Gili Air - slightly larger than Meno - closer to the Lombok mainland. Air has a larger local population due to it's proximity to the main island. We were there on Indonesia's independence day so happened upon a celebratory procession including some wonderful traditional music (recorded by Ted of course!). Our stay on Air was great. We stayed at a hotel on the west side so we would get some sunsets - they had just a few bungalows made in the traditional Sasak style of architecture (tall, airy, thatched roofs) on the 'main road'/sandy path 😆😛 overlooking the water. The beach on this side wasn't quite a swimming beach (lots of coral and seaweed) but we still got in and we took an afternoon snorkeling trip around the islands on our second day so we got to see lots of reef activity (including SEA TURTLES!). It was truly magical!
There is soooo much reef damage however - due mostly to tourism (there's no foresight or oversight or regulations of any kind - so lots of people stepping on the corals, lots motor boats and gasoline) overfishing and of course climate change. All of this makes me sad - and also sad to be part of the 'problem' while we were there - hard to know what to do - and not much that really can be done I suppose?
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| You can see Bali's Mount Agung in the background! |
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Kitty visiting us on our balcony!
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View from our balcony - a Cidomo by the tree (a local mode of transport - horse and cart)
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Elsa ready for the beach (tired of me taking pics all the time...🙄)
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| We were pretty happy there! | The trip back to Bali on the boat was quite dramatic/traumatic/exhilarating? Lots of big swells and choppiness but our captain was very skilled and (after a couple hours of bumps and rolls) he delivered us safely to the port. It was certainly an exciting trip! We were happy to be back in our house but we could have easily stayed there a few more days. It was a beautiful place. 💜 |
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