Back in Kampung Bugis, Part IV, and Life in the Bali Sea

We’ve had guests for the past few days so I haven’t had time to blog, although I have been snorkeling. My friend, Stephen, his son, Oliver, Stephen’s friend, Ade, and Stephen’s driver, Wahid, came up from Kuta to visit for a few days. I enjoyed having them all visit; it’s been a while since I’ve had a friend visit the house. Of course, like most teachers, we talked a lot about school and education, but that’s one of the hazards of the profession – getting wrapped up in what we do.

The kids have been out of school for most of the week; we have family up from Denpasar because of the Nyepi holiday so the house has been very busy this week. Today is Kuningan so prayers from the Hindu temple just down the beach have been going on for hours now.

I let Mercedes and Rebecca drive up to Bedugal today for a treat. Lots of trepidation on my part because the roads can be so dangerous here, but I guess that I have to start to let go some as Mercedes is almost an adult – she’ll be 18 in a few months, and Rebecca will be 16 not long afterwards. Still, I’m waiting anxiously for her to call me to say that she has arrived safely in Bedugal.

I’ve been taking hundreds of photos with my Olympus underwater camera, as well as a lot of short movies. The water has been quite clear and some of the photos have come out quite clear, but I’m still working on how to use the camera. Today’s photo is of a fish that I have always called a tiger barb because I used to have Tiger Barbs when I was a kid. I’ve been going through my Collins Pocket Guide: Coral Reef Fishes, Indo-Pacific and Caribbean, to identify this fish. It seems to be an angelfish, butterfly fish or a damselfish. Based on a drawing on Page 74, I think that it is a damselfish. If anyone recognizes it, I would love to hear if I am correct in my classification.

Today’s anti-work quote is:
“Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do.”
—Oscar Wilde