Sunset on Jungut Batu beach. Nusa Lembogan, Bali. July 2008.

Tropical Melancholy in Nusa Lembongan

  Indonesia: Bali - July 2008

Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation made from a post originally written in French. My apologies for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have been generated during the process. If you are reading French, click on the French flag below to access the original and correct text: 

Yes... I am in a melancholic mood tonight. I leave Nusa Lembongan to go back to Kuta, Bali, tomorrow. The return is coming.

(This article is actually posted with 24 hours late, small worries of internet connection since Lembongan ...)

Ultimate Sunset on Jungut Batu Beach

Sunset on Jungut Batu beach. Nusa Lembogan, Bali. July 2008. I console myself with a beautiful sunset on the bay of Jungut Batu.

I walk along the beach, between the kids who play kite or soccer. The tireless seaweed farmers of Nusa Lembongan continue their comings and goings until dusk, loaded with their large baskets of waterlogged sea grass.

The horizon has cleared. This evening, we can even see the volcanoes of Bali.

I will miss her, this beach ...

And then the smell of incense in the morning and evening, at the time of the offerings. And then the gecko's clucking in the middle of the night. And the strange arrangement of the stars in the immense sky, and the Moon, which takes here the shape of a boat and not of a crescent when it decreases. (Sigh...)

The beach of Jungut Batu, in Nusa Lembogan. Bali's volcanoes emerge from clouds on the horizon. July 2008.

Mola-mola (again)

I was again spoiled today, in terms of diving.

Made is my dive-master for my last day and he is good at finding the big beasts appreciated by divers. He and I are the only ones on the boat who have managed to say hello to a mola mola, !!!

Mola-mola or moonfish, in Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida. Bali, July 2008.

We will still have to wait about forty minutes under water before we can see it.

But we have something to occupy ourselves in the meantime: anemone shrimps here, moray eels there, and even a small snake hunting in the corals.

Knitted-striped snake. Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida. Bali. July 2008.

And then, when the bubbles of the other divers go away, when the last groups of divers start to go up, we stay.

Suspended in the blue, balanced by the surf, we wait at the end of the reef, quietly.

Made turns suddenly to me, widens his eyes, makes me the famous gesture that he and the other dive-masters love to do at the time of the group photos ...

The big sunfish suddenly emerges from the blue fog, completes its flight, just for us, propelled by its powerful fins. Then returns, a little quickly, from where it comes.

But still... What a nice gift for my last splash at Crystal Bay!

Walk in Nusa Ceningan

The bridge connecting the islands of Lembogan and Ceningan. Bali, July 2008. Yesterday, I overcame my siestal mood after the dives to go for a little ride on my motorcycle on Nusa Ceningan, the neighboring island, which is reached by a yellow scrap bridge.

The bridge is narrow, you have to give way.

We roll on wooden slats that make a funny noise under the wheels of the bike. There are even some missing, but it goes ...

On the other side, superb view on the strait, surveyed by the seaweed farmers at low tide. In the distance, the waves roar.

I go to the tip of Ceningan, to admire the sea.

She really does the big back, here, as in the song. There are cliffs on this side of the island that make you dizzy...

We see huge waves breaking, coming from the open sea. And it is always spectacular to observe the back of the wave which swells, disproportionately, until the moment when it crashes on the rock.

The cliffs of Nusa Ceningan. Bali, July 2008.

In a cove called Blue Bay, not far from there, the water takes on translucent colors and bubbles up with great noise, surrounded by impassable cliffs.

Blue Bay. Nusa Ceningan, Bali, July 2008.

Along the small road that runs along the strait between the two islands, kids play guide for the passing pale faces. "Beautiful view, this way!" And they don't forget to ask for their "tip" after the pictures of the panorama...

Bah. I'll play along. They do know the best viewpoints. And the two kids who escort me are nice as anything. The older one even does pretty well in English. He says he wants to continue studying languages.

The strait between Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan changes aspect from one tide to another. It is splendid...

The strait between Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan at low tide. Bali, July 2008.

View at high tide, from Nusa Lembongan, on the strait that separates it from the neighboring island, Nusa Ceningan. Bali, July 2008.

