“but my friends call me Mango”

Heading to the beach on a Sunday morning starts out full of promise, but when the surf breaking on the first beach was the distinct colour of a “double-double” (coffee with cream and sugar) and on our way to an alternate second beach we drove through a tropical storm, it was hard to remain optimistic about the planned beach day. But since we had arranged to meet my sister and her English boyfriend who had just flown in from France we were determined to at least meet them before calling the whole thing off. After some wrong turns we met at a beach on the Bukit Peninsula called Geger Beach. Can't say hopes were high, but we hid out in the beach side restaurant and ate lunch while the heavens opened and rain poured.

But just as we finished our meal, “out came the sun and dried up all the rain.” The beach was white shell sand, the water crystal clear and the picturesque surf broke on a reef in the distance making for calm inshore waters. Alex rented a kayak, we flew our kite and we all had lots of time to catch up with my sister.

A couple of things happened at the beach. First, it became clear just how much Alex misses his work. He told me that he'd been walking past a surfer who was bleeding from his heel who looked Alex in the eyes and, for some reason asked him “are you a doctor?” Alex examined him and discovered his Achilles tendon was nicked so he advised him to get some sutures. Instead the guy picked up some gauze and bandages from a nearby store and Alex advised him on how to make the best of it with what he had.

It happened that this affable man and his friend were sitting in the beach chairs next to us and so we began to chat. He is from Maui, Hawaii and lives in the town next to a friend of ours. We talked about some favourite spots like Paia's Flatbread Pizza and we asked his advice about good beaches for kids to learn to surf in Bali. He clearly knows the water inside and out as he could explain minute aspects of the surf such as slight leans of the waves based on some ocean current. He was very outgoing and made sure to know all of our names saying to Ava, “Hello Ava, my name is Christopher, but my friends call me Mango” and was very courteous to everyone introducing us, who he had just met, by name. This leads to the second noteworthy aspect of the afternoon.

Our friend in Maui has shown us DVDs of surfers doing unbelievable, gravity-defying acts. These experts make surfing the waves look like being out for a gentle stroll. We also saw a movie about some men who developed Stand Up Paddle boards and hydrofoils. When this man told Ava that he is also known as Mango something tickled a memory from those DVDs we watched with our friend. In a very understated way he mentioned to Alex he makes stand up paddle boards and would give Alex a deal on one if he is interested - this was another hint.

When we got home we looked on Google and it turns out that we were sitting with Christopher “Mango” Carafino one of the men we watched on those surf DVDs with another famous surfer, Laird Hamilton. He invented something called a hydrofoil and has been very big in stand up paddle boarding. He has his own company that makes kite surfs, hydrofoils and stand up paddle boards. We've seen "Carifino" paddle boards fairly often. Once we realized this we had a giggle since Alex had innocently asked if this guy had ever tried paddle boarding which is a little like asking if Mozart ever heard the song “Twinkle Twinkle.”

But, I must say, couldn't be a nicer guy!

Anyway, just wanted to share another day in Bali...

Riah

Never say never

For the first several weeks we were here the idea of self-navigating the Balinese roads presented a daunting prospect of doom and death. But the practicalities of relying on a driver to get us around meant that we were not doing as much with our days as we wanted. In quintessentially Canadian fashion there were times I didn't want to "interrupt" our driver's day with my whims of wanting to go here and there.

One afternoon Alex made a spur of the moment decision to rent a motor scooter. He happily set off with the wind at his back (what was it he said about Easy Rider?) while my visiting parents, (Jan and Ron) and I waited around in the heat for the driver. That was a month

ago and in the time since we have been becoming increasingly brave. In one especially Balinese moment we had Alex, Maia, Ava and me on a bike all at once. As you can imagine, that was tight so the ride lasted only until the closest rental shop and resulted in a second scooter. I now have my own pink scooter and we've gone on family outings by scooter.

The act of renting a motor bike is a funny experience. Basically we hand over 500 000 Indonesian Rupiah (about $60) for a months rental, the shopkeeper asks for our passports which we never have (they're with the visa people) we are asked where we are staying and for a phone number which is apparently sufficient to hand over the key. I have had to ask them when the expect the bike back and was even given extra days because February only had 28 days (?!). No insurance documents, no rental contracts, nothing. In fact, I realize as I write this that I don't want spend a lot of time thinking about it because it seems even more reckless than the act of driving the scooters in the first place. Enough said about that.

Back to the scooters; I love it and am having so much fun riding around. We stick to an area about 10 km square. In the morning the girls head off to school and after checking in with the world by internet Alex and I hop on the scooters, sometimes with Jan and Ron as passengers, and head off down the road. It's not possible to go very quickly because even if the cars, dogs, chickens, street vendors pushing trolleys, and push bikes weren't enough to keep things slow, the innumerable pot holes act as speed bumps.

The kids love it! Chloe absolutely cannot understand why we won't just give her the keys so she can ride off on her own. Maia stands in front of our knees and looks out the front watching the world go by. Ava sits behind giving me a big hug and talking all about everything as we ride along. It feels so nice.

Riah

Cold 2 Mold!

One of the best things about Yellowknife is that you can dry a towel after leaving the shower in about 5 minutes – well maybe not that quickly. It is amazing that you can leave a package of stone wheat thins open and they don't go soft overnight. The millions of static electricity shocks that you get just trying to kiss your sweetie can make that dry air a bit annoying but it has it's moments.

Well after a few months in the rainy season in Bali the ultra dry (15% humidity in winter) air seems like a good friend that's left town for a while. I pulled my belt out to look at it the other day and it was completely covered in a light green mold (yuck!).

I like to exercise and at home my gym clothes may smell a bit but here they are soaking wet after a run in the 27 degree heat and then they get to sit in my backpack for a while and you can guess the conclusion ... Pee euw!! Most of these gym clothes smell like a mushroom farm. My shoes are at risk of being confiscated as biological weapons!

Today I joined the ultimate drop in game at the Green School. It was loads of fun trying to keep up with the grade 9 kids. I tell myself that most of them have had longer to acclimatize to the heat. After about an hour running back up and down the field I had to take my shirt off to cool off. The poor shirt I was wearing looked like it had been dropped into the river after the game! Then I bring it home and --- yikes another biological weapon.

The suitcases we brought from Canada have to come out to the porch every few days to air out. The ID tag I somehow brought from work in Yellowknife is caked in mold. Oh Why did I bring that?!!

Fortunately, my acoustic guitar that I brought down here is in heaven. It is recovering from too many dry months in Yellowknife. So at least there is a bright side to walking around in slightly damp clothing all day!

So for all my northern friends, you may be cold but you aren't covered in mold!