The title comes from an Eddie quote. We were floating around, waiting for the calm ocean to swell up some waves. Eddie had a pained expression on his face and despite the language barrier, I knew what he said. Ouch!
Surf Shop
Where I learn surfing
Eddie on left
It was a good day on the water, I tried out three different boards, two completely inappropriate for my skill level or the conditions, the third a pleasure as I had some success with it.
After a few hours of working, I ended up with my computer, some beers, and over at Candice's. Her Russian surf friend had gone missing that evening, she suspected the monster nap that can come after six hours of surfing. Turns out he lives around the corner. I suggested we go wake him up and that's what we did.
It's midnight and we're cruising through Seminyak, whooping and laughing on Candice's motorbike. A very tired surfer soon followed.
Moving again this morning, I don't know how my stuff multiplies, especially when the only shopping I've done is for rash guards, zinc, and bikini's. I piled it all on me and the bike and took off to the next hotel, right on time to turn around directly and nab BKK Aaron from the airport.
Instead, I got clipped by a Venza minivan and went down with that slow motion total moment awareness that comes with the oh-sh*t occasions. Someone pulled the bike off of me and someone else was lifting me and telling me to drink water. Everyone asked if I was okay and I replied "yes", my whole body given over to shaking so hard I couldn't light a cigarette if I tried.
Then it was the catalog of what hurt, lots of helpful people giving me instructions, me trying to listen to them and resist my natural instinct to fight or flee. I sat, took the bottle of water and drained it, let some men take me into the business I'd crashed in front of and used their sink to wash out the cuts and scrapes. Something was bleeding pretty good though and it turned out to be my lucky left elbow.
I still haven't seen it, due to its location, but the looks on the faces of the two guys trying to patch me up, it looked bad. I joked about just needing a Bintang and a ciggy and I'd be fine. Within five minutes an ice cold Bintang was in my hand, I was sitting outside smoking and guzzeling the stuff like it was the fix-it elixer. I had a coating of brown benedine up my left leg and some bandaids I'd dug out of my bag.
I thanked my helpers profusely, got back on the bike, and proceeded to drive to the airport. Aaron was relieved to see me, and concerned about all of my boo-boos. He took one look at my elbow, asked me not to be stubborn for once and go to the hospital. I called Candice, got the name of a good place, and we arrived a few minutes later.
The nurses scrubbed out the abrasions and places with missing skin. I hissed and tried to look brave while trying not to notice the grimaces from Aaron. The doctor looked at my elbow, offered local anestesia and I took it. I didn't even feel the needle, but I did feel the cleaning that came after it. Since we'd waited so long and the bleeding had slowed, I only got some steri strips there, a ton of bandages, a bag of bandages, and we were finally out of there. $135. Not too bad.
ouch
Aaron and I checked into our hotel, a very nice place with a mini pool, jacuzzi tub, and patio with an outdoor bed. It overlooks rice fields and we watched a herd of ducks squawking and picking at stuff between the stalks as folks tended their crops with shovels. It's a strange dicotomy, this luxurious accomodation that brags to being next to the rice fields and the hard working life of growing rice for a living. I can get a massage and watch a woman permanently crook her back as she bends repeatedly over the terraced field.
dawn
At sunset we joined Candice and Matilda for dinner on the beach in Seminyak. Aaron and Matilda jumped in the water, he played pony as he ran around with her on his shoulders, Matilda alternating between being bossy and shrieking with laughter. They invented a song about sharks in the dark and I joined them for a few minutes of running around in circles.
Work was tough. I was exhausted and the hurt was coming on full force. I had eaten some ibuprophen, tylenol, and half of a vicoden. By 12:30am, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I woke at 6:30am to join Aaron on his surf plan. We were driving to Mendowi, as he describes it, "a sweet point break with a long left". It took two hours to make our way up the coast, every bump shooting pain through my left arm.
When we got there, we found a quiet place with friendly locals who quickly outfitted Aaron with the long-board of his choice and he was in the water. I elected to sit out with my elbow dry and watch him paddle out. He caught a few waves and rode like someone who'd been surfing for 24 years. It wasn't easy to spend the next hour plus watching folks catch waves. I chatted with an Aussie for a while who also surfed, was in litigation over a house he'd been trying to buy right there in Mendowi, and then watched him paddle out too.
The conditions were less than ideal, the waves small, the rocks poking through. Aaron came in and we set up a beach area and I fell into a deep, untroubled sleep. Apparently as I slept, Aaron had been visited by several locals and a religious celebration had happened right there. I only knew that I woke up with a light sweat to the sound of the surf, the sight of surfers riding that long left, and Aaron resting beside me.
The ride back was harder on the arm and there came a moment when I wondered why tears weren't streaming down my face it hurt so bad. We pulled over and took a rest with some Javanese guys working construction who'd waved us over to their shaded area. Then it was back on the road and a long drive to Tanah Lot where we stopped and did the tourist thing. Tourist were taking pictures of EVERYTHING. I felt lucky to be in Bali as long as I have been, where I can take my time, see the place, and am not herded onto the huge buses and taken only to a few cultural spots in a one-week vacation. We didn't stay long and the ride to the hotel was short from there. I got us lost twice and tried to drive as much as possible one-handed, my left hand resting on my leg.
After I worked for a few hours, we finished up our evening with a shared beer in the hot tub-sized pool, a local feast at a cost of $4 for both of us, and me on my computer.