Bali Highs...

The final stretch of our motorized adventure consisted of winding, hilly roads through thriving green rice fields and small villages. Among the many stops we made, my personal favorite was at one of Bali's highest peaks, Mount Batur. Batur is an active volcano that last erupted in 1999 leaving the locals to believe that ghosts and spirits are trapped inside the crater. Spending a night in a small farming village at the base of the volcano, Elaine and I met two local guides that affably agreed to take us on a hike the next day. We woke at 3:30am the following morning to ensure we were at the top for sunrise. Although the sky was hazy as plump rain-filled clouds hung among the peaks, the site was breathtaking nonetheless. The trek then continued well into the afternoon as our tour guides led us up and around smokey craters. At one stage we buried raw eggs and after just ten minutes unearthed them naturally hard boiled from the heat trapped in the ground. From there it was on to a sandy beach town for dolphin boat rides and further on to snorkeling with schools of jack fish. We decided to spend two days in the small village Tulumben, which is famous for housing a sunken US military ship off its shore, we quickly met many of the locals, children and divers alike.







Tulumben children on the way home from school, Elaine and I on the volcano, volcanic shadows, Mount Batur