Dolphins And A Deal

On Sunday, we were up at 5:30 am and got dressed. Ronny walked out of the sea at 6:00 and came to get us. He took us to the beach where a catamaran was waiting. For the next hour and a half, we were dolphin spotting. There were lots of dolphins in the Bali Sea near Lovina. Apparently, between 6:00 and 8:00 every morning, they swim past this part of the water on their way somewhere. Or maybe this is their morning stomping ground where they come to watch tourists sit in catamarans.

We saw many fins and several jumped out of the water to the glee and applause of watchers in the boats.

Ronny must be an experienced dolphin spotter. Every time he went after a school of dolphins, he got us right where the dolphins would swim beside us. I couldn’t help but feel we were watching something sacred.

When the dolphins ended their swim in the area, we went closer to shore. We were given masks and snorkels. I have never done snorkeling and I now see the pleasure in it. I saw fish and coral I have never seen before. Funny that when I took off the goggles and tried to look in the water, I couldn’t see a thing. I wouldn’t have thought there was any fish around me. But with the goggles on, there they were! All colours and sizes, with trims and spots and stripes.

Ronny threw some fish biscuits in the water to draw the fish near. I took some to offer to the fish and they came and nibbled from my hand. When I ran out of biscuit, I extended my hand in the water and held it still. Some fish came and nipped at it. Good thing these fish are no more than 8 inches long and have small mouths; they have sharp teeth.

It’s true that fish swim into the folds of coral where they hide and find food. Fish needs make so much more sense now. I must find coral for my fish tank. There were large, beautiful, multi-coloured fish also. They wisely stayed near the bottom of the sea, far away from us. We must have looked like huge fish with our flippers.

Then we went back to the hotel for breakfast, after which I had my third massage in Bali.

This one took place outside in the garden, which fronted the beach. It felt like I had walked into a marketer’s fantasy. The setting was absolutely gorgeous. Ah, but the massage only so so. Not that it was bad. I like having hands rub my body now. But the masseuse was not professionally trained to know where the muscles in the body naturally tighten and what techniques to use to relieve the tension.

And she plied me with oil, which she relied on to glide her hands over my body rather than use pressure. Later, she showed me the oil she was using. It was cooking oil, she said proudly, that she made herself! Good thing it was overcast for most of the day, otherwise, I wonder if I would have started to fry in the Indonesian sun. But I have no real complaints for a $5 massage that lasted an hour.

Kedak came to get us at noon. We stopped off at a waterfall where we could go swimming. I went swimming that is. I don’t think I can ever swim in a pool again. The Man entered negotiations with our guide’s grandmother to buy spices that she collected from the forest. He has gotten very good at it, making the old woman laugh much in the process. So this is how it went down. The start price was 150,000 Rp (about $15) for a chain of spices. The Man counter offered with 30,000 Rp for one. The deal ended with The Man buying two chains for 120,000 Rp ($12). How crazy was that?

Then we visited a temple on the water where I had my portrait done. Make me thinner I said. I think the artist made a Disney character that sort of looked like me. But the temple was beautiful. It was my favourite temple of all that we’ve seen. For one thing, it sits about 30 feet from shore. To get to the temple, you had to walk across the waist deep water, so you really must want to make the offering to get wet doing it.

After that, we went back to the hotel to crash, because in the morning, we are getting picked up at 7 am for a cycling tour.