Bali Part 3....Gili Adventures

Ok so you may have to zoom in and follow the dotted red line but that is our impromptu destination place to the Gili Islands. It is about a 90 minute jet boat ride from Bali out to the islands. I felt very Miami Vice going that fast in a passenger boat. We caught some serious waves and air during the trip. I am so thankful to the makers of Dramamine for that little jaunt! To get on the boat, you have to literally creep around the sides to make it to the back entrance. The only other way is through the luggage bay and that is reserved for little children. They send em down the hatch so they can get into the boat easier. 

Due to the off season in regards to tourism, the speed boat only runs once a day so we opted to stay over night, find a room to sleep in and barter to do some snorkeling around the three islands. (I know SO me right? Wrong) BUT luckily my new friends are young enough to take on such an adventure and some have had experience in haggling. So off the boat we went on to a fishing village that caters to divers and snorkelers. We did not have the time to take full dive lessons but we were able to negotiate a boat and four snorkel sights with gear and four hours of time for a total of $91 American dollars. (That is total to split between five people folks) So off we went in a wooden boat with our guides Tommy and Joe. I only wish I could describe the clearness and beauty of the water to you. The differentiations when you are in deep water and the coral reef areas. You can see so far below. After getting used to the snorkel equipment we saw some beautiful underwater sights. Every "Finding Nemo" fish you could imagine was in sight and you could swim amongst them. My absolute favorite was swimming amongst two sea turtles. Will happened to find them at one of the sights. They are so amazing to watch and just swim beside. I WISH I had a waterproof camera to catch that! We also came upon two ship wrecks which were great areas for fish. We had some crackers with us and ground them up at one sight and the fish would literally come and eat out of our hands! Talk about a magical experience! I could have never dreamed up such a time much less done it before this!  After a long, hot, and amazing afternoon we were off to find a room to stay in. 

There are really not many hotels on an island. Mostly little bungalows that you can rent rooms out by the 

night. You can go up and down and barter for a good price, or again, watch your friends do it the right way. We were able to get two rooms between the five of us in a nice area a little ways back from the beach. It was sparse but clean. No sheets other than the mattress cover. No air conditioning but you had a ceiling fan. It worked for us!  Once dinner was over, we trekked back to are accommodations and laughed and visited, while hearing the Muslim call to prayer in the background. There is a large Muslim population in the islands along with the Hindu and Buddhist settings.  Even though we were exhausted, sun burnt, and cut up from some of the coral, we decided we all would get up early in the morning to see the sunrise because how often can you say you saw the sun come up over the Gili Islands? So after what felt like a nanosecond of sleep, we stumbled, eyes half open, to the beach for one of the most awe inspiring starts to a day I can remember.  This is the photo I captured of that morning. It was so peaceful and calm as the fishermen had not started to come in just yet. An absolutely amazing moment with new friends. One I will not forget and would not trade for all the world. 

So my advice to all of you. Just once in your life, take off for a destination unknown. Trust in yourself, and your traveling companions. Really learn what it means to see a part of the world you never knew you would have wanted to. Dare to dream, grow, and expand your horizons, your thoughts, your hopes. Sometimes the rewards can be so very precious.