In case you didnt know, we are back in California. We just spent some time in San Diego and also took a trip down to Baja Mexico for three days. Josh didnt turn his phone back on but Erika's cell phone is working FYI. Before we have new stories to tell (we are gonna continue our trip through northern California and out to the east coast starting next week) let's get through the rest of our time in Indonesia.
Our last two weeks abroad we spent on the Indonesian island of Bali. I'm sure everyone has heard of Bali before, its a very popular vacation spot, and for good reason because it is absolutely gorgeous. We spent a few days up on the north side of the island in Lovina, where we went to see a few cool waterfalls and chilled out on the beach. Side note-there weren't many tourists here so we got hounded by people trying to sell things on the beach.
We bought this cacao fruit to sample and decided the flesh wasn't nearly as tasty as the dark chocolate made from its seeds
Josh and Erika bathing in Sing-Sing waterfall with one of the local Balinese
Josh wadding into the falls at the base of Git Git, a 60 ft waterfall
More delicious fresh fruit, mangosteens - a mutual favorite
Snakeskin Fruit, tasted a lot like a green apple
Farmers clearing out their rice field
The same rice field flooded with water for the next harvest
The amazing view from the balcony of our hostel in Lovina
From Lovina we took a bus to the southern tip of the island which is known as the Bukit Peninsula. We stayed for 5 days in the town of Uluwatu, which is also the name of the famous surf break located there. We rented a motorbike while in Uluwatu because everything is far away, and spent our days touring many pristine beaches.
Uluwatu temple at the southernmost tip of Bali. Josh's sarong is traditional dress that is required before entering the temple.
Beware of the monkeys who like to steal cell phones, cameras and Erika's sunglasses.
Balinese man fishing on Dreamland beach, he secures his bait and holds the fishing line in his hand... got skunked
Dreamland Beach
Watching USA v. England in the World Cup which aired at 2:30 am local time
We slept at the beach after watching the game
Balangan beach on the Bukit Peninsula
At low tide Balangang beach turned into tide pools with algae covered rocks.
After Uluwatu we spent our last week in Kuta, the main tourist town in Bali. It was a little hectic, but very lively and a fun location to watch the world cup. There were people from so many of the participating countries rooting for their teams and the soccer games were on TV in every single restaurant, bar, and hotel no matter what time of day or night they were playing. It was a good time in Kuta and the beach was nice for laying in the sun and going swimming. One day we took a long road trip from Kuta on a motorbike and saw some sweet temples and went to a monkey forest.
The beaches in Kuta were way more crowded than Uluwatu
Rice fields along the road from Kuta to a local temple
The motorbike we road, crashed, recovered and road again on our day trip outside of Kuta
Statue outside of Monkey Forest
This monkey jumped right up onto Josh and started picking for lice
Offerings like this are all over the island at temples, store fronts and peoples homes, the ants enjoy them for the sweet rice and coconut inside
Taman Ayun water temple
Erika next to pagodas at Taman Ayun
This giant leaf fell from a tree in the temple garden
Tanah Lot, an island temple off the west coast of Bali
Waves crashing at high tide on Tanah Lot
Banana leaf offerings left on a guardian statue of the Tanah Lot temple
Lotus flower blooming at the temple gate
Next up, we'll put up some photos from Mexico....
Starting out the trip by jumping the 4Runner...not the best start =)
Josh, Owen, and Toby hangin out on the couch
After visiting Josh's parents in Oxnard, we went to Yosemite National Park for two days
In Yosemite we hiked up to the top of Nevada Falls
The pine cones in Yosemite are HUGE!
After Yosemite we went to a wedding in Sacramento and stayed with our friends the Drakes. It was the first time we had dressed up in a long, long time.
Jenny and Scott making out at their wedding
Brendan, Josh, Eric (all college roommates) and Annette at the reception.
From Sacramento we went to San Francisco and stayed with Ed and Camille. Here is Erika with downtown SF in the background.
Alcatraz Prison Island
Crossing the Golden Gate bridge on the way out of town
From SF we drove to Cloverdale and visited Kirk who works at Bear Republic Brewery in Cloverdale
Josh was drooling at the cold storage with all the wonderful beers
From Kirk's we went to the Lost Coast of CA. On the way there we stopped in Fort Bragg and hung out at Sea Glass Beach, which is literally a beach covered in sea glass instead of sand.
On the Lost Coast we saw two big buck Elk feeding on an island at the mouth of a river.
Sinkyone beach on the Lost Coast
Our last stop on the route North was Hood River, Oregon. We went for a great hike with Gary up the slopes of Mt. Hood, which has glaciers year round.
Josh and Gary attended Oregon Beer Festival and were all smiles all day. Pure heaven for two beer fanatics with 100+ beers to sample.
Gary, Priscilla, and Lucy on Lost Lake. That's Mt Hood in the background.
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