Bali week 2

First things first, the food in this country is banging! Rice, vegetables and chicken everyday (yes please). Charis is slightly less impressed (she misses beef and chocolate)… the rooms are basic but work. Sharing with other volunteers is meaning that some group members are getting less sleep than they are used to (Sorry girls).

To describe our current volunteer project as ‘back to basics’ is an understatement! We are doing renovation work at a local primary school which includes sanding walls by hand and applying a base coat of paint. Next week we will be adding drawings and cartoons to brighten up the classrooms. This could prove to be challenging for a group mainly consisting of engineers… hopefully our German team members are slightly more creative and can make up for our ineptitude.

The town of Lovina itself, is much quieter than Denpasar! They seem to have a very ‘relaxed’ way of life (with the beach on their doorstep how can you blame them). It has everything we need for our stay including a mini mart that sells ice cream just 5 minutes away (not that we’ve been every single day…)! The main downside is that some of us are now walking mosquito bites (I currently have one the size of a blimp on my foot).

This weekend we decided to stay local and do the classic Lovina tourist things as well as explore the temples and waterfalls. We started our tourist binge on Saturday by taking part in a sunrise dolphin watching extravaganza (unfortunately we just felt sad and uncomfortable by the number of boats harassing the dolphins). Luckily the next activity was more up our street: snorkelling on the coral reef. We got our first proper chance to try out our GoPro underwater and we’re very pleased with the results (as usual, my photography skills were way better than Charis’)! 

Sunday’s activities started out extreme and got more relaxed as the day went on. First we visited the local waterfalls where we tried out cliff jumping (some of us more successfully than others). After a lunch stop at a lake side temple (banging buffet), we had a coffee and tea tasting session where we got to try the famous Luwak coffee they produce here (the lemongrass tea was easily the best). Next we admired the views of the twin lakes at a roadside on the side of a mountain. We ended our day with a visit to a Buddhist temple (I look fantastic in a sarong) and a dip in the nearby hot springs. Overall a busy but very enjoyable weekend (shout-out to our driver who knew all the local spots)!