21° Triggerfish, Moray & Co.

In the morning we had two wonderful dives again. Then I pick up Tim and Suse. Tim wants to go to a surfer outlet... unfortunately he doesn't find anything, but I don't leave empty-handed. Since this is not the first time this has happened, I have to laugh at Tim a little bit.

On today's tourist exploration list is Pura Goa Giri Putri. At the entrance there is a small shop where Tim rents a sarong and we all get a 'hip scarf' as a belt. The temple is a very important pilgrimage site for Balinese Hindus. There is a plaque here with the essential 4 rules.

1. During menstruation, with open bleeding wounds, after giving birth or when you are dying, you are not allowed to enter the temple.

2. Wear appropriate clothing (sarong, shoulder-covering t-shirt).

3. Do not bring any magical objects.

We climb the nearly 100 steps, sign our names in a donation book and are handed a small water to drink. There are about 15 Hindus sitting here and the atmosphere is anything but holy. Some are sitting in front of the television watching football, others are playing on their phones. Next, one of the believers sprays holy water on our heads, so much that it drips onto our faces. He shows us the entrance to the cave and we squeeze through, have to walk a few steps in a crouch and then stand in an incredibly huge stalactite cave. Countless bats hang from the ceilings. The air is stuffy, humid and oppressive, which is why there are fans in every corner. Connected to multiple sockets, in a stalactite cave!! (It reminds me a lot of our socket management in CCK). There are many temple elements and you can hear faint singing from a ceremony. Everything is illuminated by very bright construction spotlights and corrugated iron is used everywhere. Somehow it feels more like a construction site to me. A street dog comes towards us and we see some rats.

Afterwards we meet Jan in a beach bar. He orders Garlic Bread and I almost freak out! It almost looks like German bread... and it tastes sooo good! Here's a little backstory:

For almost two weeks now I've been staying at Nusa Penida in my homestay. On the first breakfast they presented me with the menu: Scrambled Eggs with Toast or Omelette with Toast! Yeiyyy and that's what I've been having for breakfast every day since then. The guys ask me very excitedly every day what they can make for me today. Once I tried to sarcastically answer with "the same like every day (james)", but they didn't understand. So... yes... I really freaked out when there was REAL bread here.

So I approached the waiter and asked him about the bread, it is delivered to them from Bali. Long story short... he asked the boss and I bought a whole loaf of bread for €2.50. So for the next few days it's scrambled eggs with bread!