Nusa Lembongan & Nusa Ceningan

After 7 days of honeymoon in Nusa Dua / Bali, we sailed to the neighboring islands of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan last Sunday. We took a speedboat and it took us 1 hour over the sea, getting sprayed by some water fountains along the way. Fortunately, our heavy (~20kg) backpacks were loaded and unloaded by the workers on site, who always wobbled to the boat with 3 suitcases on their shoulders over the uneven hot sand.

As an overview: our plan was to spend 7 days in Nusa Dua for our honeymoon, 7 days in Nusa Lembongan/Ceningan, and 7 days in Ubud. So a total of 21 days of honeymoon/adventure vacation (but nice and relaxed for beginners ;)) in different hotels and beach huts.

Therefore, we spent the last week on the islands of Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan. The first 3 days we had a wonderfully dreamy beach hut in the northwest of the island. We enjoyed the sun, the hot sand, the beach bars and restaurants, where we could directly enjoy the sunset over the glittering sea on a cozy summer evening. The only thing that was more than confusing was the tides. But it seems to be like this throughout Indonesia. Until about 11:00, you can enjoy the salty water with a slightly stronger current and waves, but then a strong ebbing tide begins, which washes our liquid playground (as well as the occasional careless tourist) out to sea.

On the first day, while searching in the shallow seawater, we found a approximately 30cm large, piercing blue starfish. Admire the photos... Steffi, in her bravery, naturally lifted it out of the water, only to find out that it was still alive.

On the second day, we borrowed a scooter for the first time, which we immediately baptized in the confusing left-hand traffic of Indonesia, resulting in blue bruises on our bottoms. The only rule in traffic: HONK!... not the wife, but HONK... ALWAYS... no matter whether you want to take priority as an oncoming vehicle, overtake, be overtaken, drive through a curve, stop, animals cross the road or you simply don't know what's happening around you... HONK!!! Very funny all this ;)

Snorkeling with Captain Aqua and his Aqua Taxi. An experience in itself. With beautiful anecdotes in tow, the three of us sailed around the island to the first diving point, Gamat Bay. Armed with diving goggles, flippers, and hard toast bread, we threw ourselves into the enchanting blue of the ocean. First attempts with the snorkel ended with some hearty swallows of seawater, so we quickly decided to explore the magical underwater world without this unnecessary piece of plastic. The waves were strong and Captain Aqua had to often maneuver forward and backward to stay close to us. But once we were in the water: take a deep breath. Taste the salt on our lips once again. Then off to the coral-covered seabed. The fish danced around us in their colorful splendor. Stefanie had the toast bread in her hand and did not intend to give it so easily to the fish. They showed no fear and gathered closely around her hand, literally eating from her hand. A breathtaking sight. Meanwhile, I swam around her and observed the artistic spectacle before diving back to Captain Aqua's boat with some wave-induced nausea, to interrogate him about life as an 80-year-old Indonesian. In the meantime, Stefanie was bitten on the finger by one of the over-hungry big fish and resurfaced with a loud scream.

Second dive spot: Wall Bay. Third spot: Mangrove Point. Extraordinary fish, corals, seabed, animals... Beautiful day, beautiful experience.

4 days on the coast of Ceningan: loud sound of the sea, high waves, fantastic cocktails and sunsets, good food, a accommodation a little bit messed up by the sea breeze, giant mosquitoes (1-3cm), information from our cousin that soon the volcano on our island will erupt :O. At the moment, Mount Agung (far enough away) is at the highest level of alert and seems to be ready to erupt soon.

Second day of diving: sensational. Nothing written about it though. Pictures speak for themselves.

@Ilko, Marlene, Gaz, Erwin, Bernd + co... PENISES! You wouldn't believe it... But in a country where every kissing scene/weapon/fight scene/cleavage is censored on TV, and there are legal prohibitions and penalties for erotic actions, there are hundreds of penises hanging and lying around at every intersection, shop, store... everywhere. Large, small, thick, colorful, wooden, iron, silver... and all of them are bottle openers?! Of course, we took 5 of them as souvenirs: "How much is the Penis?" Balinese guy: "For one Penis, 100." We wanted to buy the 5-pack, so we asked: "How much for 5 Penises?" Balinese guy: "For 5 Penises, 300." We thought for a moment and said: "How much for just 3 Penises?" The Balinese guy insisted: "No, no, 3 Penises. Just 5 Penises!!" Well... we didn't want that and left. (To all parents, please DO NOT read this report ;))

Remaining days: explored various beaches with our scooter. Rode the big waves. Shell diving competition - Steffi won. Devil's Tears: where huge waves rush into the cliffs and the caves roar loudly. Cocktails.

And now, off we go. Photos are waiting to be seen: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_6nDp69Y6H0bnhxS0NCVnh2X1E?usp=sharing
Viel Spaß und liebe Grüße.