I cried.

Nusa Lembongan is approximately 8 square kilometers in size with a permanent population estimated at 5,000. Twelve kilometers of the Badung Strait separates Nusa Lembongan from Bali.

The quaint, quiet hotel sat on a sleepy little bay where hundreds of boats moored every evening.   Beyond the slew of boats and a silly tourist attraction built upon a barge , Mount Agung dominated the view.  Mount Agung is an active volcano, reaching over 10,000 feet into the sky.  It truly is a sight to see.

The diving in Nusa Lembongan was some of the more advanced diving I have done, and I loved it.  The Thermoclines were intense, in other words, the water temperature was often unpredictable.  At one point the temperature started at 82 degrees, and as we sailed through a healthy current, I watched my dive computer (and felt my insides) fall fall fall all the way down to 73 degrees.  About the time I decided to ascend a few feet to try and move out of it, the intense coolness was gone and the temps were back in the 80's.  We hit a few ripping currents, which can be a lot of fun, and is some of my favorite diving.  Just picture the turtles in Finding Nemo, flying down the 'EAC' at an intense speed; that is what it feels like.  You don't have to move a muscle, as the current takes you sailing by the scenery, just kick back and enjoy the ride!

Crystal Bay was the name of the dive site that literally brought me to tears.  The most vibrant and colorful array of coral I have ever seen.  Everywhere you look, it's bounding in vibrant greens, pinks, purples, yellows and every other color in the rainbow.  The shape of the most dominant coral in Crystal Bay reminded me of the famed Chihuly glass, spilling over each other and into the deep blue sea.  Little Nemos fluttered about, protecting their anemone and the coveted Nudibranchs we are often searching for high and low on Roatan, are everywhere you look!

Can you believe the color and similarity to an actual feather??

'Chihuly Coral'

I found Nemo!

Nudibranchs are incredibly unique in their color, size and appearance

Heading back in after 3 dives, with Mt. Agung in the background

The time spent on Nusa Lembongan was wonderfully relaxing and breathtaking.  I enjoyed meals in the famed 'Mushroom Bay', lined with just a handful of restaurants and coffee shops.  A sleepy little island, Nusa Lembongan did NOT disappoint.

Just one word to the wise:  When riding in the back of the truck/taxi, KEEP YOUR HANDS IN YOUR LAP, NOT HANGING ON THE EDGE OF THE TRUCK BED!

Island Hopping, Bali Style

After a few glorious days spent spoiling myself with breathtaking dawn dives and happy hour ocean views from the hotel's infinity pool, it was time to move on.  This time, I set out to a new island, with plans to meet Krystal and her travel partner, both friends from Roatan.

The weather was beautiful and the ocean was very calm on the fast boat transfer to Gili Trawangan, where I found myself standing on the back of the boat almost the entire ride, taking in the beautiful sites and sounds, while occasionally checking the boat's wake for Dolphins ;)

Bali from the ferry

Ferry Fastboat.  There were 4 passengers total.  and 3 Crewmen.

The best 'seat' in the house

Gili Trawangan Welcomes You!

The 'Taxi'

Looking towards Lombok

At the dock we were greeted by our 'taxi' drivers, who carried our luggage up the walkway to their horse drawn buggy-ish thing.  There are no cars on Gili Trawangan, just horses and bicycles.  I figured it must be safe-ish, as the horse carts were flying up and down the cobble and dirt roads carrying tourists, produce, construction supplies, you name it!  I held on for dear life, and the cart tilted back a bit, and just felt quite un-natural to say the least!  It wasn't 5 minutes into the journey down the road, when I heard a familiar voice call my name from inside one of the beachfront restaurants.  Krystal and Matt had arrived the day prior.  I lifted my grip just long enough to flash a wave, before it went right back to hanging on for dear life!

It was great to be back in the water with Krystal and Matt, who are both dive buddies of mine from Roatan.  Krystal and I share a lot of fun together, while Matt resides mostly in London.  We sampled some of the local fare, went on a few leisurely dives, and spent a wonderful evening at their outdoor villa, complete with a private pool and waterfall!

Matt & Krystal's Villa

Private pool complete with waterfall!

Sunset Happy Hour anyone?

Beachfront Dining

The island was packed full of dive shops, beach front restaurants, hotels & villas, boutiques and spas.  Krystal was kind enough to challenge me to join her for an Asian style pedicure, ie: tiny sucker fish all over your feet!!!  If you know me personally, than you know that I have an extremely difficult time with my sensitive feet, pedicures and really anything touching them at all.  You also know that I rarely turn down a challenge.  Thank god there are pictures to prove I went through with it!

