Hello wonderful people,
A new Ticket to Ride adventure has begun, this time in Indonesia. Merely six days after the Mozambique adventure ended, this trip has begun, a mighty fine group of people we have with us. This is an interesting group as most of them have actually done the trip to South Africa in the past, both from the most recent trip and the last, so it is great to see so many friendly faces I know.
After a blissfully uneventful day of pickups and airport transfers, most of the group got their hair salty in the bath-warm water and shrugged off the jetlag. We had our first evening all together, which consisted of a great BBQ right next to the waters edge, as well as a couple of Bintangs to quench our thirst as we acclimatise to the heat and humidity. Laura and Julius have been out here a while already, as well as Anna and Annabelle who arrived a few days early, so Aldo and Sasha had to try and adapt quickly. Moments after setting foot outside the airport one quickly realises that things like shoes, long pants and sweaters are not going to be worn for the remainder of this trip, ever!
This morning started with an early pre-dawn wake up for me to go and check the waves, to my delight the predicted swell had kicked in so I went back to check if the others were awake, and most of them were. We got our stuff together and walked down to a fun wave just down the road from where we are staying. Surfing a new wave for the first time is always challenging, and this was no different; but the group did really well in the water, and what’s not to love about being in boardshorts or bikini in warm water with good swell and waves!
After a great breakfast of coffee, fresh fruit salad and an array of either eggs or local dishes like nasi goreng, we got our things together to pack the bags and head off up the coast, away from the busyness and crowds, through the rice paddies, and to one of Bali’s longest waves. We drove through some impressive rain, whilst still warm of course, and arrived hungry but amped for the long lines that were reeling down the point. Some ate too much and decided to wait for the morning session while the rest of us jumped into our boardshorts and got some long rides to finish off the day.
So, that is just one day into the trip, can’t wait to see what the rest has in store!
Chris