Siladen to The Chedi Club-Ubud, Bali

June 23-24, 2018

When we first saw the size of this tiny little island we could not have guessed that we would need or want more than 3 nights here but Ana & Miguel (actually, all of the staff) made us feel as though we were personally invited guests to this amazing place...this, and the fact that the diving and the food and the sunsets are so spectacular, made us want to stay much longer...

Galen & Romina (dive masters) & Ana stood and waved from the shore until we were out of sight.

Boat "taxi" back to Wori Harbour to head to the airport

This is the plane that will fly us 1562 km (970 miles) southwest to Denpasar, Bali

Dad's favorite airplane snack

We landed here in the capital city of Denpasar but our final destination is a 1 hour drive into the middle of the island to the town of Ubud. It is in an agricultural area in the central highlands & is  known as the cultural heart of Bali. Many westerners may remember this town from Julia Roberts' spiritual journey here in the movie Eat, Pray, Love. 

We were all looking for someone with a "Matt Kaye Family" sign...surprise!

Our resting place for the next 3 nights: The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah

"Tanah Gajah" means "Elephant Realm". The hotel's name comes from the previous owner's inspiration from the nearby Goa Gajah or Elephant Temple & all the elephant statues displayed throughout the property. Less than 2% of the population in Indonesia practice Hinduism but here in Bali nearly 85% of the people are Hindu. 

In the mornings at breakfast we watched the duck farmer with his bamboo stick guiding his ducks to the rice paddies to feed.
It is a symbiotic act. The ducks get their fill of a nutritious meal and at the same time help the fields by breaking down the straw, eating the insects and leaving a little fertilizer behind.  

There are a lot of activities to do here in this town of only 30,000.  For our first full day here we chose an adventure on the river- white water rafting on the Ayung River.

Lots of steps to get down to the water-

The Ayung River is the longest & widest river in Bali.  During the wet season it has Class IV rapids but now in the dry season, the river is a little bit safer with only Class II & III ratings.

We passed through lush rainforests...

...carved walls...

...locals selling concessions to river travellers...

...beautiful waterfalls...

and rickety bridges still used by locals!

The trip down the river was less of an adrenaline rush and more of a float trip but still a very fun way to see some beautiful nature and interesting sights.

On our walk to lunch we also saw some interesing sights:

This flame kissed truck carrying pigs

Clucking chickens

A local artist's home and gallery

Wood Carving Masters-
They transform a block of wood into beautiful pieces of art completely from their imagination using only hand tools and their feet!

Musicians at dinner

All of the meals at the Chedi Club were served in the open air restuarant adjacent to the rice paddies- it was a lovely setting both day and night.

Siladen Day 2

June 22, 2018

Another spectatular day on the island & loads of photos (again!)

"What a difference a day makes"-
Everyone up early and motivated after yesterday's adventures.

"Plan your dive & dive your plan."

Our descent along the wall

Little fish in the anenome

Just like Nemo

School of tuna

We are but tiny creatures in the big ocean

An Orangutan Crab-
this teeny tiny guy (only abut 1 inch long) is covered in reddish hair and has extra long arms just like the land mammal...very interesting! 

A family that plays together...   :)

Tube sponges

Spiny lobsters do not have claws but these impressive antennae were as long as Matt's arms!

Turtle resting on a ledge to get a shell shine from these fishes

When the air runs low, you must rise to the top-

Back to the boat for a surface interval & time on the top deck

We loved our labeled mugs!

The water is a warm 26C but it is even warmer up here.

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There was still time after the afternoon dive to snorkel in the shallow reef that ran along the beach.
These are some of Matt's snorkeling shots:

Chocolate chip sea stars and sea urchins

Giant Sea Clam (one of my favorite ocean animals)

Crown of Thorns starfish- another venomous creature

Moray eel

Same eel coming out from his hiding place for a swim- looks like a snake but it is a fish.

FIFA again! Great way to finish out our time at Siladen.
Tomorrow we fly to Bali-

Palau Siladen

June 21, 2018

The Bunaken National Marine Park is an area of 5 islands where the Indian and Pacific Oceans meet. It is touted as one of the top diving destinations of the world for its marine biodiversity.
The well-run Siladen dive center sends out boats 3X a day and also offers a night dive.
We plan to take advantage of as much diving as we are able while visiting here.

Map of more than 50 dive sites-
The arrow points to the place we are in the world right now.

Some of us are more ready than others for the early morning dive-

We can only imagine what treasures are waiting for us underneath-

FULLY awake now!

What follows is just a small sampling of the photos Matt took during our dives on the first day.
We did 3 "wall dives" which is diving a vertical underwater cliff face covered in coral.  It is likened to leaning out of a skyscraper and peering down hundreds of feet...
Anyone who knows me & my fear of heights, understands what a challenge this was for me!

We all made it down without any trouble and saw amazing underwater creatures- hard and soft corals, beautifully colored little "happy fish", turtles, nudibranchs, crinoids, and the graceful but venomous lion fish.
A whole new world 65ft under the sea!

The graceful but venonmous Lionfish waiting for their prey

See how down, down, down, deep the wall goes...
This turtle looks so small...

On top of the boat with a book was a favorite way of the boys to spend the 1 hour long surface interval time between dives. 

Lounging is a very appropriate way to end a day of diving!