...at least that's what we hear happens on the west side of the Bukit Peninsula - the southern tip of the island of Bali. And after the ridiculous fun of falling through the surf at Bondi Beach in Australia, we decided to plunge headfirst into a 5 day surf camp at Legian Beach.

At first glance, we are perhaps 15 years too old to be in the Kuta/Legian area of Denpasar. But after a couple of days of walking around, we noticed that it is an area that actually attracts a pretty diverse crowd in terms of age. And although this area of Bali is as over-developed as you may have already heard, this at least makes for lots of affordable options for lodging, food, and activities, and who can complain about this?

The first two days of surfing consisted of staying in the "white water" (closer to the shore where the waves have already broken) and although we were both far from consistent, we felt that we were getting a pretty good idea of when and how to stand up. On day three we graduated to "green waves" which is, well, a whole other challenge. It means that you need to make it "out back" - far enough out so that you can try to catch a wave as it is gently forming. Troy is already pretty confident about getting out back, but Clare finds it mildly terrifying. You need to wait until the sea seems like it will be calm enough to paddle out madly as fast as you can, and then be prepared to roll under the waves with your board as they hit you on the way. It is VERY hard work and exhausting. When you successfully make it out back, you are rewarded with the opportunity to sprawl face down on your board like a dead fish panting until your instructor tells you to wake up and get ready to catch a wave. We managed to catch a few, but it is definitely tricky, and if you make it far enough back to shore and celebrate, you then remember this means having to get back out again. Above all else, it is a great physical and mental workout, and there are some photos we will acquire soon that will always prove that we actually did this!

And Clare had her birthday. For her, surviving Day 4 of the surfing was a gift in and of itself, but in addition, we had some delicious traditional Indonesian cuisine at a hotel that we could never afford. (Food was reasonably priced though!)