Moving to Medewi ........ and Back

We opt to call our driver Ketut to take us out to Medewi and pack up ready for the big move. There are no internet cafes in Medewi and so Craig has to stop somewhere on the way and try to connect his modem onto a local network which proves really tough and takes most of the morning of driving around, wasting time with Bali geeks, without Ketut it would have been impossible. Eventually Craig buys another modem, get it configured and off we go.

Next stop is provisions, Ketut who is showing incredible patience stops at Hardy’s, a local version of Shoprite. We have fun working out all the provisions needed for our trip with our taximan in tow pushing the trolley. Whilst eating lunch at a Warung Nicky discovers wonderland, a kids play emporium with a water slide – this child has the largest capacity for fun fun fun, we go and watch him hanging with the locals flying down the water slide.

We arrive at our new house a few hours later, the owner is nowhere to be found and has left us with 2 girls and a young man, none of who can speak a word of English. The girls are super shy, they giggle and look confused every time we try to communicate.

Craig organizes a scooter and promptly looses the paper work for the licence and then discovers even more frustratingly that there is no signal so no internet and the nearest internet café and any form of civilization is 40 minutes drive away.

That night the girls cook us dinner which is painfull. a really weird combination of sausages (eewww imagine whats in them), rice, prawns? Ugly looking sausages at that and salad with an instant Bali salad dressing. The owner still hasn’t arrived, in fact he never does so its really hard to try and make these girls understand that we want them to leave us alone to do our own thing.

Early next morning I (Craig) head for the break, which is what I came for right? Over night the swell has arrived and its humongous, I stand around nervously in the early morning light trying to figure the sets out and plan a route to paddle out. I watch 4 gnarly Aussies paddle out and they get pounded, eventually I follow a young local trying my hardest to keep up with him and manage to get out past the backline. I am now out and to be honest petrified, the waves are mountains and the surfers are unfriendly and all look like pro’s. My first wave is a disaster, I realize too late someone is already up and riding and drop in on a Frenchman, we collide and my skeg gashes his head. Whilst all this is going on the set of the day arrives and we are caught in front and I am pounded by wave after relentless wave. An hour later I make it back to the beach after cutting my leg open on jagged coral.

This is not working out too well, still we make the most of it, our surfer guide Harris takes Bill out at too more friendly break and he has his first surfing lesson. There is not much else to do but our Villa has a glorious pool and so Lou and the boys hang out there.

Next morning early I decide I have to get over this fear and go back out. Harris is with me this time and shows me the best way to get out to the backline, the swell is if anything bigger and I am thinking what the hell am I doing here. To non surfers the way it works is that the surfer closest to the point where the wave is breaking has the right of way and it’s a continual game jockeying for position. Harris takes me far out and I am thinking why so far when this set arrives blocking out the horizon, I look around and realize I am in position and everyone is watching me. Harris is shouting paddle paddle and proving beyond doubt that a males pride is far stronger than his sense of self preservation I paddle.

Next second I am up and dropping down the biggest wave I have ever caught….... ever.
I hit the bottom at speed, make the turn and settle into the wave. Medewi is regarded as the longest left in Bali and I am riding it, this smooth green wall of water that goes on and on for ever. I eventually kick out what seems like a kilometer away and begin the long paddle back out to the point with adrenalin pumping, grinning like a fool to big cheers from Harris. More waves follow and I think that this is all worth it.

Surf and sweeping vistas aside we last another two days and decide this is not for us. (Well lets face it Craig is getting a surf but with no internet connection he is a grumpy bear and not such fun for us) also we are in the middle of nowhere, the only way I (Lou) is going to get any company is to paddle out to the backline and make friends with Aussie surfers and as you all know me well, know I am more a yoga class, massage and glass of wine kind of girl.

