December 12, 2005
I have not written for some time due to the lack of internet cafés and the fact that we have been putting in some long days on the bicycle. Today, it feels good to get a day of rest and catch up on my blogging before what could be an epic tomorrow. 5 days ago we left Negara for a small beach on the southern coast that is simply labeled on our map as Surabrata.
We stopped a short distance away to visit one of the Hindu Temples. Lonely Planet said it was the only one built on the beach so we thought it would be worth a look. To me many of the temples look the same with red and gray brick walls and because I am not Hindu they really do not mean much to me. We rented a couple of sarongs and the host walked us around telling us about each statue and significant places. We had a nice time and learned a few things about the Hindu culture that helped us understand some of the things we had seen on the road.
When we arrived at Surabrata we found that it was not a town but a lovely black sand beach with two resorts and a small homestay sandwiched between. The woman who owned the place was really happy to have us there and we were just as happy with our room that over looked the ocean. It did not have air conditioning but it didn’t really matter since there was a nice ocean breeze the entire evening. Jodi and I walked along the beach, drank a few beers and just enjoyed the sounds of the crashing surf just outside our door. In the evening the woman cooked us spaghetti dinners that to our surprise were outstanding and we watched the sunset over two glasses of beer.
The next morning we left what I would call the best beach in Bali to ride and unlike the previous 24hrs of peacefulness we found ourselves on a busy highway with every diesel truck belching smoke in our faces. It was the worst ride in all of Bali; loud, stinky, devoid of scenery and not very many snack stands along the way. It was a slog and we arrived in Ubud late, tired and our faces covered with soot. Feeling our spirits brighten on our way into the hotel I joked with Jodi with a line from Zoolander; “cough, cough, I think I have the black lung”. We both chuckled.
We quickly showered and I did some laundry in the bathtub and went out to buy some Christmas gifts for our parents. We thought we were doing really well spending under $10USD but were a little less proud when we learned it was going to cost us $30 USD to send them home. We did it anyway and found a place for dinner where we devoured our food and tried to find an Internet Café that was open. I found one that was opened long enough to upload some blogs before they kicked me out and I went “home” and to bed.
The next morning we awoke early to ride from Ubud to Candidasa. We thought it would be a short one because it was mostly downhill and we would arrive early enough to relax a bit before our next ride the following day. Somewhere along the ride I took a wrong turn that resulted in us arriving at the coast next to a warung in the middle of nowhere. We asked some locals for help and like most people in the sticks they do not speak English but somehow we were able to communicate well enough to find our way back to the main road. Our misdirection caused us to ride an additional 20km and in the time we were lost it had become very hot and humid resulting in fatigue. I looked back and saw Jodi’s face was as red as her hair and she was panting “cold drink”. I immediately stopped at the nearest warung asking for “digan fanta” and the lady said “no digan” so we rode another 2km in search of cold drinks. We finally found some cold green fanta’s (our favorite flavor) and I purchased some biscuits that looked like peanut butter cookies. We sat on the curb thinking we were in for a treat with the cookies but they turned out to be not sweet at all, loaded with garlic like most things here and not very good. Since they were homemade I slipped them into our shopping sack and smiled as I chewed the bit that was in my mouth trying to show the lady that I liked them when I really didn’t. We finally arrived in Candidasa for a lovely afternoon. Most appealing was the restaurant that served western food where Jodi and I ate seafood skewers and drank Bintangs on the beach. We tried to give the biscuits to some local kids and they looked at them and said something like “no way” in Indonesian. We relaxed and tried to figure out if we were going to layover there or the next day since we had a big ride coming in two days from Amed to Lovina. We decided it would be best to do the big ride coming off a days rest so we opted for one night in Candidasa and two in our next stop, Amed.
Late in the afternoon I was working on our bikes when I discovered that my rear shifter cable was not going to make it much further because it was fraying badly and would most likely snap very soon. I asked the hotel manager where I might fix the problem. He had a hard time understanding me but finally suggested I try one of the many motorcycle repair shops. I thought “yea right” but having nothing to lose I gave it a go. I stopped at a small shack were a man and his son were working on a motorcycle and I showed him the problem. He hopped on his cycle and told me to sit in the shade and wait for him. He returned 30 minutes later with a new shifter cable and we installed it together. He did not know English but we did really well communicating by pointing and demonstrating what needed to be done. 10 minutes later I was good to go with a bike that shifted like new. Whew what a relief.
