Finishing Up In Bali

I am gutted to have left Bali. I had the most amazing time and can't believe it is over. 

The surf was brilliant. I learned so much and my confidence and ability skyrocketed. Each day we would go to different spots to find the best waves and avoid the crowds - it wasn't easy to find a quiet line up, it seems like the whole world wanted to surf in Bali as much as I did, but by the end I was pretty good at avoiding all the people around me. Except when they broke the number one rule in surfing and dropped in on me. The first person to be up and riding the wave owns the wave. If someone then decides to paddle and drop into the wave in front of you that's a biggggg no no. But it happens way too often when the break is crowded. Like this girl who snaked my wave;

But when I did get a wave to myself, oh man it was amazing!

But what I'm going to miss just as much as the surfing is the friends I made at the Wave House. I had a fantastic group of friendies that grew and shrunk with each arrival and departure. I was the longest standing member, being the only one to stay more than a month, but most people were around for at least a week, and even when they left some came back. The final 4 of us all left within a day of each other and I'm glad to have gone at the same time - it wouldn't have been the same without them.

Finals Day of the Bali Pro was one of the best days. We headed back to Keramas to see the quarters, semis and finals of both the male and female World Surfing Championship. As we arrived Kelly Slater was battling it out with Felipe Toledo! I got to see the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) compete again in the semis against Kanoa Igarashi who was just on form and went on the win the event. He is an absolute powerhouse and will definitely become a world champion sometime soon. In the girls race the final between Steph Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons was unforgettable, those girls were charging so hard, but Steph's perfect 10 blew her out of the water. To see surfers I've been reading about it magazines and watching online since I was 12 years old was a dream come true. 

When there were no superstars to watch I spent a lot of time in beach bars drinking cocktails. 

Hopping around on the back of a moped was a lot of fun.

Travelled up to Ubud to a monkey forest and the famous Tegangalang rice terraces. 

Went running, walking and cycling around Canggu.

Spent a lot of time at Mickey's, a restaurant owned by an Italian called Mickey with a BIG personality and a lot of tattoos - including his own face on his leg! He had a bouncy castle in the garden, not just for the kids... (Unless you count me as a kid, which most days I do).

Adopted a dog after she followed us back from the beach one day - called her Rodrigo until we realised she was a girl, then she became Ona which is Spanish for wave, and also because she had no owner. It seemed to fit. She's now being fed by the Wave House! There's already a cat who spends his entire time tucked under pillows on the couch. He's about as lazy as I feel.

The plan is for a reunion next year...