Nusa Lembongan

For a last hurrah before school starts up again, we took an overnight trip to Nusa Lembongan.  Lembongan is a small island ("nusa" means island) a half-hour fast ferry boat ride from Sanur.  Sanur is on the east coast of Bali, about a 40 minute drive from our house.

We didn't know much about Lembongan except that it was supposed to be a laid back place with some good spots for snorkeling and surfing.  We picked a cliff-side hotel that was well reviewed in TripAdvisor and reserved the last available room.

The ferry service picked us up from our house in an eight-seat car smaller than Dewa's car.  This would have been fine, expect that when made the next stop to pick up a young New Zealand couple, they were waiting with enormous surfboards next to them.  There was no way they were going to fit into the car.  Our driver quickly enlisted a driver from the hotel to bring the couple and their boards, and we were off again toward the ferry launch in Sanur.

Sanur is the location of the popular kite festival we attended last month.  As we approached Sanur, we saw trucks carrying enormous kites heading to the beach.  It seemed that yet another kite extravaganza was in the works.

a perilous perch above impressively stacked loose corn

We reached Sanur in time to have a buffet breakfast at one of the small beachside restaurants and to wander along the beach watching local families playing in the water.

The ferry ride was uneventful, even though the ferry had been delayed in arriving due to mechanical problems.  A fresh set of offerings was loaded onto the ferry.  Each of the three outboard motors received its own offering, and the front of the ferry was stacked high with more offerings.  Smoke wafted from the burning incense sticks placed above the 'No Smoking' sign.

When we reached Lembongan, we disembarked onto the surf.  Ferry boat passengers were sorted by their hotel destination onto various pickup trucks outfitted with benches.  All the trucks departed leaving us (the only people traveling with kids) and a group of Spanish surfer dudes stuck at the dock.  Eventually another truck was located, and we clambered on board, a half dozen surf boards wedged between our feet.

We chatted with one of the surfer dudes who was fairly fluent in English, and the surfers took turns showing off the nasty gashes and scrapes they had suffered from being smashed by waves against coral reefs.  A short while later, amidst a blur of Spanish, I heard "Hitler".  I wondered what on this beautiful sunny day could have prompted that comment.  It soon became clear that the surfer was discussing the omnipresent swastikas.  Lynn joined in trying to convince him that the symbol is drawn differently in Bali, with the arms facing in the opposite direction.

Our hotel was located on a cliff above a beach facing back towards Bali, with a spectacular view of Mount Agung in the distance. 

steps to our room

mystery fruit growing next to the hotel pool

After lunch, we headed down to the beach.  Several shacks offered snorkels and stand-up paddleboards.   It was the first time Charlotte and I had gone paddleboarding; Lynn and Alexa tried it last summer in Vermont.  Lynn and I took turns going out with Alexa or Charlotte.   It was good fun, even with several unplanned dunks, and we all had a chance to paddle.

After returning to the hotel to change for dinner, we headed along a path beside the beach to a nearby cluster of hotels and restaurants.  Along the way we saw seaweed farms exposed by low tide.  Lembongan is well known for its seaweed farming.  The seaweed is nutriet-rich and is sold to the Japanese market for cosmetics.  We went to explore, navigating our way along strips of wet sand and hopping over tide pools.   We stopped to help a fisherman remove thin stands of fine seaweed from the larger branching specimens that are carted away for sale.  We stuck around on the beach to watch the sun set.

Mount Agung, on Bali, in the distance, with seaweed "paddies" in the foreground

We ate at a high quality restaurant overlooking the beach as the sky turned dark under the new moon, and the stars came out.  We then returned to our hotel along the poorly lit path, relying on the meager light from my cell phone to light our way back.

Not sure which door leads to the men's room?  Problem solved.

The next morning we rented two paddle boards.  Alexa and Lynn went on one.  Charlotte and I on the other.  We paddled over the clear water with coral visible below.  The girls took turns paddling, and when they tired of that they jumped off the paddleboards to swim nearby and then would come back to lie on the boards while Lynn and I paddled.  The paddle boards were a good discovery as we had a lot of fun with them.

We paddled to the neighboring beach which we had to ourselves.  The girls passed the time collecting sea shells.  Then it was time to paddle back, have lunch, check out, and return by the ferry to Bali.

On the drive from Sanur back to our house we passed large flags still flying from Indonesia's August 17th Independence Day and an entire neighborhood walking in a funeral procession. 

It was a great way to end the long school break.  We were happy to discover that such a relaxing retreat is just two hours door-to-door from our place. Now it's time to prepare for the start of school tomorrow.

Photos by Nat.  Comments, edits and additional photos by Lynn.