Stahl Finder

After taking a quick boat to Lombok we jumped into what we think was a taxi; we are never really sure since we don’t speak Indonesian and there aren’t signs on any of the vehicles. We just give people money and hope they take us where we need to go. We started out our drive with a guy and what we now believe was his escort for a 2 hour drive to Kuta. When we got there, we were a bit bummed. Not like we had pictured it at all. It was very, how do you say, “rough”. Let’s just say, this place had a mosquito net and I did not feel even a little fancy. Riding a motorcycle here was not at all like riding in Bali either. There it was so romantic driving through the countryside. Here, I felt that I was riding the bull trying desperately not to get bucked off. The road is covered in potholes and at times Greg was driving over areas so small that it was like being on a balance beam. Did I mention the bugs? Well, do you know how they say that on average you probably eat around 10 bugs a year, well let’s just say, I’m set for at least a few. Greg kept telling me to just close my mouth but they flew into my nose and down my throat. I was not amused. After the rough ride we went and got something to eat where I dug bug bits out of the corners of my eyes and teeth while Greg simultaneously encouraged me to put away my natural citronella spray and change it up with 100% deet because, he had waited to tell me that there was Malaria here. Of course there was. While waiting for our food we were then harassed by children selling bracelets. They started out real cute but then just got REAL pushy. They were relentless so yes, some of you will be receiving bracelets when we get back. It had been a long day so we decided to call it a night early so that we would wake up with the sunrise and ride to Gerupak where we could get a boat to take us to a surf break. We were woken up around 3 a.m. to chanting or yelling, crying, moaning…we weren’t sure. Was someone being hurt? Well it continued over a loudspeaker the rest of the night and intermittently throughout the next 2 days. Ramadan had started which meant that the town was going to be fasting for the next month. Again, we are impeccable with our timing. The swell died and the town is fasting which means we are out of the two ways that we spend our days. Surfing and eating. Gerupak ended up being the saving grace of going to Kuta. It was so fun to pull up to the break in a boat and jump right in by the wave. We did this 2 days in a row and it was the best surf that I’ve had throughout our whole trip (Greg however, is still waiting to be able to say that). We tried to go to dinner but because everyone is praying or sleeping and fasting, no one is working. It was been difficult to find food, pay for our homestays etc. It has become a ghost town. There was one more wave that Greg wanted to check out before we got out of Kuta, a spot called Maui’s so we rode the bucking bronco all the way there (about an hour on the motorbike because we passed it unknowingly by about 5 miles). At one point, when we actually could see the beach, I asked Greg to pull over so that I could walk the rest of the way because my bum was so sore, I couldn’t take it anymore. We were in a field surrounded by rice paddies, goats and cows. It was beautiful, I just couldn’t go through one more pothole. Greg road slowly next to me trying to convince me that we were almost there (if I had a nickel) and that I should get back on the bike, so I did and we immediately tipped over (in front of a very perplexed farmer) into a ditch where I was given the “Indo branding” worn by many tourists. When we tipped over my leg got stuck on the uncovered muffler just long enough to give me a burn. It is a temporary tattoo burn meaning it will be gone by the time I get home. Another girl we saw, got the real deal; a botched tattoo that will remain with her for life. She had a gaping, bleeding wound in the same place that I had a burn. Poor girl and I thought our day had been rough.