I have been on the island of Nusa Lembongan, my old stopping grounds from last summer, for the past 10 days. I was greeted with open arms by so many local Balanise and local Ex-Pats that live on the island. I wanted to spend my last days amongst friends, in a place that was familiar. My stay here has been even better than I could have expected.
After my first day of diving, I had a visit by the local Dr. He was very good, but informed me that I had an ear and throat infection, and a stomach infection as well. I could not dive for 3 days and was at risk of puncturing my ear drum. Saddly, I took a few days off of diving. I caught up on some reading and viisted with friends, while eagerly awaing my return to my favorite dive sites.
When I was healthy again, the dive boat was quite full, so I began "working" as a divemaster to help out the shop. This essentially meant that I helped with the guests and would not be charged for diving. I have now had 6 really great days of diving. I have seen at least on Mola Mola, the huge oceanic sunfish at least once in 5 out of 6 days. Altogether I think I have seen 10 on my trip here, and a few really long and close encounters. I also dove with 5 huge manta rays for about an hour. Additionally, I know that I have been blessed with good dives and I have been luckier than most.
I have also been busy maintaining my local friendships and learning about the culture. A friend of mine recently had twins, so I was able to visit his house and meet the entire family. I have been taking a few cooking lessons to learn how to make my favoirte dishes from the various restaurants. Today I am heading to the local ceremony in full Balanise dress. And in the morning I am visiting the local school to see how they run their kindergarden/first grade.
In the afternoons I like to run around the island, some days longer and farther than others. It has helped my keep my physical and mental sanity as I prepare to head home. Seeing the villages just before sunset as people are bringing in their seaweed baskets for the day is a very calming way to run. I will miss the shadows, the passing motorbikes with passengers laughing, the children running and shouting "hello, hello!!!", and of course, the dogs chasing me on the far side of the island because they hardly ever see a western person.
My journey is coming to an end, and I am begginding to see how diverse my trip has actually been. All in all, I am so pleased to be back here and my love of this island has grown even more. I am sure I will be back, as I am already devising ways to stay for a long time.
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