B&E Photography: Bali: Part 4

After Baron and Susanne had left it was just Erica and I again to set out on our next destination on Bali. But first, I needed a shave.
I hadn't shaved in over 5 weeks. I was beginning to look like Grizzly Adams. It was a bit freaky but I managed to let someone else shave my face. However, just before that Erica talked me into getting my feet cleaned by what seemed like a thousand tiny fish all nibbling at dead skin cells. I have never been tickled that well before and I was crying-laughing. Erica managed to sneak in a quick wash and blow dry for herself.
We were then set to go to the 'Rock Temple' on the west side of the island. There's a more formal name, but it's long and complicated and the locals understand Rock Temple just fine. From a purely aesthetic point of view it was beautiful but completely overcrowded. There must have been close to a thousand people! So much for a great picture! We went to grab a quick bite to eat before the sun set over the Rock Temple when out of nowhere the heaviest rains we've seen by far unleashed all their fury. Erica and I saw our opportunity to get to the Rock Temple to take pictures knowing no one else would dare venture out. It was perfect. Well, not perfect. We got soaked but it was definitely fun as we quickly purchased two ultra cheap umbrellas for $5 (referring to cheap meant not just money, but quality). We got our photos, but not without having traverse'd over street streams that were shin deep in some parts and our cheap umbrellas turned inside out.
After the temple we took a long drive to Candidasa which is completely on the opposite side of the island. It was a time to relax and enjoy a quieter side of the island, resting by the pool and taking in greens, blues, and salt flavored air. Having rested one day, the next we took a day trip to a WWII shipwreck that was torpedoed by a Japanese sub. That wreck had turned itself into a artificial reef where Erica and I have never seen so many types of fish from sizes to colors. There were fish with deep blues, others with fluorescent green, and others with fiery red. The thing that made it most exciting was that the fish had no problem with us humans being there. They let us touch them on several occasions and Erica swam through a school of fish that could not have been shy of a thousand, 1.5 foot long silver fish. It was spectacular and a moment we would never forget.
From Candidasa, we went and spent our final two nights at Uluwatu. It is a famous surf spot that even the most amateur of surfers is knowledgeable about. I was fortunate enough to catch two feet overhead surf in the "off" season where the water was a balmy 81 degrees. It was so much fun and the only thing that would have made it better would to have my brothers, my father, and my father-in-law there with me.
Our trip to Bali came to a close and we found ourselves back at the airport that only seemed like yesterday we had flown into. We checked in our bags, said goodbye to Bali, and headed out to our next destination: Thailand.