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Français
Lovina Beach... The name is pretty, but I have mixed feelings about the place. Here, the tourist pressure is certainly less than in Kuta-Legian-Seminyak. However, I have the impression that I was more solicited than elsewhere by the tireless sellers of sarongs and other trinkets!
Lovina Beach: black sand beaches
The solicitations of the trinket sellers are not really bad, though. Again, it is enough to move away from the heart of Lovina, that is to say the end of the beach and the two streets of restaurants and hotels spread around the dolphin monument (the village of Kalibukbuk), to be comfortable. In short, you have to go straight to the east or straight to the west...
Otherwise, the black sand beach is rather beautiful, and the colors of prahusthe traditional boats with rockers, aligned on the beach, are the most beautiful effect. The coast, protected by the reef, is much better for swimming than the dangerous rolls of Kuta.
Meditation at Brahma Vihara Arama Monastery
Not being a fan of beach pleasures, I went for a ride on my scooter, again.
This nice walk of a few kilometers led me to a curious Buddhist monastery, the Brahma Vihara Aramawhose decoration mixes Balinese monsters and "Buddhasseries" with a very kitsch aesthetic...
It is in fact a place of retreat, where people come to meditate.
The silence is de rigueur and one crosses the "meditators", many Asians, some Westerners, walking with infinitely slow steps, around the pretty water lily ponds and the various prayer buildings. Others are sitting cross-legged in small huts with transparent curtains, immersed in their silent meditations...
I was at the show... A soothing and fun stop!
Banjar, the hot and blown water springs
Just minutes away, there are air panas BanjarIt is a popular place to relax. It is a popular place to relax.
We come there with our families, to wade in the pools of blown water. Yellow-brown-green color not very engaging, and it emanates a vague smell that reminds the chemistry courses...
I didn't really feel like taking a dip, but the atmosphere is fun as hell.
And on the way, we cross some nonchalant villages, where the men chat on the doorsteps and greet the foreigner who passes by on a motorcycle, while the women carry huge bundles of wood on their heads...
Dolphin safaris
Finally, the big attraction of Lovina is the sea trips to see the dolphins, at dawn. I have been hesitating since yesterday, but tonight, my decision is made: I will not go to see the dolphins.
First of all, I have already seen them. But above all, going to chase these poor animals in motorboats doesn't tell me anything... I shuddered at the comment of a young and nice couple who was with me in the bus and whom I met again tonight: "It was fun chasing them!"
😱
Certainly, the dolphin safarisThis is a good thing for the local economy and for the cartel of boat captains who compete for this precious commodity that is the tourist. But I am sure that this frenzy around the dolphins is not beneficial at all... To be avoided, therefore, because as far as I could judge, these trips do not respect the animals at all...
The villages I passed through in the hinterland and the more peaceful places on the beach gave me an idea of what Lovina must have been like in the past. A quiet place and surely nicer than it is today. There is a good choice of hotels and guesthouses, good restaurants, but I will not stay here too long. Lovina is singularly lacking in atmosphere.
Tomorrow, I'll have a look under the surface to see the state of the reef here, then I'll go to Pemuteran the day after tomorrow, to dive around the island of Menjangan, at the very end of the western peninsula of Bali.
