Bali - Island of Love

  

  If you like being surrounded by green, you will like Bali.  The island is so lush and vibrant!  It is also humid and steamy hot!   I arrived in a light rain.  Two of every three days since I have been here we have had rain.  The people I speak with who have lived here for the last 2 years say there has not been a dry season as has been usual in the past.  This has created some problem for the rice fields as the rice needs at least 10 hours of dryness  for a certain period which it is not getting.  This causes the grains to break and the price of the rice to be reduced by about half. 

  Kuta was my first destination for 4 nights as part of the trip I won.  It is a wonderful place if you want to enjoy the beach scene and shop, eat or drink.  My spa resort was very beautiful and thankfully at the far end of the 'strip'.  I took the opportunity to rest the first day and catch up on my sleep.  I did not shop!!!

   The second day I took an excursion to the northern coast of the island to see the black sand beach and get a feel for the island's geography.  I went with Deborah who I had met at dinner with her daughter.   We saw an amazingly beautiful Buddhist temple partially built in a lake, visited hot springs, and the largest waterfall on Bali.  The drive into the mountains and around twin lakes among rice fields and mountain mists was spectacular.  The traffic on the 2 lane road up & back was endless.  We also stopped at a market known for it's local strawberries - yum!  We left Kuta about 9 am and returned about 8 pm - a full day but so rewarding.   The path of steep steps down to the waterfall challenged my capabilities but I made it!  And had my cardio workout!  Thank goodness I had toured so many monuments in India as training!

   Day 3 was my spa day.  I had a wonderful massage, and rose scented body scrub!  I used the opportunity to meditate and release not only body aches but any associated energies no longer serving me so that I could move to another level of being.    The trip prize didn't include a handsome love interest and since Kurt was not able to meet me to fill that role in person here, I have made it my misson while in Bali to delve deeper into how to better love myself, forgive myself, and express love and joy in my life to a greater degree.

                               An auspicious day for a ceremony.  We passed two on this trip!!



    My last day in Kuta was spent packing, researching lodging in Ubud-my next destination, and communication with the people I wanted to meet there: Mary Wilson, Jeni Ambrose and Anne Entus.