The Beach

Although Ubud is not near the coast, it is not far away either. On Sunday we took a break from beads and went to the beach with Wayan and her family. They drove Amy and I to a very secluded portion of the coast called the “White Beach.” Most of the beaches on Bali have black sand - it being a volcanic island.

One had to know what dirt road to turn off from what village to arrive at this destination. Amy may be able to tell you but I do not know the way because I fell asleep. The secret will always be safe with me.

The beach was small, perhaps 300 meters, flanked at each end with cliffs. Small and hidden, the seclusion part was already wearing off. Industrious entrepreneurs had constructed grass shacks that were offering grilled fresh fish and cold ones as well as lounge chairs and massages.

The water was as blue as the sky and it was a pleasure to swim in the Java Sea. We bobbed up and down, contemplating life, and managing not to get smashed up against the rocks or stung by jellyfish. Another successful adventure!

When it was time to depart, Putu took off down the beach to negotiate dinner. He seemed to be gone a long time and it was dusk as we headed back up the dirt road. Wayan did not seem pleased as she was mumbling about the time wasted. I wasn’t paying much attention to the details because I wasn’t in charge that day. I didn’t know if Putu was successful or not hunting down the next meal.

Amy and I were always nervous about when we would have our next meal so we hinted that we should have dinner sooner then later. The hint was heard and we stopped in the next seaside town for dinner. As it turns out Puto had a successful fishing expedition.

Out comes 4 fresh fish caught not one hour before. We enter an outdoor but fancy restaurant. (Any establishment that has cloth napkins is fancy in my book!) Puto has the chef cook our fish as opposed to his.

Can you imagine walking into a restaurant state side and say “Hey, I brought my own dinner…prepare this please!” To top it all off they only charged $3.50 to grill them. Not each but for all 4! We did our best to appease the chef by ordering appetizers, salads and 2 bottles of wine.