Sunday afternoon, we just walked around the island, exploring. It was windy!
And I was really there! (I sometimes still want to pinch myself--did I REALLY do this?)
After paying $30 each for a "10-minute boat ride out to an island in a glass bottom boat for excellent snorkeling", we found out the ride was 3 minutes.
The island was a group of boats anchored in shallow water.
The glass-bottom boat is that small rectangle by our feet where we put our towels.
The snorkeling was in a circular area about the half the size of a gymnasium.
We were one of the first boats out, and other boats started to arrive, going right through
our snorkeling area! We had to keep looking up to see if a boat was coming.
The backward view after we got frustrated and left!
We asked for part of our money back, and instead got a better deal on the para-sailing,
which we hadn't really planned on doing, but turned out to be fun.
Here the willing participants get their harnesses and gloves on.
Alice getting instructions on guiding the parachute. Blue glove corresponds to a blue flag--pull on the right side. Red glove, pull left.
Getting ready to take off from the beach...
Amidst hundreds of other water craft (boats, jet skies, etc).
This would so NOT be happening in the US, or any other country with liability laws!
After the girls and the men went, they were so jazzed about it all they talked the moms into going.
And I DID it! That's me landing, and I didn't even fall down.
It was quite an experience floating above and looking down at all the criss-crossing
boats, and seeing the beautiful turquoise water.
It was quite peaceful. When coming back to the beach, in order to land on the sand (and not in the water), we had to pull hard on one side (with flags and bull-horn instructions from the
ground crew). It all worked!
Next day, next adventure! White-water rafting down a river with Class 2 and 3 rapids. $35 per person, lunch included.
First came the trek down the jungle path, and then down hundreds of stairs.
(the muscles around my knees could feel it for a couple of days afterwards).
We didn't get to take any pictures during the trip--the camera was stowed away in a water-proof bag. The trip started off with a glitch. We heard a leak as we pushed away from the landing, but the guide said it was okay. Mary and I were on the third seat and it went immediately flat, putting us down in the water on the bottom of the raft. Ick! So we stopped in at the next landing and the boat was pumped up again. (There were several companies supplying the rafting experience).
But as we went down through a couple of big rapids, and almost folded the boat over on one of them, the guide said the boat wasn't safe and we stopped at another landing. He offered us some options. Stop there, hike back up, get our money back. #2 Hike back up, go to the beginning and start again with a new boat. We opted for #3: stay there and have a new boat brought to us.
The rest of the journey (after an hour waiting) was great! I couldn't believe we were going through a canyon like this: jungle, rock carvings, real Indiana Jones stuff.
And at the end, we had a nice Balinese lunch. We had just arrived at the lunch hut when it began pouring rain. I'm SO glad we weren't still on the river, or worse would have been climbing up the mossy concrete steps. They were already treacherous, and with the rain, ouch!
And at the end of the day, back by our hotel, reflexology foot massages.
Alice endured hers. I enjoyed mine. Kevin wouldn't do it at all.
There are two types of people in this world, those who like their feet touched and those who don't.
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