We grudgingly mounted our bikes the next morning. My legs felt like they had been pumped full of battery acid and from the sounds coming from Jodi she felt the same but one thing I have learned on this trip is when things look most bleak they often come up roses and today was no different. We both clawed our way up a hill and on the other side found ourselves in a very remote valley surrounded with lush green hills, riding through rice paddies. It was beautiful and our aches and pains were soon forgotten and were replaced with peaceful feelings once again. We stopped along the way to snap pictures so we might remember this place when the peacefulness of Bali is washed from our hearts. The ride continued on and on through lush green fields until we started to descend to the other side of the Island where it became very arid quickly. Amed is a place that time forgot and like most places these days in Bali, free of tourists. It isn’t as nice as other places on the island but has fantastic diving and snorkeling as we discovered while snorkeling around one of the two shipwrecks located only a few meters from the beach. When we were told we ought to go snorkeling we thought how good could it. I rented some gear from one of the local stands swam a few feet and was overcome by all the color and fish that were so close to the shore. At first I could not find the wreck but swam around until I happened upon a ledge and sitting just on the edge was a small boat. The U.S. Navy put it there just after WWII after a Japanese boat had sunk it and it was now the farmland for corral. At times the wreck appeared to be moving because of all the small fish swimming just off the corral surface and when I dived down to swim through the hull I discovered even more colorful corral growing on the surfaces that were not exposed to direct sunlight. It was the best snorkeling I had seen and kind of made me wish I dived.
Tomorrow we hope to ride 88km from Amed to Lovina where we will have traveled the entire circumference of the Island. The beta we received from a driver in Ubud about this stretch is that it is very hot, arid and full of thieving crooks that we should not let near our gear. I figure it will be kind of like riding through the IRS building in Ogden UT. In all seriousness I am very worried about this stretch since we are both still pretty tired even though we have had a nice layover and much rest. I suggested to Jodi that we ride back the way we came to Candidasa but she insisted that she wanted to travel around the Island. Hearing this it became clear that she had a goal and that we ought to make it happen. We plan on waking at 4:00 am, eat some breakfast and ride 6 hours. We will evaluate our situation each hour beyond and if it becomes necessary to stop short then we will do so. To me 88km feels like a long way with loaded panniers in this hot climate where I am not able to find food filling enough to keep me going for 2 hours let alone 6. I guess time will tell.
We stopped a short distance away to visit one of the Hindu Temples. Lonely Planet said it was the only one built on the beach so we thought it would be worth a look. To me many of the temples look the same with red and gray brick walls and because I am not Hindu they really do not mean much to me. We rented a couple of sarongs and the host walked us around telling us about each statue and significant places. We had a nice time and learned a few things about the Hindu culture that helped us understand some of the things we had seen on the road.
When we arrived at Surabrata we found that it was not a town but a lovely black sand beach with two resorts and a small homestay sandwiched between. The woman who owned the place was really happy to have us there and we were just as happy with our room that over looked the ocean. It did not have air conditioning but it didn’t really matter since there was a nice ocean breeze the entire evening. Jodi and I walked along the beach, drank a few beers and just enjoyed the sounds of the crashing surf just outside our door. In the evening the woman cooked us spaghetti dinners that to our surprise were outstanding and we watched the sunset over two glasses of beer.
The next morning we left what I would call the best beach in Bali to ride and unlike the previous 24hrs of peacefulness we found ourselves on a busy highway with every diesel truck belching smoke in our faces. It was the worst ride in all of Bali; loud, stinky, devoid of scenery and not very many snack stands along the way. It was a slog and we arrived in Ubud late, tired and our faces covered with soot. Feeling our spirits brighten on our way into the hotel I joked with Jodi with a line from Zoolander; “cough, cough, I think I have the black lung”. We both chuckled.
We quickly showered and I did some laundry in the bathtub and went out to buy some Christmas gifts for our parents. We thought we were doing really well spending under $10USD but were a little less proud when we learned it was going to cost us $30 USD to send them home. We did it anyway and found a place for dinner where we devoured our food and tried to find an Internet Café that was open. I found one that was opened long enough to upload some blogs before they kicked me out and I went “home” and to bed.
