Adventure day

Posted on October 1, 2017 Updated on October 1, 2017

We decided we would have a ‘adventure day’ every week, and now that Jordan, Teresa, Daniel and Nico are here, we had some places to show them!

The first place is the Jambe Budaya, which is the play we’d seen before depicting Hindu beliefs concerning good and evil. Barong, being the good spirit,

and Rangdon being the evil spirit.

Costumes are so colorful and characters intensely dramatic.

An orchestra of Indonesian instruments constantly at play – repetitious melodies that carry on in ones mind for hours after leaving.

Finally Rangdon is defeated, and offerings are made to the Gods.

Once we left there we took them to Pura Tirta Empul, the Temple of Holy Water. All who enter are required to wear sarongs, and the boys have decided that a sarong should be a part of every mans wardrobe!

I told Jordan and Aidan I’d take them sarong shopping one of these days!
The temple was especially busy as worshippers came to plead with the Gods to still Mt Agung and keep it from erupting.

Many cleansed themselves and lay offering down before cleansing.

Others were cleansed by high priests,

and others simply presented offerings on altars and prayed.

Statues were decorated and ornaments hung,

while hundreds of women sat in the temple preparation areas and prepared offerings.

Some made small baskets from palm leaves for offerings to be placed in.

In a different area, men husked coconuts in preparation for ceremony as well.

I was so impressed by their faith and commitment to what is important to them. They were One in spirit, united in their faith.

The sun was hot, and after resting for a while, we worked up an appetite.

I love these quiet moments when overwhelming love is felt, souls feel understood, and concerns become quiet.

(Notice Jude’s shoes – ripped apart from the reef as we salvaged what we could from our shipwrecked home. She loves her Vans shoes and we can’t find any in Indonesia. She won’t give them up!)

Once we were hungry and tired we got goofy…

and so did our friends!!!

Our driver, Sihol, drove us to a cool quiet spot in the middle of rice fields, to eat.

I love the sound of a rice field…the air is always refreshing as the breeze carries cool air across wet dirt, and song bird melodies compete with the cling clang of tin against tin hanging from scarecrows and whimsical hand made pinwheels. A lone rooster raised its head and watched me as I passed.

The creatures ventured out in search of adventure, and stopped short when they came across a black and yellow poisonous snake hanging from a palm tree.

Our final expedition was to the monkey forest, where both Jordan and I were christened with monkey pee!

Jordan raced for the drinking fountain to wash off and I doused myself in water from my water bottle. We decided that the two of us are going to become super hero monkey men and will soon be able to climb trees and swing from whatever we darn well please.