Blue Bali

Just really enjoyed the shades of blue after the sun went down yesterday. Here's a little preview:

Marianne and Karine

Day trip to Ubud

For our first day off, a bunch of the girls did a day trip to Ubud, the spiritual and cultural center of Bali. It's only a little over an hour away, so with our trusty driver Putu, we headed off for a fun day of eating and shopping in the market.

With some of my new friends at lunch: Tania and Karine

lunch of spiced fish wrapped in banana leaves, beans, and yellow rice with coconut chutney...Mmmmmm

at the market

sooooo tempted to add this cute little teapot to my collection

decorative door handles

lots of natural oils for sale

view of the street outside of the market

carving on a temple

gamelan practice outside of the palace

photo opp. with Karine, Marianne, and Sally

FYI Balinese wine is not the greatest

The next day is just a rest day to catch up on some studying and get to the beach to mentally prepare for another intense week. 

Rainy day in paradise

End of day 6 and we are all ready for a couple of well-deserved days off. Here's a little run-down of how my days have been going:

My day starts at 7am with an asana and pranayama practice (breathing with postures) and that goes 'til 9:30. We get an hour for breakfast, then back to class which is sometimes lecture, but the last couple days has been foundation of postures which means you're learning by doing the movements and breaking them apart to know how to teach them. Break for lunch at 12:30, back at 2, and then more class til 6:30pm. I am gaining so much knowledge but by the end of the day I'm basically just mentally, physically, and energetically exhausted! It's all pretty amazing though, can't wait to see what the next week brings...I may never want to leave here. ;)

View from the yoga shala--over some thatched roofs is the Indian Ocean.

stretching those hammies

practicing our balance

Tomorrow some of the girls and I are heading up to Ubud for the day to get a sense of the culture...and the markets too of course.

Jalan-Jalan

Translation in Indonesian: to go for a stroll...

Also, my favorite new phrase. So the first full day everyone started arriving and naturally congregated to the pool--28 women and 2 guys. Why more men don't do yoga with those statistics, I'll never understand. Bali is hot and humid and there are bugs galore, but it's the most lush place you'll ever see and the smells are just fantastic. Also, the fruit here is divine and you can get a lassi anywhere, which really just makes it all worth it.

pool party

3 minutes down the road is Canggu beach

I love how the temples blend in with the environment

temple on the beach

one of our guardians

one of my new friends at the beach after our venture out to the local warong for papaya lassis and banana pancakes (and yes, they are as delicious as they sound!)

another couple of the girls surfing

more surfers

my favorite little guardian

banana tree forest

some of the orchids at the villa

Little devils

Today Greg, Sorcha, her best friend Georgie and I took a little trip down to Bicheno for lunch and a little exploring. Originally we were going to attempt a hike (or bushwalking as they call it here) in Douglass-Apsley National Park, but with the kiddies in tow, we decided to check out a nature/animal park instead. And really, I couldn't leave Tasmania without seeing a Tasmanian Devil firsthand. 

We first checked out the "blow hole", so called for obvious reasons: when the big waves roll in, water shoots up through the rocks, thus looking like a whale's blow hole. The surf's been pretty intense the last couple days, so the timing really was perfect.

Idyllic little Bicheno.

Then we went to Natureworld. Prior to coming here, I had heard about the freakish cancer that's spreading through Tasmanian Devils and affecting about 65% at this point. Natureworld is one of the few places that is protecting healthy devils and allowing them to live and procreate in a safe environment. Though you couldn't interact with the devils on your own (they are kind of mean and have some serious teeth) there were about 20 kangaroos just bouncing around, willing to be pet and fed. It really was a cool experience...and kangaroos are soft like bunnies.

chilling with the patriarch of the kangaroos

feeding mama as well as joey

sleeping koala

sarcophilas harrisii, aka Tasmanian Devil, aka I eat road kill

Hoary's Point and Sorcha the horse whisperer

Greg, Mojo, and I took a little hike along the coast to Hoary's Point, only about an hour there and back from the house. Still, a nice little jaunt on a sunny (albeit kinda cold and windy) morning. 

with my trusty walking stick

the town of Bicheno in the distance

Later in the day Sorcha went to ride her horse Jack-Jack. Here she is sweetening him up before having to put the bit in his mouth.

Sorcha riding Jack-Jack with his horse life partner, Percy, leading the way.

Little Beach

These are just some pics from a little stroll along the beach with Greg and Josh. 

Greg and Josh

the house (in progress)

I mean, if I were going to live in a van on the beach, this would definitely be the place!

father son bonding

Good morning, Tas!

One benefit of jet lag is that it adjusts you to an earlier time schedule. Uncharacteristically I have been waking up between 6:30 and 7 AM since arriving and was lucky enough to catch this view before the clouds rolled in this morning. Not bad, eh?

St. Patty's head

The other day Greg and I went for a hike up to St. Patrick's Head state park, where, in typical Glasser male fashion, he failed to impart on me the intensity of the climb. So after some huffing and puffing (coming from me only, Greg was able to carry on long-winded conversations without any trouble, naturally) we finally made it up to the top.  And of course, the view was awesome! 

I made it!

love those gums...

Isn't Tassie worth a visit? I think it's so under appreciated...