The next morning we awoke early to ride from Ubud to Candidasa. We thought it would be a short one because it was mostly downhill and we would arrive early enough to relax a bit before our next ride the following day. Somewhere along the ride I took a wrong turn that resulted in us arriving at the coast next to a warung in the middle of nowhere. We asked some locals for help and like most people in the sticks they do not speak English but somehow we were able to communicate well enough to find our way back to the main road. Our misdirection caused us to ride an additional 20km and in the time we were lost it had become very hot and humid resulting in fatigue. I looked back and saw Jodi’s face was as red as her hair and she was panting “cold drink”. I immediately stopped at the nearest warung asking for “digan fanta” and the lady said “no digan” so we rode another 2km in search of cold drinks. We finally found some cold green fanta’s (our favorite flavor) and I purchased some biscuits that looked like peanut butter cookies. We sat on the curb thinking we were in for a treat with the cookies but they turned out to be not sweet at all, loaded with garlic like most things here and not very good. Since they were homemade I slipped them into our shopping sack and smiled as I chewed the bit that was in my mouth trying to show the lady that I liked them when I really didn’t. We finally arrived in Candidasa for a lovely afternoon. Most appealing was the restaurant that served western food where Jodi and I ate seafood skewers and drank Bintangs on the beach. We tried to give the biscuits to some local kids and they looked at them and said something like “no way” in Indonesian. We relaxed and tried to figure out if we were going to layover there or the next day since we had a big ride coming in two days from Amed to Lovina. We decided it would be best to do the big ride coming off a days rest so we opted for one night in Candidasa and two in our next stop, Amed.
Late in the afternoon I was working on our bikes when I discovered that my rear shifter cable was not going to make it much further because it was fraying badly and would most likely snap very soon. I asked the hotel manager where I might fix the problem. He had a hard time understanding me but finally suggested I try one of the many motorcycle repair shops. I thought “yea right” but having nothing to lose I gave it a go. I stopped at a small shack were a man and his son were working on a motorcycle and I showed him the problem. He hopped on his cycle and told me to sit in the shade and wait for him. He returned 30 minutes later with a new shifter cable and we installed it together. He did not know English but we did really well communicating by pointing and demonstrating what needed to be done. 10 minutes later I was good to go with a bike that shifted like new. Whew what a relief.
We grudgingly mounted our bikes the next morning. My legs felt like they had been pumped full of battery acid and from the sounds coming from Jodi she felt the same but one thing I have learned on this trip is when things look most bleak they often come up roses and today was no different. We both clawed our way up a hill and on the other side found ourselves in a very remote valley surrounded with lush green hills, riding through rice paddies. It was beautiful and our aches and pains were soon forgotten and were replaced with peaceful feelings once again. We stopped along the way to snap pictures so we might remember this place when the peacefulness of Bali is washed from our hearts. The ride continued on and on through lush green fields until we started to descend to the other side of the Island where it became very arid quickly. Amed is a place that time forgot and like most places these days in Bali, free of tourists. It isn’t as nice as other places on the island but has fantastic diving and snorkeling as we discovered while snorkeling around one of the two shipwrecks located only a few meters from the beach. When we were told we ought to go snorkeling we thought how good could it. I rented some gear from one of the local stands swam a few feet and was overcome by all the color and fish that were so close to the shore. At first I could not find the wreck but swam around until I happened upon a ledge and sitting just on the edge was a small boat. The U.S. Navy put it there just after WWII after a Japanese boat had sunk it and it was now the farmland for corral. At times the wreck appeared to be moving because of all the small fish swimming just off the corral surface and when I dived down to swim through the hull I discovered even more colorful corral growing on the surfaces that were not exposed to direct sunlight. It was the best snorkeling I had seen and kind of made me wish I dived.
Tomorrow we hope to ride 88km from Amed to Lovina where we will have traveled the entire circumference of the Island. The beta we received from a driver in Ubud about this stretch is that it is very hot, arid and full of thieving crooks that we should not let near our gear. I figure it will be kind of like riding through the IRS building in Ogden UT. In all seriousness I am very worried about this stretch since we are both still pretty tired even though we have had a nice layover and much rest. I suggested to Jodi that we ride back the way we came to Candidasa but she insisted that she wanted to travel around the Island. Hearing this it became clear that she had a goal and that we ought to make it happen. We plan on waking at 4:00 am, eat some breakfast and ride 6 hours. We will evaluate our situation each hour beyond and if it becomes necessary to stop short then we will do so. To me 88km feels like a long way with loaded panniers in this hot climate where I am not able to find food filling enough to keep me going for 2 hours let alone 6. I guess time will tell.
posted by Kirk & Jodi Roberts at 1:04 AM
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