First on the scene was my cousin Caroline (nope, not Carolyn my Canadian cousin, but Caroline, the French one!)... whom I whisked away without a thought to the nether-regions of Papua. She agreed to volunteer on our Education Vessel so that we could actually spend some time together, since I had promised to be onboard during that trip, but the schedule had been slightly delayed and ended up coinciding with the timing of her arrival...
That wasn't such a bad thing, I don't think! Not many foreigners actually get ALL the way out to the Ayau-Asia Archipelago, and I would argue that it is probably one of the most remote, and still beautiful and interesting, regions in the world. Anyway, this visit gave Caro an appreciation of where I am working... and also a chance to try Insonem! (Insonem, a type of earthworm found on the beaches of one of these islands, is a specialty of this particular area!)
After a fabulous time under the "7 suns of Papua" (as they say here - yes, it's always SOOO HOT... if there were ever thermometers that worked I would say it gets well above 40oC easily), we zipped back to Bali for the Bali Spirit Festival. We were enrolled to volunteer for several days at the Education Station, and were kept totally busy the entire time with kids and chaos! One day we didn't even get to actually eat lunch! Anyway, it was fun, if tiring... and as a 'perk' for all our hard work, we were admitted free to a workshop each day. The full festival pass is WAY out of the price range I would be willing to pay for this, but it really was nice to get a little taste! We tried our hand (or should I say 'hips'!?) at Bollywood dancing and African dance, and then shook with laughter for an hour at the Laughter Yoga workshop. Honestly, at one point I thought "I bet this is what it's like living in an insane asylum"!?!
After only a few more days, the rest of the "French connection" arrived on the scene... and so began the rest of the whirlwind Bali tour!
I'm leaving on a boat in only a few hours, so sorry, no time for a lot of description... hope the pictures speak for themselves!
Oops sorry... these aren't US!!! Although, yes, we did a lot of eating, relaxing, and monkeying around! Here we are... the classic BULEs:
We had a fabulous time, and stayed on the move the ENTIRE time, seeing as much as humanly possible in the time we had! It was such a pleasure to have our own car and be on our own schedule with many unscheduled stops wherever the mood struck us! Including stops to see all manner of foods, fruits, flowers and fabrics (we even made our own batiks!)... not to mention views and sights. We also went on a Hash and a horse ride, attended a traditional ceremony, watched the sunrise with the dolphins, and had a beautiful hike with a special guide who showed us the heart and soul of the forest surrounding his waterfall.
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