We made it!

                                                       

On our way! Left Dulles 9pm, 12 hr to DOHA, Qatar

Big Bear in Doha Airport - again. Gained 7 hours!

Got a lovely rest in the airport hotel and then departed Doha 8am...10 hours to BALI 👏

Arrival at Denpasar airport 11pm (gained 5 more hours!) - luggage, visa check, customs....

Picked up by our driver Wayan (son of the caretaker of our house). It was about an hour or so to Penestanan/Ubud - roads still busy even in the middle of the night! Woke to a beautiful house and a beautiful day....'winter' in Bali now (COOLER than CVille!) -- dry, breezy 80's during the day, high 60s at night. Jetlag was pretty intense - waking up very early morning, watching the night go and the sun come - bats making way for starlings. So much birdsong!

                    Gentle and serene living spaces; with all-encompassing, rainforest-esque views. 

                                                           Lots of lounging surfaces 😊

Some music - ing and crocheting. Elsa working on her gorgeous butterfly top (pictures of the finished product to come...)

The house is on a steep hill in a ravine above a river - can hear rushing water from the pool at the bottom of the property...and always lots of birds and crickets (also many bats and lizards and mice and mosquitos hanging around).The pool is unusually big for this place (about 12m/40 ft - good enough for mini laps). The house was designed and built in 1980 when there was much more space (about 2 acres total). Ownership is shared by an American and a Balinese family.  The house has a great vintage vibe - not fancy - very open air - modeled on Balinese style of living. Made (pronounced"Mah-day") - the caretaker of the house is amazing and so helpful. His wife Ketut cooks breakfast for us in the mornings and is available to cook Balinese food in evenings (she's a wonderful cook). We've gone out to eat a bit as well - pretty inexpensive for the most part - LOTS of vegan restaurants here these days! 

Revisiting our favorite restaurant (LalaLili's)! We were very happy to discover that it was still here.

Reconnected with my former teacher and friend D'Ayu. She's a successful business owner now - runs her own hostel for backpackers (new since we were here last - built onto her house). Elsa and I have visited with her a couple of times already - are hoping to spend more time with her during our stay. She was our host at many temple ceremonies during our past visits but is so busy with her hostel that she doesn't really have much time to dedicate to making offerings or helping with temple preparations. But - I think she's enjoying having a break from that kind of work  - being her own boss - meeting lots of people from all over the world. Her guests are VERY lucky to have her as a host. She's so gracious and generous! That's all for now! More to come.....