After the downpour that was yesterday continued all night long, we woke up at o’dark thirty this morning for our scheduled snorkel tour feeling verrrry unsure of what the day would bring. Our tour driver picked us up at 6:30 and it was overcast and drizzly, with the rain stopping and starting off and on. By the time we got to the tour starting point in Sanur, an actual sliver of sunlight poked through the clouds! We were excited- for about 5 minutes- and then the rain started again. 😂 Fortunately snorkeling is not an activity that is spoiled by rain, so off we went with our tour boat of 13 people.

The snorkel tour was planned to include four snorkel stops on the beautiful island of Nusa Penida just off the east coast of Bali. Nusa Penida is a good size island (about 78 square miles), with a population of nearly 60,000 people. However, our guide told us that they receive about 20,000 day trippers from Bali per day! Crazy!! They are known for their sea turtles and manta rays snorkel spots, and produce most of Bali’s cashews (yum!). Our first stop was supposed to be the manta ray area, but unfortunately the seas were wayyy too rough.

Our wise captain moved us on to other, somewhat calmer snorkel spots, but even those had some POWERFUL currents. We were grateful for fins and knowing the snorkel staff had our backs. Our key finds today were gorgeous coral, bright periwinkle sea stars, lots of colorful fish, and quite a few sea turtles!

Lunch time on Nusa Penida and the Heavens Gates

Our tour took us ashore to a little restaurant on Nusa Penida where our group had lunch. The food was not spectacular, but the views of the water, the pool, and the “Heavens Gates” sure were!! Heavens Gates were these huge gates on the property that we were allowed to go take photos in, and our guide gave everyone from our group a little “Photoshoot” and took pictures of all of us in the gates. They were so cool!

Pool Time

After lunch our guide gave us the option and everyone got to pick whether they wanted to take a 45 minutes each way winding drive up the mountains to go to the Kelingking Beach overlook (aka T-Rex beach because the cliffs resemble a T-Rex head ) and take pictures, or spend the hour and a half plus relaxing at the pool (and petting the resident pups). Rob and I chose wisely.

Here is what we missed out on (including it for my beloved self-labeled dino nerd niece Elena who likely would have wanted to see the T-rex Beach). According to our group mates who did go, the overlook had about 200 people in it all vying for this same shot. Google, ftw.

A Dramatic Rescue at Sea

On our way back to Sanur after a full day of snorkeling, the waves were super rough and crazy and the currents were strong. Our boat was rocking and slamming up and down thru waves, and we had to cut our final snorkel short because of all this. Our entire tour group was fortunate enough to make it through all this without incident (no one injured, ripped away by currents, or ill – although I came close to my first seasickness). However, about a mile off shore our captain had to make an emergency water rescue when we came across a surfer way out to sea clinging to his board for dear life! He managed to catch the captain’s eye, and we stopped and pulled him in to the boat. Pretty sure he was in shock initially, and he had definitely been sobbing. He spoke very little English (this was an English speaking tour group today) and no Balinese, so communication was tough, but we came to find out he was visiting Bali from Hong Kong and had gone to a “surf school” for a lesson in Sanur. Evidently the way they “teach” is to give a lesson and then take the beginner surfers about 1/4 mile off shore where the surf break was, drop them off, and let them surf back. Only today was a crazy current, and this poor guy never made it back. He literally just drifted out to sea, and had been out there from 1-3 hours (he was very confused on that part) clinging to the board. Can you imagine?! He thanked everyone a million times, they gave him water and a towel, and he rode back to shore with us. Evidently he had a hotel nearby and a friend waiting, and our captain was able to radio the surf school to tell them we had found their student. Presumably they were looking for him?! Anyway, a scary story with a happy ending, but definitely made our pulse rate go up. Side note, traveling friends: rethink your plans to attend surf school in Sanur!!

Sunset and Dinner

We made it back to Jimbaran and our hotel in time to catch a lovely sunset, shower, and have dinner at Kayumnis Resto for traditional Indonesian food. It was very good! After dinner we crashed and Rob is already snoring as I finish this blog. So glad we got to get out and see more of Bali today!

Thanks for adventuring with us!