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| Two fresh-caught tuna for last night’s and tonight’s meals. Total cost for two fish? The only US, $5.65, IDR 75,000. We pay the actual cost for food and tip the staff at the end of our stay in appreciation for their excellent service. |
“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”
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| These two women were walking on the beach carry dried vines on their heads. The one in front appeared more adept at balancing while the other kept reaching up to balance the load. |
It was 8 am Tuesday when I began today’s post. The two Ketuts had just arrived to clean the villa while Ribud was busy working on the pool and yard. They each wear uniforms that read, “Beach House West Bali.” They always appear fresh, bright-eyed, and ready for the day.
This morning while we languished in bed a little later than usual in air-conditioned comfort, we had Tom’s perfectly prepared coffee. I spilled mine on the bed, later apologizing to the girls for the extra work to change the sheets. They were gracious as always.
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| The front entrance to another villa a few doors down the narrow road. |
It’s cloudy today. We don’t mind at all. If it rains we’ll head indoors until it stops. This island has the best weather we’ve had living on any tropical island in our travels. It rains for short periods once or twice a week, often overnight.
The moment the raindrops begin to fall Ribud suddenly appears to bring in all the chaise cushions, chaise covers, and beach towels. No matter how fast Tom attempts to do this small task Ribud is quicker to take over. We don’t have to do a thing.
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| Tom had taken an extraordinary photo of Praying Mantis on the edge of the infinity pool. This is my rendition of his reflection in the water. |
Since our arrival, I’ve been sitting too much with all this wonderful household help doing everything for us, which isn’t favorable for my delicate spine. Days ago, feeling stiff and uncomfortable I started walking around the villa for 300 steps (using my FitBit) every 30 minutes during daylight hours.
By the end of the day, I’ve been accumulating 6000 steps according to the Fitbit in addition to any steps we accumulate when walking on the beach or in the neighborhood. Also, after spending 40 minutes working out in the pool, I’m finally beginning to feel stronger and more fit.
We have lots of walking ahead of us on the upcoming Mekong River cruise which begins on July 8th. Considerable time will be spent cruising on the river with the rest on tours to see the sites along the way. Sitting around for two months hadn’t prepared me for this amount of walking each day.
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| A section of the wall consists of this bamboo décor. |
Sure, my restrictive diet has been highly instrumental in reducing pain from inflammation but the reality remains…my spine is comparable to a thin reed, ready to collapse at any moment. When we’ve been active I can walk fairly long distances but recently, I’ve been concerned.
This daily lounging had left me feeling relaxed but also concerned over my ability to “keep up” with the others on this relatively active upcoming cruise. In the past several days after instituting this “must-do” walking around the villa every 30 minutes, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to keep up.
Once we arrive in Singapore we’ll be walking every day, although with the three visas we’ll need to get at the three embassies, we’ll be riding in taxis as well. The embassies are too far from our hotel to reach on foot. But, we’ll walk to restaurants for dinner and be out each day to see the sites, taking a taxi or public transportation only as needed.
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| Decorative wall as we walk along the road to the villas. |
When we arrived in Singapore on April 30th, we met a fabulous taxi driver whose card we’ve kept. We’ll contact him soon to pick us up at the airport and continue with him as needed.
We’ll leave the villa in 13 days to spend one night in Denpasar after the four-hour harrowing drive. The next day to fly to Singapore at 2:15 pm on a relatively short 2 hour, 45 minutes flight.
The only tasks we do for ourselves here in the villa in Bali are to make coffee, refill the ice cube trays, pour iced tea throughout the day, and put together our nightly cheese plates.
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| Beautifully maintained gardens line the wall along the road. |
We don’t ask the staff to “wait” on us. As far as we’re concerned they do enough cleaning the villa and grounds, preparing our dinner and doing the dishes. How much easier could it be?
On July 22nd, we’ll arrive at the villa in Phuket. With only a weekly cleaner, we’ll be on our own to cook, clean, make the bed and wash dishes. Neither of us minds the prospect of taking care of ourselves again, but it certainly has been pleasurable to have others doing it for us.
We hope you have an easy day!
Photo from one year ago today, June 14, 2015:
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| As much as we’d have liked to leave these doors open in the Trinity Beach property, the flies and mosquitos were outrageous. Over this past year, we’ve become much more tolerant of the flies to the point that we may have been able to leave doors open in past locations. However, the flies in Australia are biting flies which makes all the difference. For more photos of the house, please click here. |