#37 - 4 days in the Gili Islands of Indonesia

After our week in Bali, we boarded a fast boat to the Gili Islands.  There are three small islands, just off of Lombok, each with its own vibe.  Gili Trawangan is the party island, Gili Meno is the secluded island, and Gili Air is nice mix of both.  We chose Gili Air, and early in the afternoon we disembarked onto the island with no cars or motorized vehicles of any kind.  Their form of transportation around the 2 km perimeter sand road was walking, bikes, electric scooters, and pony-drawn carts which jingled with horse bells as the ponies trotted along the path.  There were signs everywhere of the destruction wreaked by a powerful earthquake just 6 weeks earlier.  Luckily, most of the island was back up and running by the time we arrived.

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Highlights:

1. Scuba Diving with Turtles
2. Snorkelling in Crystal-clear waters
3. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets
4. Island worldschooling with Jacob
5. Fascinating island life
6. Local food and inexpensive massages

(Click below right to read more . . . )

Highlights:

1. Scuba Diving with Turtles – We arrived in Gili with no set agenda, but immediately realized that this was the perfect spot for some SCUBA diving certification.  The Kelly family was not certified, and while Tera, Anna and I had certified already, Tyler and Megan hadn't, and now were old enough.  So half of our travelling crew committed to 3 full days of scuba diving training and certification, and the remainder of us had three days of chill. The diving was terrific, and the acolytes actually went out on an ocean boat dive the very first evening of their training.  On the 3rd day, Tera, Anna and I joined the crew on their last two training dives, and we had a great experience swimming underwater with the turtles and rays, and octopuses. The water was warm, the visibility was at its maximum, and the wildlife was diverse. Some of our favorite diving so far.
2. Snorkelling in crystal clear waters – On the first day of scuba training, we went out on our own snorkeling trip, which is a main draw of the islands.  While in a few spots the coral was broken up as a result of earthquakes, the tropical reef fish were plentiful and the sea turtles were numerous.
3. Sunrises and sunsets – There is something beautiful about the sun rising and setting from the perspective of a island white-sand beach, and when you're on a small, walkable island like Gili air, you can grab both every day. The views were framed by the spectacular islands of Lombok for the sunrise and Bali for the sunset. 
4. Island world-schooling with the kids – While Megan (11) and Tyler (14) were enrolled full-time in learning to SCUBA-dive, Anna (16) was anxiously engaged in her BYU online schooling assignments, trying to fit in a full semester of high school during our 7-week travels through Asia. For Jacob (9), the mornings were free to work on his projects.  We are reading “Island of Blue Dolphins” and working on essays for each chapter.  It is kind of cool reading about the story of a woman surviving on small island while "living" on a small island. After working on requisite math as well as his bonus math challenges (which he prefers), Jacob's subject of choice is always to compose piano works. He is getting quite proficient and his creativity is impressive. He might have a complete set of Jacob Sonatas before the year is out. Garage Band has just been added to his list of resources, and he couldn't be happier.
5. Fascinating Island Life – Given the recent earthquake, being on the island presented interesting exposure to disaster recovery efforts in far-flung 3rd-world country regions. Much of the island building infrastructure was unreinforced brick and concrete construction, and thus was greatly affected by the earthquake. There were concrete rubble piles gathered in the corner of almost every property, though many of the hotels and resorts along the island perimeter were able to disguise it.  We learned that immediately following the earthquake, the beach had been lined for days with tourists and migrants, who were all vying for the next position whenever a boat off the island became available. Most businesses closed down for at least 30 days to repair, rebuild, and restock. There were no deaths on the small island, and even after homes were destroyed, there was no immediate threat to life. The warm climate made sleeping out of doors okay, and most houses had bamboo huts set up on their property with mats and a pillow laid out. When walking by a property early one evening, we witnessed a couch and TV set up on top a pile of concrete rubble, where the "home" inhabitants sat to watch television and eat dinner.
6. Local food and inexpensive massages - We enrolled in an Indonesian cooking class and made some of the most delicious curry, grinding each spice and herb.  We also made a yummy peanut sauce from scratch to season our tempe, and boiled rice ball sweets that were warm and tasty. Indonesia is also a place where you can get an hour-long full body massage for USD$8, so we indulged.  Often :-).