We put on quite a show...

People stopped to watch

Our rendezvous in the Gilis flew by much to fast, it was a bittersweet goodbye.  Luckily, I'd see Krystal again in a few short weeks back in Roatan.

Next Stop: Nusa Lembongan

I never tire of saying the word: Indonesia

It was a pleasant surprise that the heat didn't seem to be nearly as intense as I had anticipated.  I'm unsure if this is simply because my body has changed after living in the warm, humid temps of the Caribbean for awhile, or if the forecast was wrong.  It was incredibly comfortable, and not as humid as home, which was a wonderful reprieve. 

The first 4 days I spent at an amazing resort located a couple of hours North of the airport, near a town called Candidasa.  The Alilah Hotel & Spa is set directly on the beach, stretched over acres and acres, giving the place a nice, spacious, open air vibe.  The staff are hands down the most phenomenal, attentive and friendly people I have ever met.  They practically read my mind.  They greeted me with ice cold, refreshing washcloths for freshen my face, then a nice spritz of Frangipani water and a to-die-for light & refreshing welcome drink.  My room was up on the 2nd floor, and overlooked the beautiful swimming pool.  Dining at the Alilah left me wanting to lick my plate, at every meal.  I loved watching the waves crash on the nearby rocks, while drinking coffee each morning at high tide, and the dragonflies land on the lily pads that sat among the ponds surrounding the restaurant.  Frangipani flowers quickly became part of my every day ensemble in Indonesia.  They are such beautiful, delicate little flowers that grow in bundles on trees.  The best part is they smell UH-Mazing!

Yep.  Almost too good to be true

Alila Mangiss Pool, Bali

Gorgeous Frangipani Tree

Frangipani Style

Bali Tea and local snacks were served every afternoon near the pool, by possibly the sweetest Balinese fella I met the whole trip!  He was seriously adorable!!  A nice break from the excessive lounging that took place all afternoon.

Bali Ginger-Honey Tea and traditional snacks

A little R&R... Okay, a LOT!

Lily Pads at every meal

On day 4 it was finally time to do some diving!  Up the coast to Telumben, and a famous shipwreck called the USAT Liberty, which was hit by a Japanese torpedo in 1942 during World War II.  She sat beached until 1963 when the tremors from a volcano eruption of Mount Agung caused the vessel to slip down the slope to where it now lies.

I literally woke up in the morning, walked to the ocean 30 steps away, where my gear had been carried & set up for me.  All I had to do was wander into the water and dive.  It was brilliant!  Within 10 minutes of my first dive in Bali, my guide had shown me 2 huge purple and orange nudibrach, pygmy seashorse about a half inch tall blended in perfectly to the purple coral fan, a painted frogfish a 1/4 of the size of my palm, another hairy frogfish (which my guide screamed with excitement when he spotted it, which is when you know, it's a BIG deal!), an ornate ghost pipehorse and loads more!  All the things we dream about seeing back home, were everywhere down there!

Beautiful Nudibrach

Painted Frogfish

Hairy Frogfish (image by others)

The cutest little Pygmy Seahorse  (image by others)

Ornate Ghost Pipehorse

The underwater world never seems to let me down.  Always something new and fascinating, especially on this trip!

Stay tuned for the next leg of the trip...  things get even more interesting!

Late Night Taiwan

After a quick hop to LA, I boarded the two story China Airline monstrosity for the longest flight I've ever done; 15 hours.  Ay yai yai!  Fortunately, a great friend of mine had given me 2 sleepy pills before I left Portland.  One for on the way to Taipei, and one on the way back.  The first few hours were easy to kill, getting settled, orienting myself with the movie, sitcom, music and video game selection.  Eating a meal, solely to see if it really is as good as people claim.  It was not, though I've had worse.  After a few Tetris marathons, I popped that bad boy and slept for 7 hours straight!  4 hours left was totally fathomable, I was so pleased.

The gal next to me was traveling with a few others, and stopping over in Taipei on their journey to Cambodia to share a teaching curriculum in some of the schools.  We all had the same layover, something like 11 hours, and decided to try and catch one of the night markets Taipei is known for.  All but one of their group joined in the adventure.  I transferred as much as I could from my purse into my carry on, and checked (all 7 kgs, thank you China Air...) into a long term storage desk.  One guy stayed behind in the airport's transfer hotel.  His passport does not allow him to leave the airport, because he is Chinese.

