More than water, fire, earth...

After the temples of the past few days, some action was now on the agenda.

The Ayung River near Ubud offers good rafting opportunities, which means that the 20 or so providers are able to successfully attract customers. Our well-connected guide Komang organized a suitable tour. After a sweaty descent to the river, there was a short briefing and then we went straight into the rubber dinghy. The tour was entertaining and never stressful or dangerous. We can therefore recommend this event for families with small children. The occasional rapid, floating in the river and an artificial water slide provided a good change of pace. The highlight here is once again the breathtaking nature. The river meanders through a really beautiful jungle valley, where you often come across lizards and wild monkeys. To ensure that you don't forget to drink along the way, there are stops along the river that reliably supply the "extreme athletes" with liquids. All in all, a successful activity. Thumbs up!

Another group event with an adventure factor was a sunrise tour of the volcano Mount Batur. A smooth hike to the summit was planned. When this plan had penetrated the entire group, the youth brigade threatened open rebellion; a hike at 2 a.m. made them discover the revolutionaries in themselves. A good government recognizes the wishes of the people...the storming of the volcano was carried out without further ado by jeep tour. The properly-tired jeeps had a sound package that was reminiscent of a powerful V12. Apart from that, however, they were "only" Suzuki off-roaders that had probably dreamed of power. The armada of vehicles snaked its way up the basically active volcano to the viewing point. The parking spaces for the cars were terraced a good bit below the actual summit.

When we arrived there at 4 a.m. it was still pitch black. Two Bali coffees and a local rice porridge later, the shows slowly began. The beautiful one in the morning sky, which our pictures reflect pretty well. The second, more disturbing one, took place in the jeeps. Women who forced their men to keep taking new photos, checking their iPhones, wrinkling their noses and then repeating. A quick touch-up of powder, a new position, fixing their hair, posing silly and sending the desperate men back to the trigger... extenuating circumstances could have been taken into account if it hadn't been the camera. When you witness such fantasies of unknown fair women, the sight of our ladies makes us even happier men. When the sun had completely conquered the night, we made our way back to base camp in a rattling "duck march".

At the third event point, things got airy. The Happy Swing in the jungle near our base was a dream destination for the ladies. Nadi and Mara wanted to experience the fun of swinging in fine clothes at lofty heights. Thanks to the early hour of the day, we were pretty undisturbed. The girls quickly threw on a chic outfit and then went off on the swing. The photos show what it was like - the ladies had fun - so wonderful. :-)

Tomorrow we'll have a rest day at the pool. Then we'll head to the last stop, Gili Air.

Then it’s once again: Life is a Beach!