I end the evening facing the sea and the pink sky, with a tasty balinese curry washed down with a Bintang at Linda's.

No more dives, no more sunsets on Jungut Batu. It is tenacious, this melancholy of before the departure... 🙄

  Indonesia: Bali - July 2008

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  1. NE SOIS PAS TRISTE PARCE QUE C’EST FINI 🙁
    SOURIS PARCE QUE C’EST ARRIVE 🙂

    Je sais, c’est toujours dur de repartir alors qu’on est si bien en vacances!
    Good return, good very long trip !!!!
    See you soon
    Sincerely
    Jackie 😉

  2. Oh ...... Do not depress my beloved Corinne !!!! You will return ....
    And as they say so well previously:
    NE SOIS PAS TRISTE PARCE QUE C’EST FINI,MAIS SOURIS PARCE QUE C’EST ARRIVE!!!!

    In short, like every time, yes, the return is difficult, I know ... ..but you go back the head full of beautiful images, and then, you saw mola-mola !!!!
    On our side, tomorrow is our last day in Folegandros and we go to Milos which will be the last island of our journey .........

    We kiss you very hard.
    Courage for the return trip, and keep as long as possible all these beautiful images ......
    Tender kisses, sweet thoughts ... ..

    Greg and Helen.

  3. Hello,
    Sublime! Ça fait trop envie. Surtout quand ici on a réussi avoir du soleil l’autre jour entre 10h12 et 11h16.
    Your images are fabulous, sometimes peaceful and soothing, sometimes agitated.
    Je file en août à Pondichéry, comme d’hab…
    Profite bien encore et encore, jusqu’au bout du voyage.
    Kisses
    Nono

  4. @ Jackie:
    Merci pour cette belle pensee positive! Je vais la garder en tete pendant les longues heures de vol qui m’attendent…
    🙂

    @ Helene and Greg:
    N’exagerons rien, ce n’est quand meme pas la deprime. Juste une vague langueur, teintee de melancolie. Un genre de doux spleen tropical… Comme chaque fois, en fin de voyage. Je resterais bien un mois de plus, en fait! 😀
    I kiss you too, enjoy Milos. See you soon!
    8)

    @ Nono:
    Coucou Xmas, ca me fait bien plaisir de decouvrir ton petit commentaire! Je crois que c’est un peu ca qui m’inquiete dans l’idee du retour: retrouver un ciel grisatre pas tres stimulant pour le moral, et des temperatures moins clementes. Je te souhaite un tres bon voyage a Pondichery.
    Full of kisses.
    😉

  5. J’aurai bientôt l’occasion de te le dire de vive voix mais ce voyage à Bali et Sulawesi fut un enchantement permanent. Et très régulièrement grâce à tes conseils et à ta connaissance infinie de ces îles. Tu as été notre guide à distance. Mille merci. Et maintenant, à nous d’être gagnés par la nostalgie du décompte des derniers instants avant le départ…

    1. @Gilles K: un “enchantement permanent” ? Ah ! Comme je suis contente… J’ai hâte que vous me racontiez tout ça de vive voix… Profitez bien de ces derniers jours !!!
      8)

  6. Hallo Corinne,
    ich finde Ihre Fotos und Reiseberichte sehr gut! Die Berichte sind kurz, information and details.
    Bei den Fotos bekommt man immer schnell Fernweh. Werde in kürze erst wieder ein paar Wochen in Spanien / Costa Blanca breast. Im November geht es dann wieder nach Manado / Nordsulawesi zum Tauchen. Bin schon auf Ihre nächsten Fotoberichte gespannt!
    Liebe Grüße, salam manis, Walter 🙂

  7. Ah souvenir, souvenir…. j’y ai laissé en mai dernier, un masque panoramique Beuchat au fin fond des eaux de Nusa Lembongan 😕

  8. Petite pensée souriante pour vous depuis Nusa Lembongan où nous venons de dîner par hasard au Linda ˋ s bungalows, et où je lis votre article de retour à notre logement … Le seafood basket était bon et la bintang fraîche 🙂 Comme d’habitude vous intéressez aussi bien les plongeurs que les non plongeurs comme nous, merci !

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