We sms Ketut who arrives promptly the next morning to save the day, he negotiates a payoff to the scooter owner for losing the licence, a payoff for our surf coach Harris (what a gem) who we had booked to spend a week with Bill, payoff for the board and bootie rental and finally explain and cut a deal for the accommodation which has been booked for another week. Thank god for Ketut as he had to do the maths with the staff who had borrowed money from us to pay for the electricity……..it was all very complicated. But it was such a relief to leave, it was a wired place and the Aussie owner, well he was probably getting pissed somewhere and we found out he hadn’t paid his staff for 2 months (thank god we left them a tip too)

Anyway we are finally packed and hightail it out of there back to civilization.

Mission to find Paradise

Whilst Ubud is a dreamy utopia we are here to surf and need to find our patch of beach to spend the next month. We decide to hire a car and take a day exploring the island looking for Craig’s elusive dream, a place where he can start his day surfing and end his day surfing.

Thank God we have Lawrence as navigator extraordinaire, Craig as driver and Lou as the final say. The poor kids are dragged along for good measure (they could have stayed and swam and had a good day poor critters)

Driving a car for the first time in Asia is going to be a new challenge and I approach it with a good deal of respect. The roads are narrow, potholed and crammed with people, dogs, kids, scooters, trucks and cars. We set of and surprisingly find our way to Uluwatu the grand and famous surf venue featured in a 1000 surf magazines. The roads are narrow and windy and there is little or no signage so most of the time we haven’t a clue where we are. We wander down little severely potholed roads that take ages to negotiate, stopping frequently to receive vague advice from well meaning locals. Time is pushing, its now already 1pm and we are nowhere closer to finding ‘that for which we seek’.

We read in the book that there is a fantastic surf spot called Medewi, its right up the West coast about 140km away. We think okay lets just skip all this and head out to the middle of nowhere. First though we have to fight our way through lunch time traffic, the centre of the city, past the airport and onto the coastal road. We discover that there is no highway, the first 80km’s consist of built up towns crammed with dogs, kids, footballs, scooters, the odd funeral procession, you know just your normal island life…….on the streets.

Its 4.30 when we arrive in Medewi which is literally just a surf spot with 2 basic resorts and a few warangs (general dealers). Rural to the extreme with black volcanic sand and a wave that makes Craig tingle to the toes. As always the Gods send us a guide, this ones name is Harris, a charming young surfer, facilitator and translator. He shows me the break which is outstanding with the promise of big swells arriving in the coming days and then says he knows of a good place 300m (read 3km) down the road. So we jump in our car and chase his scooter through friendly little villages with people greeting us from all sides. Suddenly a tiny little child darts outs of nowhere and appears smack bang in the middle of the track literally under my wheels. I slam on brakes and stop with my bumper inches from this smiling little cutie pie. Our aching nerves!

We arrive at the Villa which belongs to some Aussie guy who checked out of mainstream and now has 2 suites to rent and spends his days surfing and drinking (his complexion is ruddy to the extreme). He is keen to have us, but we really envisioned our own villa with a kitchen as I am desperate to cook without MSG (trying to keep the itching at bay). He says no problem we can use his kitchen. Not ideal and we are not sure but the surf is beckoning Craig, our suite is large and comfortable with exquisite uninterrupted views over a rim flow pool, rice paddies and onto the ocean without a single building in sight.

We are under time pressure, its past 5pm we have been driving since early in the morning and we still face a four hour journey back to Ubud. It’s an all or nothing kind of decision so we commit to the Villa and start our return journey.

The trip back is worse in the dark, the road is full of trucks carrying containers to the city. In India we had experienced a different type of driving, let’s call it ‘just in time’ driving, similar rules apply here. There are no double lanes and very few straight sections. In order to overtake you have to face oncoming traffic up close and in your face. Between you, the truck you are overtaking, the dogs, scooters all around and the oncoming traffic everyone gives a little and somehow you slip back into your lane just in time. With trucks crawling along at a snails pace I was forced to start driving like a local or we would have taken all night!

We made it back late that night, the car was intact but our nerves were in tatters. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I am now qualified to drive anywhere.