By the time we made it to the city, it was about midnight, too late for the night market.  We wandered a bit and ended up in a nightclub, and stuck out like sore travelers.  We mooched outlets to charge smart phones, brushed teeth in the bathroom & I'm sure tested the cocktail waitress' patience while slowly counting out the local currency, some in paper and other in coins.   We had each exchanged a little bit of money at the airport, enough to buy a couple of beers and a little mystery meat on a stick from a street vendor afterward.  The latter part of our evening/early morning we found ourselves sitting in the grass in front of the World Trade Center sipping canned beer, until about 4 am when we decided to head back to check in for our flights.

On to the final leg of my journey to Bali.  5 hours from Taipei to Denpasar, BALI!!!

@GirlGoneInternational #Girlgi #Aweekinmylife

I've been invited to guest post 'A Week in my Life' for Girl Gone International's Instagram feed.

I've been following other GGI's for at least a year now, and am excited to have the opportunity to share mine!  I hope you'll join in the fun, here is a link to their Instagram feed, be sure to Follow the page to receive updates on my whereabouts over the next week!  

You link to my Instagram feed right over here

Taipei, Taiwan in front of the 101 skyscraper

A Dream Come True

I love those words rolling out of my mouth.  When something you've truly dreamed of actually comes to fruition.  It seems so surreal, and I love that feeling too.

So when I tell you 'I went to Indonesia' I say it with a a heart swelling breath of pure joy, that I sometimes still can't believe is true.  It has been a travel dream of mine for many years.

When my friend Krystal, here on Roatan, suggested a trip to visit our friends in SE Asia it didn't take long for the wheels to start turning.  Unfortunately, between the time Krystal bought her flight to Hong Kong and I had finagled a way to get the free time away, our friend's Visas were about to expire, and they quickly moved on to Australia to seek work in the diving world.  Before long, Krystal's trip morphed into a liveaboard dive boat in the Maldives while I was still himming and hawing over what to do.  When she explained to me she would be in the Gili Islands for part of the trip, I decided to head that direction and we began making plans to meet on a little tiny island called Gili Trawangan.

My itinerary morphed into this: LA - Taipei - Bali - Gili Trawangan - Nusa Lembongan - Bali; a total of 3 weeks in Asia!!!

But FIRST, I headed home for Mother's Day before traveling to Bali for the first leg of SE Asia.  I love surprising people with good surprises, and I knew my mom would be thrilled to see me, even if it was for only a few short days.  I went online and found a service that mails personalized greeting cards for you and sent one to mom telling her I was coming home for Mother's Day.

She and I tried hard not to make too many plans, which is very hard to do.  I want to do and see and drink and eat and shop and relax and chat with everyone and everything.  But knowing this was a quick visit and how easily time can disappear, I kept it low key and made time for my family first and friends next.  As always, it was an absolute pleasure to be home with all the beautiful familiarities that I love.

Mount Hood, Oregon's icon

Spring in the park

My Dad & His Grandpup

Oregon Countryside + Winery

Mothers Day Brunch

Spoiled views all around

Mother's Day in the park

Dad and I designed a custom leather wallet, for me!

My sweet & precious & loyal pup, Raylie

Willamette River, I grew up on this stretch of water

Morning hikes in the forest with 2 of my favorite ladies

Stay tuned for Part II of my dream come true!

Where OH Where

Has all the time gone??

I've become the blogger everyone despises.  Myself included.

The one that writes interesting stories, and gets its readers engaged.  Posts great first hand photos and begins to peak interests of those slightly curious of the writer's make believe, or in my case, real believe stories.  And then disappears.

No excuse, no explanation, just vanished.  Without warning, I let you all down.  Some of you know why, others may not be particularly interested in the details.  Regardless, I won't waste time apologizing, because frankly, I'm not all that sorry.  I took a hiatus from a lot of things in life, and it felt damn good!

A few months ago, I found myself drowning in freelance work up the wazoo!  I really enjoy networking, and even more the fact that often times the work and people find me.  It's a good feeling to have earned the reputation I've worked hard for.  But as the old saying goes, 'When it rains, it pours' and I found myself working 7 days a week just to try and keep up with all the projects I had taken on.  I was overwhelmed, over worked, tired, missing out on fun things with friends and becoming short tempered with people around me.  That part didn't feel so good.

So, as I often do when things no longer seem to be flowing quite right in my world, I sat back and identified the root of the problem that was leading to all of the things I just mentioned.  It was clearly too much work and not enough fun!  2 years ago I made the decision to leave the life of high stress and working myself to the bone, for a simpler life in a simpler place and I was letting it slip away.  I made a plan and figured out how to wrap up the projects I had going and narrowed down the ones I would continue with to a more manageable and logical load.

It was a good thing I did it when I did, because what happened next blew my mind...