Day 70: Christmas Eve in Amed - USS Liberty
Not a human was stirring save three divers and me
Never before had this girl dove in the night
Nor seen a shipwreck, not even in light
But off Amed's coast on the island, Bali
Sits the USS Liberty, since 1963
Back then it had been shored, salvaged after WWII
Until lava sank it once more, when the volcano blew
Since that day the boat has sat on its side
While coral grows and sea creatures glide
I gasped at the difference of the ocean at night
As my torch lit up the colorful site
Plankton glows and groupers hunt in our light
Six sleeping Parrotfish, 2 meters long, gave me a fright
Shrimps and nudibranchs and small parasites
I try to remember them with all of my might
Fifty minutes pass and our air runs low
Signaling these divers that it's time to go
From the stern to the bow we'd explored this ship
But a Christmas drink called us to take a sip
Somewhere in my memories I heard loud and bright
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight
I'd arrived in the pouring rain that afternoon to Bali Fab Dive Center, on the edge of Amed, unsure how I'd spend Christmas Eve. The staff were making a night dive at the USS Liberty shipwreck, and I was so fortunate to join. One of my most memorable dives on this trip this far (and I'm writing this several dives later).
Day 71: Diving at Tulamben Bay, Hoky Restaurant, Pacha Bar
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| USS Liberty Shipwreck sits just below these waters |
Merry Christmas!
Early in the morning, I headed out diving again, with two of the same staff from last night. Back in Tulamben Bay and to the USS Liberty shipwreck. In daylight, it's a completely different dive. Different fish, coral isn't growing in the same way as at night, and of course more divers. The shipwreck literally sits walking distance into the bay, so pop on your gear and walk on in the water, and you've arrived. Last night and today were my first shore entry dives. Amed is full of these dives, which is nice - not having boats roaring above your head or worrying that one might hit you as to come up.
On the first dive I received my Christmas present: a sea turtle! My guide even was kind enough to snap as picture of me with it. In addition we saw sting rays, a "garden" of garden eels, flounder, pipefish, flounder, trigger fish, and so much more.
After our break in between the dives, we drove two minutes down the road to our next dive, in the same bay, the Tulamben Drop Off. Lava had flowed into the sea ages ago, creating a drop that leads 75m into the ocean. Of course, as Advanced Open Water, I can only go 30m, and even instructors can only go 40m. Beautiful reef flourishes here. We explored for about an hour before spotting my newfound favorite creature of the ocean: the peacock mantis shrimp. Since this dive I've learned learned so much about this not so little guy. Look it up - seriously. Their punch can break your hand and moves so fast through the water that it heats it to 1,727°F. Yay science!
Back at the dive center, we unloaded gear and freshened up before the evening.
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| Full Moon Ceremony - Hindu holiday each month in Bali |
Amed has no city center; instead, one long street flanked with shops, restaurants, and guest houses. For dinner, the group from the dive center and I went to Hoky - probably the best fish in town. For only 30k Rp, you get a generous portion of Mahi Mahi, freshly caught that day, prepared with Balinese Sauce (lots of onions!) or garlic and butter. With a side of fries. I ate here three times....need I say more?
After dinner we made our way to Pacha bar, where a cover band sounded legitimate. Each song actually sounded reggae - voice and all.
Day 72: Exploring Amed by Scooter
Today I drove up and down the coast, checking out what Amed has to offer. Walk on the beach next to the Stairway to Heaven resort, banana split at Amed Kedai One Love bar, lunch at Warung BoBo, overlooking Jemeluk Bay, where I'd eventually go diving.
That evening, I met up again with my friend from Pai and introduced him to the glorious Mahi Mahi. A guy from France joined us for dinner, and the three of us went to Amed Kedai One Love for a drink and the another cover band.
ATM ate my card.... I have bad luck with cards on this trip!
Day 73: East Coast Ride, Ujung Water Palace, Bali Asli, Pura Lempuyang
Pai and I met up after breakfast and decided to take take a long loop around the eastern portion of the island. We traveled down the East coast on our scooters, stopping to take in the beautiful scenery along the way.
Unplanned, we stopped over at the Ujung Water Palace that he had spotted on our drive. I don't know the history of it or anything, but it was roughly at the halfway point and made for a beautiful break.
Next, we sought out Bali Asli, a restaurant recommended to us by the owner of our dive center. There is a pricey, fixed menu, and the food it's fairly good, but the best part about this place is its stunning view and welcome drink.
Budget conscience, we shared the order, waited for the rain to lighten, then continued on our journey.
Just so you know - sometimes Google Maps is wrong. For example, when you search for Pura Lempuyang - don't use the instructions it gives you. Instead, ask a local, if you can. The road is not fun - and very steep. We fortunately saw other tourists coming back up the hill, who advised us to follow them, as they had been wrongfully following Google too. The great things about locals here is that they will point you in the right direction.
Pura Lempuyang has 7 temples. If you want to journey to the top, you must climb 1,000 steps. Not wanting to make the three hour round trip trek, we simply visited the second temple, with the other tourists we'd followed. They were from India and Indonesia. The man from India sat with local Hindus to pray and receive holy water. It was so interesting to hear them talk about the differences within the same religion between the two countries.
