Yesterday was a quite day in Bali. There was some rain during breakfast and the sun rarely peeked through the clouds all day. Even though there were some dark clouds, we still went out to the beach and basically sat or read for most of the day. I went a got a $5.00 massage by one of the women at the beach just waiting and hoping for customers. I was hoping for the weather to clear up so we could enjoy a bit of snorkeling.
Today, we woke up and there was SUN! Yay! This was perfect. We headed straight for the beach and the water was so clear and blue. The vegetation was green and lush. Our plan was to snorkel a loop around the northeast side of the island and then to find a working ATM. There is not ATM in Candidasa where we are staying, the staff at our beach hotel Bali said that there might be on in Amlapura, which is approximately 15 kilometers away. But, as luck would have it, and after 5 days of searching, we finally have money. We figured all the banks were closed because of the Ramadan holiday , which has now ended, and is why we now have money!
Our next day excursion will be Ganga Tirta, which we heard is a lovely water palace and a major tourist stop. While there, we plan to get in some hiking, our legs are screaming at us to get some exercise. Then head to Amed to do some more snorkeling. We were told we’ll be able to walk out from the beach and find coral immediately and that the ocean is calm and the reef goes on for miles, so we’d be able to snorkel for longer periods of time. Today’s snorkeling was difficult due to rough waters, so Amed will be a nice treat.
Our last leg of the journey will be to take our time and travel along the coast line. We want to see the untouched parts of Bali, some of its coastline is rural and there are less paved roads, which I know will have to ask for direction back to Candidasa.