OCTOBER 17 – SCUBA DIVING AT AMED

• One of my yoga teachers is Bex. Short for Rebecca I’m sure, but that’s how it’s spelt. Bex’s partner is Bruno. Bruno is a scuba diver with a Masters in Marine Biology who took me diving today. More on those two later this post.
• Bruno picked me up just after 7 am and we drove about 2 hours to beautiful Amed – our diving destination for today. After a coffee stop and briefing, we ‘geared up’ for our morning dive. It was really sensational and the 40 minute dive went quickly. After a tasty lunch at the diving resort (owned by Donna – previously from the Hunter Valley NSW – a Bali local now for 10 years with a beautiful adopted little girl who speaks three languages during any given sentence), we did another 40 minute dive around a WWII Japanese wreck and saw loads of beautiful sea life and coral. I’m starting to learn the ‘sign language for the sea life’ and I was pleased to see plenty of Nemos! There is some dispute amongst the locals as to the wreck’s origin. Same say Japanese, others say Javanese. At some point, it was most certainly lost in translation!
• The diving was sensational and I loved every second under water. It’s very peaceful and an entry to another world. As in any dramatic change in environment, you have just to surrender and breathe. This is particularly important when diving!
• The drive home was terrific too. After a stop for some fresh coconut, I quizzed Bruno about his and his and Bex’s life. They are ‘self confessed nomads’. Bex is British by origin and Bruno Portuguese. Neither of them have returned ‘home‘ in many years. They flit between Ubud, India and East Timor and pretty soon, they’re going to give China a good old go! In Ubud, Bex works as a yoga instructor and teacher (a mighty fine one I might add), and Bruno as a diving instructor. In India, they both do social work looking after disabled and blind children. They are both absolutely lovely people with hearts of gold and they are as admirable as they are adorable. Meeting people like this and making friends is what travel is all about!
• The trip home (with Bruno driving) allowed me to take a few pics of some good old Balinese traffic. It’s nothing to see a family of four on a scooter at the same time. It’s nothing to see a truck full of people tearing through windy roads in a fishing village. The funniest thing I saw, traffic wise, (and sorry Scott – I didn’t have the camera ready) was a truck full of stacks of chairs about 2 metres high – like outdoor chairs, with a man sitting on the top of one of the stacks. As the truck flew through the streets, the gentleman (perched high) ducked his head to avoid possible brain damage or decapitation from tree branches in his path.