Islands in the Sun

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The morning started with Donna (not a girl) taking us to the port where the public boat/ferry was to take us over to the Island of Nusa Lebongan. A mouthful I know, especially with these teeth, Ken Dodd would be jealous.

The boat left every morning at around 6:00am, so it was an early start, but the yellow man in the sky was already up and working overtime. We bought our tickets from the booth and got charged Western prices but as we had been used to this in the rest of Asia it did not come as such a shock. It still smarts a bit however and Emma would be witness to me moaning about it for the next half an hour. We were directed to our vessel that was moored on the beach and instructed that we could sit on top on the roof. We climbed aboard (Hello Sailor) straining to get all of the luggage on top without dropping it into the sea, there was a slight swell coming in that made matters worse. For the next hour we waited while they loaded the boat with all of sundry, as you can imagine the island has to boat everything across so we were joined on the roof not only by forty passengers, but also a car windscreen, ten computers and various plumbing materials. At one point we saw a man carrying a live pig that was squealing away, not a fan of the water, but thankfully it joined another boat.

The crossing was a slight worry for us as a travelling party as part of that party contained the “Pukester”, yes she may be beautiful but she can hurl chunks like the best of them. With slight swell but mostly calm sea it seemed as if it would not too bad, so the outlook was good. It was a wonderful feeling sailing across, the mix of people on the boat and the scenery made it one of the occasions when you sit back and say thank you for the hand of cards you were dealt. It is a little bit like when Welshy looks across her bump at Brillcream, when Baker and Ol’s eyes meet over a bottle of Pinot or when Rich sends Vicky to the bar at the Claude. Pure magic!

Arriving in Nusa was wonderful, the people on the beach gathered around just waiting to welcome us. Well actually they waited to try and steer us into their accommodation rather than their neighbour, it is a cut throat business in Indo. So we were no different, as a soon as the anchor was set people were jumping on board trying to grab your bags. We were cautious as had heard rumours that they try and charge you for the privilege. So with two rucksacks and surfboard safely fastened we disembarked and started through the crowds. Well we got sidetracked quite early on as we realised that we had not planned where to stay and one of the first guys that we met enticed us in with the shout of “surfing, our homestay is on the beach in front of the main break”. SOLD to man chewing tobacco.

After our initial, well my, jubilation we quickly got a bit suspicious as the gentleman in question took us on a trail through villages, seaweed drying racks and even past a local family eating their lunch. We then headed down small tracks with Em and I regularly looking at each other calming the nerves, almost expecting the bloke to get his machete out (That is not code for anything). We finally arrived at his proposed accommodation and the man was true to his word, they were right on the beach and they were in front of the surfing break called ‘Shipwrecks’, which is a fast right hand reef break. The front bungalows were already being used but the man promised us other digs further back. Not to disappoint we took a look but not before our breakfast of fresh fruit, jaffles and a cup of coffee. Please do these people not know that you can’t function unless you have some fuel? The place was nice but we thought that we would have a look across the beach at other options, as Frank said to me as a child “never buy anything”. Sorry I meant “never buy on your first try”; I hope this was just referring to FMCG goods. So we went next door and found ‘Linda’s’, it was fantastic, a beach front place with a nice café. We were in there like swimwear. It reminds me of that 80’s classic “Never stop looking for Linda”, ahhhhh the 80’s, when illuminous yellow was cool and Powell’s haircut was fashionable.

After taking a quick scoot around, unpacking a few things and getting to know the surroundings it was quickly out to the surf.

Com’on people the wave were pumping. After taking a boat out to the reef it grew apparent that the small, well formed surf that I was looking at on the shore was actually between 5-7ft rib breaking walls of water that were rolling in over razor sharp coral. After the first couple of waves ridden while still holding my testicles I got into the groove and paddled into some of the bigger sets. The first of these picked me up and slammed me so had onto the reef below I think that it actually spoke to and said “go home little boy” (A phrase that Dunc used to hear but not so much these day’s). After a paddle back through the white water, each wave crashing me onto the reef I started to get some traction and made my way out back. Now for all of you that tune out with the surf speak I invite you to join me in the cold British water in similar conditions and we will see what happens. There were a few in the water and with time familiarity bred stupidity and lots of fun was had. The channel that runs between Nusa and Bali, where the reef was situated, is the deepest gully in the whole world. That means that it is the deepest record part of the ocean floor. Cool eh!

The signal to get the boat to pick me up from shore was to hold the board above your head and wave. So when my arms were almost dropping off I pushed the nose to the sun drenched sky and waited for the small aquatic craft to take me away from surf heaven. Back on the dry stuff and Em could not wait to show me what she had found, there were a family of spiders living in the garden. Now they weren’t the kind that you would put in a matchbox, purely because the matchbox would not be big enough. The photos will give you an idea; these were four feet from our balcony.

Food was served on the veranda restaurant and consisted of many western style dishes and Indonesian flavoured meals; it all tasted great and with the sunset going down over the Pacific Ocean in the background it was hard pressed not to have a ‘Bintang’. Bintang is the traditional brew of Bali and is not a bad bit of bubbles. Well if you have ever been to Indo or had an Australian half witted mate then it would be recommended.

The sun rose and so did the Smith (err missus). Up and at them for an early check of the surf. It looked similar to yesterday so chose to surf it at high tide in a couple of hours. Nusa is a very much a working community, it has a main export of seaweed and you will find masses of prepared beds all over the island. The other guys there will be working with tourists in some form. The owners were away today so the rest of the staff chilled out a bit with the vibe purely given a tropical island feel. Breakfast then out to the oceanic amphitheatre of dreams, the waves were still pumping through and as it was a new moon a fresh new pulse had joined us. The wind was non-existent which made the faces clean and the lip shudder into a rolling barrel. I got a few nice ones and also dragged across the reef . They were many more people surfing as there were tour boats in the harbour, with the traditional Japanese entourage. These guys love surfing but they don’t like swimming, there is something wrong here.

In the arvo we decided to charter a boat and go snorkelling. The local guy at the homestay organised it for us and we got a traditional boat to take us to two sites. This was very much a family affair as on the boat was Em and I, the owner and his two kids. We even got the kids to take a snap of us and vice versa. The first site provided a mangrove reef with an array of reef fish, beautiful coral and the eternal search for larger mammals. The second site was a drop off down a walled coral reef which again supplied magnificent views of fish and the clearest water you ever seen.

When we got back to Linda’s I got back into the water for one last surf, paddling out there and back. A romantic meal on the front was the only way to finish the day, some mahi-mahi and a watch of the sun dipping behind the horizon. We took the boat back to Bali mainland in the morning, as we looked back at Nusa with red faces and warm memories. It is a place where you can lose some time and relax into real island life. If you are ever in the area I suggest that you drop in.

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Comments

[Vickster]

scary spiders
woah scary spiders wouldn't fancy stumbling out there in the dark!