The last portion is the hardest. All resemblances of a trail have long disappeared. With unreliable legs, I found the ladder being supported by sand. We had made it. 

On the beach, the waves were at war, slamming unsuspecting trespassers face-down into the sand. If not for my future role as an ascender, I gladly would have succumbed to the siren song of youthful playfulness. But after wading into the 2 inch water, which instantly turned into 7 ft., I back off and chilled by the cliffs. Evacuation helicopters are expensive. 

As the tide rose and swallowed the beach, we knew the time had come. This paradise was was meant to be seen, even experienced but was not accepting overnight guest. We had to go. The slow ascent was brutal. Looking straight down at Alisa through wobbly legs, I saw she was feeling it too. This wasn't a trail, it was a 1300 ft. ascension into the clouds. At times, I questioned if I was still alive or if this was a post-dead dream which transformed me into the afterlife. Luckily a trail-traffic jam provided enough time for both of us to catch our breaths and slowly and eventually make it to the top of this magnificent monster. I found what little energy I had left over and made it to the trail about a minute before Alisa came. With sweat pouring down my dirty face, I somehow convinced a bunch of willing strangers to start singing happy birthday to her just as she finished the last stretch. 

Alisa's Nusa Penida

We took a fast boat from Sanur to the island of Nusa Penida. We were told there was one store at the port on the island where we could purchase groceries. We also knew there would be no liquor so we did buy a bottle on the mainland. Point to the story we arrived at almost the top of the island where our house is with only a bottle of rum and a house stocked with Bali beer.  We did stop at the port store to find it stocked with little supplies. There are a few family hut stores that sell rice, beans and sugar. Maybe a handful of restaurants on the whole island that we can eat at. Once we got settled Jim thought it was a great idea to give me my first scooter lesson on the uneven grass and dirt (the main way around the island) but it ended not so good for my leg....rough start.  

We are definitely not going to starve. Kamng, a local to our village of Tiagan, came over and for two hours made a homemade dinner from scratch. It was amazing to watch the patience, grinding, chopping of what was truly one of the best dinners we have had on our whole trip. I can’t tell you what we ate, she didn’t speak English but she will be cooking our dinners while we are here. She let me watch but refused to let me help with anything so all we could do was enjoy a beautiful sunset. 

I always try to be up for a good adventure but not sure what freaked me out more.....the earthquake that jolted me awake one morning or the crazy ride to what I thought was going to be our death that afternoon. We took a trip to Angel's Billabong and Broken Beach and Jim was amazing on the scooter with me on back. We were the lucky ones and never wrecked, however I was not ashamed to get off and walk the scary parts. 

My 45th birthday I was not one for being treated like a princess. I was tested both physically and mentally.....and I did it! This is something I’ve been doubting I could do since we planned our trip. There was one point where I thought I was going to cry, possibly die, but what a complete adrenaline rush. Hiking to Kelingking Beach was absolutely amazing and breathtaking. At one point on the way back up you had nothing  but yourself to pull you to the next foot hold. I am so thankful for Jim, who always pushes me and helps me do the impossible things I don’t think I can do

And…. as always there are beautiful surprises and endings with Jim. 

Plans changed and this Island just doesn’t want us to leave…all fast boats to the mainland have been canceled. We had to do some quick booking and found another place close to the harbor. That next morning, all packed and ready to go, we found out again that the boats were canceled. None of the two ATM's had money and we spent most of ours on a taxi getting to the ATM , which had no money!  The other ATM is an hour away in the next village and we decided we needed to figure out how to try and get there. We saved ½ our Rupiah to eat that night and the other half to rent a scooter (only half day) to get to that ATM hoping there would be money. On the way there the scooter fucking dies. We rented another scooter on the street, using all of our Rupiah and left the other one there. We got to the ATM and it was OUT OF $.  Thankfully Jim is the most laid back, calmest person I know. I’m so thankful I’m with him because he is my peace. And I needed a lot of it, none of the scooters had helmets, we can’t go have a drink to relax, let alone eat because we have no money.

Once Jim got back from the first scooter fiasco we put our heads together. We had Baht left over from Thailand and $100 USD stashed away. After asking a lot of sketchy people we found a little Warung, where we met an old woman who exchanged all our cash for Rupiahs. Most people were saying there were going to be no boats for another week, but we still purchased a boat ticket for the next day, just in case. 

The next morning we woke up to a lady bagging on our door in a panic, she spoke no English. Using google translate, she wanted to take us to the Ferry because she said there were no boats. She kept telling us to hurry. Jim checked our reservations and there was no notification so we had her take us to the harbor instead. Once we got there we were told no fast boats. At this point I started looking up helicopter options (didn’t really care about cost). One boat company told us we could wait until 5pm and see if they’d be running. We decided to reach out to Chemng, our host from the first place we stayed. He was working on hooking us up with a friend who would take us in his boat to another island and from there we could get another boat to Bali. With his help we were able to get on a fast boat with about 20 other people. So thankful for Chemng and all the beautiful and kind people in Nusa Penida.