Day 20: Bali's Underwater World

Once again, early rising was on the agenda. Just before seven, a shuttle bus from 'Nico dives cool Bali' picked us up. After a short drive, we stopped at the dive center. Alongside the obligatory paperwork, we received our diving equipment for the day. With this, we headed towards Padang Bai. There, we transferred to a small boat - a typical Indonesian outrigger boat.

Since it was a bit windier today, there were corresponding waves on the water. This made the ride quite entertaining, and we got rather wet before we jumped into the water.

We made two dives at two different locations off Padang Bai. Both were fantastic! There were plenty of colorful fish and corals. During the first dive, we also saw several blue-spotted rays and three different types of morays. During the second dive, even more corals. Our dive guide explained that six years ago, a local conservation organization began to replant the corals there after many had been destroyed. Now, there is an impressive variety in all shapes and colors. And a lot of small and larger fish.

After we resurfaced, we had to wait for quite some time for our boat as we were drifted in the other direction by the prevailing current. Since the waves had not calmed down, getting back into the boat was a bit of a challenge, and the subsequent ride back to the harbor was even more adventurous than the ride out.

At the harbor, we could shower and change, and then we had lunch.  Afterwards, the shuttle bus took us back to the hotel.

Since we were all quite exhausted, we spent the rest of the day reading  and enjoying the obligatory cocktails at the beach bar.

Meanwhile, there was some entertainment on the beach as the hotel was celebrating its 51st anniversary with a party for the staff, featuring a stage show and lots of music. The show very much resembled American corporate events, including the recognition of particularly deserving employees and a lot of self-promotion.

Statistics:
Distance covered: 87 km
Walked: only underwater
Overnight stay: Hotel Prama Sanur Beach