Uh oh, the alarm didn’t go off at 6:30, but I think we still have time. I planned for an early mhouseguest dive on the house reef; we have to be sure to be up at least 24 hours before we fly out tomorrow. We hustle down to the dive shop and pick up our gear and some tanks and head down the pier once again. Down the ladder fully suited and plop, we’re in the briny sea once again. I’m sure going to miss it when we’ve gone!
The bunk line:
We head down the the lower part of the house reef, where we can’t see too clearly while snorkeling, and follow it along until we see and anchor sunk in with a rope leading away. We follow the rope out about 50 feet and there, about 80 feet under, is a pretty good sized boat with coral just starting to cover the sides. We swim around it a bit, and then head back toward the reef. Matt catches me as I head off following the wrong rope. Good going, buddy!
We continue to check out the house reef, lots of life and beautiful coral, then time to do our safety stop and climb out. Rinse off our gear, back for warm showers, and off to breakfast after working up a good appetite. After we’ve done, we head back to our bungalow to read and sun on the back deck. Matt takes a swim around the island, then we head up for some cribbage (I win!) and lunch. Then he heads to the spa for his massage and I enjoy some iced tea and views of the calmest water we’ve had all week. A perfectly hot, sunny day for our last. Yea! I am really living and breathing in every moment, as if to capture each sensation for when I’m bundled up be the fire looking out at snow and ice, or when I have to run to the grocery store or clean out the dishwasher. This practice somehow makes the day feel much longer and fuller.
I head back to the bungalow (why be anywhere else? I can tan, turn, walk down the steps to cool off, read, have absolute privacy) and execute well-seasoned timed baking for the bod, and enjoy a float
and swim after each 360 degree basting. Matt returns about 3, and i go inside to perform the first leg of packing. Then back for some more baking, swimming, following the baby shark with the camera as he cruises by on patrol, and gathering dive gear for packing the bigass bag. Whaddya know? It’s time for my massage! I head over for the old Balinese foot scrub and massage, followed by some lovely ginger-lemongrass tea. I meander back, and lay the mat out on the sand for a final glaze of sun before showering for dinner. We head out to the restaurant on the pier to watch the sun set (behind clouds again. No green flash this trip!) and I lose this game of cribbage. Off to dinner and it’s Italian night. Leg of lamb! Grilled veggies! Fresh sautéed pasta cooked to order!Chocolate boudin with stracciatelli ice cream! More, more, more! Stuffed, we pay the bill and waddle back (at least I do, Matt has passed out on his bed and can’t move, poor thing). Finish blogging and drift off to our last night in this perfect paradise.
A shot as we take off in the seaplane – you can see how the archipelago dots the landscape, some only large, turquoise shallow reefs, and some that built up enough to create the tiny islands, many of which are home to only one resort:
