Tag 74 - cozy

07/13/19

Day of departure to Nusa Penida, a small neighboring island of Bali, located southeast.

We wake up early, as the ferry is supposed to leave at 10:30 am and we still have about an hour drive to the harbor (Sanur). We make breakfast, order a taxi, and get driven to the pier - we arrive there at 09:30 am.

Since we read on the internet that there is a ferry for the locals which takes a bit longer but is 30% cheaper, we first look for that one, but can't find it. A bit frustrated, we ask around among the hundreds of promoters, who of course all claim to have the 'cheapest price' and the 'fastest boat'. We return to where we were in the first place and pay about 16€ for two people for the 45-minute crossing - that's okay.

After receiving our tickets, we don't have to wait five minutes until we are asked to board the ship - by the way, through knee-high water. Our backpacks are taken from us and we sit outside because the inside cabin (as experience has shown) is extremely stuffy. After a bit bumpy but absolutely bearable journey, we arrive at the island, which reminds us a bit of an island in the Mediterranean - it somehow looks like Greece or Italy.

When leaving the pier, dozens of people offer us scooter rental, diving courses, excursions, taxis, and the like all at once and pretty pushy. The rush is quickly overcome and we march to our accommodation (only about 800 meters from the pier). The first impression is beautiful: it is much more relaxed, less touristy, and accordingly more local here. We walk along a harbor wall and then stand in front of our accommodation and our room, which unfortunately has not been cleaned yet - granted, we are also incredibly early, so that's okay. We use the half-hour wait to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings. After that, we can move into our room and are absolutely thrilled. Clean, air conditioning, and on the first floor, which means that we have an incredible view of the water, the harbor, the neighboring island, and the volcano on Bali.

We rest a bit from the hardships and decide to go swimming in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, it's low tide, which means that the water in the harbor area at that time is not deeper than waist-deep (later, the harbor basin is completely dry). Next to us, some local boys are splashing around naked in the water and causing all sorts of mischief. Refreshed, I go back to our room (it's only 10 meters away) to write a bit on the blog, and Jonna reads on the beach.

As the evening sets in, we go out to get something for dinner. A warung nearby offers fried chicken and noodles. For dessert, we get chocolate pancakes. With the food under our arms, we go to the 'veranda' and have our dinner there while enjoying a beautiful view of the sunset - it's really beautiful here.

- Alex