Pura Uluwatu

We drove out to Pura Uluwatu. It is perched a couple of hundred feet above the ocean and has a great surf spot below.

Uluwatu is also known for its mischievous monkeys. They have grown fat stealing people's belongings and trading them for treats.

Around our Ubud hotel.

I took all of these pictures near our hotel.

There are lots of ponds with lotus flowers in them.

One of the two infinity pools.

This leads to the temple.

The rice fields after draining.

Rice fields during flooding.

Water drops on rice.

I finally found someone fishing.

Whopper!

Home made fishing rods!

Funeral procession in Ubud, Bali.

We found this large bull and tower being made a few days ago. We asked the people making it what it was for. The explained that a couple of people in the community had died, so they were putting the bodies in the tower and carrying them to the cemetery in a few days. They close the roads and everyone seems to be involved so when someone dies they wait a few days to see if anyone else will die. They can't cause this ruckus every day of the week.

Ubud monkey forest adventures.

I don't know what to say about these pictures or these places. The rice fields are amazing. Seeing everything being planted and harvested by hand looks incredibly tiring. Most things are carried on the head.

The monkey forest was a lot of fun. My dad stepped on a monkey's tail and it wanted to kill him. The monkey would walk beside him showing his teeth looking ready to pounce until a "park ranger" kinda guy showed up and yelled at the monkey. The monkeys know to respect the rangers.

 This cheeky guy pretended to be my friend until he put his hand in my pocket. He wanted cash like a smart monkey. I grabbed his hand and slapped him. No, I did not spank him. He bit my back and ran away.

 These women were carrying bricks (on their head) to a house that was being built. We found a walk that  intersected a couple of rivers and had stunning views on either side. There are lots of artists cottages, yoga retreats, and ex pat houses.

Balinese silver beads.

Today's adventures consisted of searching for silver beads. We drove all over Bali looking for the right people to buy beads from. Earrings, necklaces, all kinds of finished jewelry is available at wholesale prices. We had lunch in Sanur, a tourist surf town. I still haven't seen the ocean, but apparently we were very close. My rod was in the car, but still hasn't been out of its case.

Sate lilit for dinner.

Ubud, Bali. Day 1.

I don't know how many days I have been traveling, but arriving felt great. We got to our hotel around 3 in the morning and were up at 7 ready for breakfast. Fried rice, an egg, some shrimp chips a toast started us for a long day of adventures. My Dad has known Wayan, our guide, for over 20 years. Before Wayan met us we wandered through the town of Ubud. The town was still asleep at 9am and we quickly realized that it was more known for it's nightlife than the arts and crafts we had heard about. Once these cool villages become discovered and highlighted in a travel book, they all seem to instantly crank out pizza places that play Bob Marley and offer drink specials and "ladies night". We called Wayan immediately and asked him to get us out of there.

Along the way we say many arts and crafts shops that were not in fact in Ubud. They sold all kinds of things!

We stopped for lunch at one of the highest spots on the island. We ate at the super touristy Lakeview Restaurant overlooking Lake Batur. Down below there are traps that Wayan told me hold "carp like" fish. People prefer to fish in the ocean because the fish taste better. But you could find a wife here in the country to take back to America if you were so inclined.

Declining the option for a local wife, we next headed to Pura Tirta Empul or the Temple of Holy Water. The god Indra's forces had been wounded in battle, so he pierced the earth creating this spring to revive them. 

Now all of these people bathe here and take some of the water home in jugs. We were here during the full moon which is a reason for the whole village to arrive and pray.

Offerings are made to the gods. Incense, flowers, food, lots of things are in the offering baskets.

Offerings are brought in on large baskets. The rice is blessed and handed out. People press the rice and holy water to their face.

The more rice, the more blessed?

For our last adventure, we headed to Goa Gajah, or the Elephant Cave. There are demons carved on the outside and a Ganesh on the inside. There are marks where the cave was expanded by hand. All impressive as it was built in the 9th century.

Dad hopes the demons are still working!

Canucks, Aussies, and footie.

This is from last week. Life is still this good, just colder!

We have friends in town. They are Canadian emergency room doctors. I sat down with the winner of the Boulder Marathon, Andrew Letherby for coffee today. He is a really nice Aussie. He is getting into triathlons so as soon as he gets his swim in order, look out! I finished my physical therapy today. A couple more massages and I might be "made whole" soon. Winter is indoor soccer and cyclocross season. I am stoked for them to start.

PV part 2.

Rooster! 

Very cool to see in person. 

My National Geographic moment. 

The boys. 

The malecon.

Lots of casting practice.

So we didn't have any luck from the boat, but I did catch my first Roosterfish from shore. After watching a turtle lay eggs on the beach nearby. How awesome is that?

We also saw the Pan American Championship triathlon race. Collins did well and I was stoked to see him race!

IM '09.

About 9 at night as we were walking to get something to eat people were sitting at Lava Java writing emails, posting blogs, updating friends and family, all as participants were still running the marathon. So this post is probably a bit late. A bunch of us volunteered for water patrol and were in town at 5 am. The athletes were already nervous, pacing, eating, and getting body marked. We paddled out into the calm before the storm and waited for the mayhem to begin.

Macca stopped by.

Macca wanted to see how I was doing. I told him just to relax and have a good race. I was worried about mechanical failures as you never know what can happen out on the Queen K!

Check out the wake!

He swam off quickly, but I think that Erica was smitten. We tried to keep the swimmers on course, but they didn't like listening. Only a few people didn't make the swim cutoff and the day was already emotionally charged right from the beginning.

 

Our view. 

After the swim we were able to go home, eat, shower, and return to the middle of it all. We sat in the heat for a while and waited for the pros to come by. It looked to be a good race with most of the major players coming in around the same time.

Chris Lieto coming in first.

Then we saw everyone take off running. After about 10 miles, they come back to the same place. It was great to watch the race unfold.

Andreas leading Craig up Palani.

Faris in his typical outfit.

CW.

Chrissie is the absolute queen of this sport. Not only is she an amazing athlete, but on of the friendliest women I have ever met. Always with a smile on her face. She gritted her teeth at the bottom of this hill, but all the way to the top people were going crazy screaming her name and cheering for her. She feeds off the energy and smiles all day long. She is fantastic.

Andy Potts.

I was impressed with Jon Flanagan and Andy Potts in the water. They blew everyone away. Next year, Marky V will have a huge gap on all of them.

You want impressive? Try coming close to setting a new record. Do it by being a woman beating all of the men. That is impressive to me. Here is Erica cheering on some FAST athletes!

Still enthusiastic!

We went to the press conference to hear what the pros had to say about the day. Everyone showed up but Macca while we were there. They all agreed that it was hot! We went and cheered in all of the athletes until the midnight cutoff arrived. Chrissie was there to congratulate the participants. She has great sportsmanship. We went home to crash. This morning, I feel like I raced. My body feels beat up. I am exhausted. This watching stuff is hard!