Eldonita: 27.04.2019
Our last six days were spent in the north of Bali, near Serririt. We stayed in a great AirBnB villa again, with our own housekeeper and gardener. We also had massages again, which we took advantage of. On the second day, we went on a trip to Mount Batur. We started at 1:15 in the morning. We were picked up by car and drove about 2 hours into the mountains. When we arrived, a woman who was our guide greeted us. We started with flashlights. It was a super strenuous climb. First, we passed chili and onion fields until the path became narrower, steeper, and rockier. We stopped from time to time to catch our breath. It was also hard for Manu, who hadn't eaten much in the past few days because of the illness. Luckily, we had packed lunchboxes with bananas, and I also had a package of Elotrans. So we made it to the top of Mount Batur before sunrise after a 2-hour climb. It was cold and dark. We warmed ourselves up with ginger tea, and after about half an hour of waiting, the most breathtaking sunrise I have ever seen in my life started. We had a magnificent view of another volcano and could even see Lombok. So getting up early and the tough climb had paid off. Since we were hungry again, I tried to buy bananas. They would give us the most energy. There was still some toast and an egg in the lunchbox, which tasted very strange. We better didn't eat that. But I got three bananas as a gift. I put one in my jacket pocket. Then we continued. We walked a bit further to the crater. Our guide showed us places where hot air and smoke came out of holes in the ground. That was pretty impressive. I was kneeling on the ground, holding my hand to an opening to feel the heat of the volcano when someone tugged on my jacket. I jumped up in shock. A monkey! Suddenly, I was surrounded by many monkeys, and they were all focused on me. One of them tried to jump on my backpack while another one was at my leg. I shouted and tried to ward them off and hide behind our guide, but the next monkey had already climbed onto her shoulder. Now I understood what they were after: my banana, which was yellow and sticking out of my dark blue jacket. I pulled it out and threw it away from me. All the monkeys pounced on it, and the two fastest ones pulled on it, and I was free of it. Phew... On the way back, we were tired and slept in the car. We stopped at an ATM, which also swallowed my card. Fortunately, our driver was able to reach someone, and we had to wait until someone came and opened the machine. Luckily, I got my card back quickly. Back at the house, we had food and a massage. Then we could relax :-) On the next day, we just chilled and rode the scooter a bit. I also dared to drive a bit on Bali's chaotic roads. The day after that, we went diving. The best dive spot in Bali is not far from here. It was definitely my best dive spot. The corals and fish were incredibly beautiful and colorful. While Manu had an introduction and did his very first dive in the sea with a guide, I did my dive at 15m with another guide. On the second dive, we went together at about 12m. Besides Nemos, I also saw a shark. Wuhuu:)) We used our last day to sunbathe, chill, and have massages again :-) The past three weeks have been really beautiful and exciting, and most of all, they passed by way too quickly... We spent the last night in a hotel near the airport. On the way there, we stopped at a coffee farm where we could try coffee and tea.