A few photo ops and we were back in the Amed. Pizza and milkshake and goodnight!
Day 73: Morning Locals' Market and Babi Guling, Diving in Jemeluk Bay and Lipah Bay
In the early morning, I joined a French guy from my dive center on a hunt for real, local babi guling. He had been scoping this out the day before and learned where to go, as well as that if you arrive after 10:30am, they will be sold out. I didn't eat any of it, but tagged along to see the real deal.
Around 9am, one French girl, three guys from Barcelona, the owner of the dive center, and I geared up for a little shore diving in Amed. Everyone but we were certified instructors, so I did feel a bit intimidated! Taking the truck to Jemeluk Bay first, we dove among "the pyramids," drifting along the coast and examining them as we passed. The structures are basically hollow metal blocks, stacked into a pyramid about 3 meters high. Now they are covered in coral and life, providing perfect hiding spots for little creatures. At the end of the drift, we exited onto the beach and removed our gear, while Fabian, the owner, went to bring the truck. Lunch break before dive #2!
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make the second dive. I actually had quite a headache after the first, possibly from dehydration or holding my breath at moments. Fortunately, after eating the pain subsided and I joined the crew for more.
We next explored Lipah Bay, just a few minutes down the road. White tip shark, cuttlefish, octopus, and a giant moray eel are just and few of the creatures we saw in the "Coral Garden."
Afterwards, I quickly showered and ran into town to get my ATM card back from the company. Pai and I were deciding what we should do when we ram into the Barcelona guys and decided to have some beers back at Amed Kedai One Love. Of course, I had to show them Hoky Restaurant, as well (so I could eat the fish again... let's be honest).
Day 74: Morning Walk, Scooter Ride to Batur + Accident, Batur Hot Springs, Candidasa Sunset
This morning, a fairly lazy one, I decided to take a little morning walk on the beach, just to think about my life and what I want to get out of it.
Later, Pai and I met again to go see the Batur Hot Springs, only 90 minutes away, according to Google. Google didn't, however, inform us how absolutely terrible the roads would be. In fact, it first tried to take us up a beautiful, but rocky road, and them along a skinny dirt path, not more than 8 inches wide, still calling it a road. We followed it to find a loan man on his farm, who pointed us in the opposite direction.
So back we went. Down and look around, finding another way to Batur. Google was kind enough to reroute us. Only this road was worse! Even more rocky and corroded than the last. At one part, it becomes steep, thick dirt, where I briefly got stuck. Nevertheless, we forged onward, through mountain villages, where many locals simply waved, and others asked for money. We finally spotted Batur Lake, a beautiful view coming down the final leg of this volcanic mountain adventure. After a photo stop, maybe 5 minutes more and we'd be home free.
That's when I fell.
Pai, more skilled and and head of me, couldn't hear me as I called his name. Nicely paved road with a thin coating of gravel caught me as I turned, no matter how slow and cautious I tried to be. A local came around the corner and jumped off of his bike to help me. He picked up my scooter, positioned to drive it and told me he'd take me down, no problem for him. Bleeding from my right knee and arm, I accepted his offer. We rode down, looking for but not spotting Pai (later discovering he thought I turned off onto a side road and was searching for me). The local, who couldn't have been more than 17, took me straight to the hospital, abandoning his motorbike on the mountain to help me.
While they cleaned up my minor wounds, this kid and 5 of his friends hovered around me, watching the nurse work. The cleaning, bandaging, antibiotics and pain killers cost me 50k Rp.... less than 5 USD. I tipped the kid the equal amouny, which is pretty high here, but I appreciate him so much - zero hesitation in helping me and getting me help, no matter what his plan for the day had been.
Pai showed up at the hospital; a local had asked him if he was searching for someone and led him to me. Poor guy - he thought I had gone over the cliff when he'd driven back up to look for me and didn't find a trace!
In spite of the fact that I obviously couldn't get in the water, we went ahead and checked out the hot springs. It wasn't what I was expecting, but still pretty cool. Lots of families with children played in the man made swimming pools filled by the springs. Much more modern and less of a "nature feel" than I expected.
I also at this time messaged the dive center to cancel my night dive for this evening. Not only did I not want to get my wounds infected, but I wouldn't make it back in time. No way in hell was I going tog venture back over that volcano, so we had to take the long way home. Three hours long. If I had a choice, I would have preferred to not get back on the scooter that day. I suppose its better to face your fears sooner rather than later, right?
Three hours is quite a long time. We stopped in Candidasa to catch the sunset and take and rest.
Day 76: Recovery
After a restless night accidentally rolling over onto my abrasions, I slept most of the day. Pai left this morning, so I did get up to have breakfast with and say goodbye to him for the third and final time of this trip. See you in Chicago, my friend!
Day 77: Goodbye Amed!
I decided to join the Barcelona guys in Kuta to ring in the New Year. I had contemplated going to the Gilis, but instantly after meeting these guys I knew they were quality, fun guys. What better way to end 2015 and start the New Year?
See ya next time, Amed!
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