Snorkeling in an Aquarium

Laurie & Bo had rented a car and invited us to go with them up the east coast of Bali to Amed. Michael had told us about a great snorkeling spot just south of Amed at Bunutan Beach. We got up early (6:00 am), big surprise, ate breakfast and handled bathroom issues before leaving in their Suzuki Sidekick.


G- We swore we'd never get into a Suzuki Sidekick again after that 3 hour drive from hell into the rainforest of Belize, but here we are.



Bo & Laurie


P- I know. After that ride my heart was where my liver was supposed to be and my kidneys were in my throat. Basically all of my organs felt like they had been put into a bingo ball dispenser and tossed around.

G- Yep. I'll never forget the “shaken adult syndrome” we got on that road.

Phyl & I sat in the small, questionably secured, backseat with Bo driving and Laurie riding shotgun. Laurie kept insisting that she'd get in the back and Phyl should get in the front, but after we had ridden back with them from dinner one night, Phyl never wanted to ride shotgun again. Driving, and riding, in Bali is terrifying. Almost all roads are 2 lanes, one in either direction, and as they drive, all cars play a game of leapfrog to get ahead. Added to the mix are the mopeds that are always zooming around. It is common to pass around turns or even if there is a truck coming at you head on. Balinese driving brings the game of chicken to a whole new level.

Also, the driver sits on the right side of the car, so Bo must shift with his left hand and remember to stay on the left side of the road. The combination of issues makes the rider feel she has been on Pontchartrain Beach's Wild Mouse. We were terrified and white knuckled for the first half of the 3 hour drive, but then we became desensitized and just rode as if we were on a Sunday drive. At least most of the roads were better than those in Lakeview.

Our drive took us past beautiful rice field terraced hills, into the mountains,and around the volcano. Upon arrival in Bunutan, we extricated ourselves from the tuna can, regained the feeling in our bodies, and located snorkeling gear to rent. When we returned from the rental shop, Laurie was beside the car surrounded by about 6 little girls trying to sell her trinkets and asking her for pens. We then searched the road for the Ayurveda Restaurant because Michael told us to snorkel direction behind it. As beautiful as the Legian beach is, the Bunutan beach is covered in fairly large lava rocks. We stumbled over the rocks and could barely put on our fins and masks before we reached the edge of the reef just 10' offshore.

What we saw took our breath away. Neither Phyl nor I have ever seen such an amazing reef!! Every color and shape of coral was just beneath us: fan coral, brain coral, staghorn, elkhorn, one that looked like tiny little rose buds, cabbages, and large flat ones. The colors were lime green, seafoam green, periwinkle blue, light blue, pink, yellow, purple, orange; basically every pretty color in the big 64 Crayola pack. The fish were plentiful and varied in color as much as the coral. They came in all sizes and shapes. We even saw parrot fish, a trumpet fish and angle fish. The fish were also in an amazing variety of colors, especially neons. Numerous times were were surround by schools of a certain variety. It was like swimming in a salt water aquarium and it was amazing!!!!!!! Even Bo & Laurie, experienced divers, were very impressed with this reef.

After the reef we drove north of Amed to swim over the Liberty Ship wreckage. Unfortunately, visibility was low and it was a place requiring diving, not snorkeling. We then ate lunch and got back into the wild mouse for the ride home.

G- You know, Bo, I'm not even afraid anymore.

Laurie – I still get scared when we're passing and moving head on at a truck.

P- Bo, I think you actually love driving here. It appeals to your wild driver side.

Bo – I do love it. Even though it looks like chaos, there is an order to it. The passers know that if they can't make it around in time, the car headed at them will slow down and give them time.

P- I can't say that I've seen an accident.

G- I see you've been trying to pass that damn green van for a while now, but he seems to be keeping you from doing so. (No sooner had I said this than the paved road dropped to a gravel road and Bo floored it when the green van had so slow down.) Ha! Take that, you bastard! (Bo was pleased with himself)

P- Oh God! I think Gina would love to drive here now that she's gotten over the fear.

G- I think it could be fun.

P- Not for me as your passenger.

G- You've let me drive all over Europe.

P- You were on the American side of the road and driver's seat was on the left. Also, they don't play leapfrog like they do here.

We finally returned to our Homestay sunburned, sweaty & exhausted. We took cold showers and went off for dinner.

G- (After we had climbed back into the tin can) Did you see the naked lady bathing in the stream/ditch?

P- Yes, I sure did. It's so bizarre to see such a thing.

Bo – Bathing for temple tomorrow.

G- Well, she was behind some high grass and it is beginning to get dark. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

P- If we didn't have that shower, I'd have gotten into the ditch before now. Of course, I would've kept my clothes on.

G- Don't throw stones, Gladys. You have been known to strip off your clothes at many a water's edge.

P- Shut up!

We ate a yummy dinner at Naughty Nuri's, a place where we could get a grilled hamburger, a rarity in Bali. However, keeping with the Balinese tradition of no air con, we sweated profusely throughout dinner. Upon our return to the Homestay we took yet another cool shower.

G- I have never showered so frequently, yet remained so stinky. I feel like I always smell of b.o.

P- I'm going to do laundry tomorrow.

G- Good. All of my shirts need to be soaked. They may never come clean. And even though we're washing our underwear every night when we take our showers, they could probably use a good soaking too. You gonna go stand in the ditch at the concrete slab for clothes washing?

P- Uh, no...I thought I'd just do it here in the sink with the soap we bought.

G- I don't know, seems like since we're in Bali you should wash like the Balinese.

P- OK, then maybe you should do the laundry.

We surrounded ourselves with our mosquito net and seeing as we'd been up since 6 am, we were asleep by 9:30pm.