With a couple of days of relaxing out of the way the 6 of us jumped into a van and headed out for a day of sightseeing. As tempted as I was to bow out and spend the day luxuriating in the unmoving villa with its wonderful pool for cooling down and its delightful shower with a never-ending supply of water (it's the small things that please when you have been on a boat for so long), I have to admit it was nice to be out and about in the countryside. Our first destination was Canggu and the drive there was very interesting. We passed by rice fields and through small villages where preparation was in full swing for the upcoming Hindu festival Galungan. Decorations of tall bamboo poles decorated with young banana leaf skirts and hand woven platforms to house the many offerings made. A long woven piece of banana leaf arches over the street depicting a dragon's tail.

Soon we could see the signs for Echo Beach in Canggu and singing the song made famous by Martha and the Muffins, "Echo Beach, far away in time! Echo Beach, far away in time!" we made our way to the car park and unloaded the surfboards. The surf was not amazing but it was enough for the boys to get in and get wet. The girls sat on the stone wall overlooking the break and snapped off a couple of photos. Before long the boys were out of the water again, the only incident being a broken leg rope by Paul and we adjourned to a nearby restaurant for yet more eating. Here we discovered some words of wisdom that us girls felt all men should adhere to, carved into a wooden sign hung over the entrance to the restrooms, 'If at first you don't succeed try doing it the way your wife told you!' Aaaah, words to live by! Suitably watered and fed we headed off for Tanah Lot.

Things had changed since we were here last time, it's been years. A huge gate signifies the entry and a fee is charged, Bali doesn't seem to miss a beat when it comes to tourism and temples are big business these days. From the car park signs are placed showing the way to the temple, it is through a maze of stalls selling the usual cheap and trashy souvenirs, small coffee shops and warungs selling the obligatory Bintang. Old women by the side of the path hold out dirty hands with some type of fruit for us to try, thanks but no thanks! Others sell 'kelapa muda', young coconuts which can be refreshing on a hot day and small children crowd around us trying to sell us pens and postcards. Once we find our way through the maze we discover that there is a more direct route to the temple and the signs are there merely to make sure that we walk past every stall!

Pura Tanah Lot is translated to mean 'Temple of land in the middle of the sea', the temple literally sits on a rock that has been shaped by the ocean over thousands of years and it can only be accessed on a low tide, on a high tide it is surrounded by water. Tanah Lot was founded by Nirartha, a 15th century priest, who travelled along the South Coast before discovering the rock islands beautiful setting and resting there. Some fishermen reportedly saw him there and brought some gifts to him and he told them to build a shrine on the rock as he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese Gods. At the base of the temple poisonous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders and a giant snake created from Nirartha's scarf reportedly protects the temple. I am happy to report though that we did not encounter said snakes! Although I must admit that none of our group wandered into the cave in the base of the cliff where they are thought to rest! Tanah Lot is the most important of the seven sea temples in Bali, the temples were established within eyesight of each other in a chain around the Balinese Coast.

Mel, Gemma and I went into the small cave at the base of the rock on which the temple resides to be blessed which involved the 'nunas tirtha amertha' (invoking holy water), the water is taken from a fresh water spring coming out of the rock, it is sprinkled three times on the head, drunk and then used to wash the face three times. We weren't quite sure what to do but we seemed to stumble through it ok. The priest then placed rice on our foreheads and a frangipani behind our ear, a small donation passed hands and voila, we were purified! We were then invited to ascend the stairs which we thought would take us to the temple but was actually barred by a wooden gate and a large Indonesian man in ceremonial dress. We were not permitted to enter the temple. With nothing more to see and do we left the temple and headed back to our waiting driver and the haven of our villa in Sanur.