Day 1- We got an early start, had breakfast and caught a taxi to the harbor. The ride took a little over an hour and as soon as we arrived we were swept up by a hawker and brought to a ferry that was about to leave. The process was very quick but very third world. One kid balanced both our suitcases on his head and motioned for us to follow him over a rock wall, down the beach and into the water about thigh high and onto the boat. 45 minutes later we were docking on the island of Nusa Penida. Taxi drivers and scooter renters were waiting so we grabbed a taxi. We probably over paid by about $5 but haggling is a sport and we just weren’t in the mood. Our room for the next 3 nights is a private bungalow tucked at the base of a cliff only minutes walk from the beach. No TV/cable and super slow wifi reminiscent of dial up days. No streaming videos. We can get some wifi at the restaurant up front but it’s real slow too. We ran into some problems accessing our money but were helped out by the gentleman running the bungalows. I’ll get into this in more depth as well as the ATM scam on our website. Our first day here was spent planning and exploring the beach and tiny village we are calling home for now.
Day 2. We we’re loving the vibe of Nusa Penida and got out early. Our host had ordered a scooter for us the night before so after breakfast we set out. First stop was the ATM (more on this scam later) then we drove to Kelingking beach. It’s Instagram famous because the beach is shaped like a T-Rex head. From the cliffs above you can get an amazing view and I was able to fly the drone for some great footage. You can hike down a sketchy and way too crowded path to the beach below but we opted to just enjoy the view and move on. The next stop was Peguyangan Falls. The falls are really just a few small trickles but the treat was climbing down 750 dangerous stairs to a temple. The stairs cling to the side of a cliff wall and would not be allowed in any western society due to the danger involved not to mention the poor quality. We made it down and bathed in the sacred waters then hiked back up. The hike was beautiful and breath taking. Back on the scooter we headed to the top of another cliff, Manta point. From here you can see Giant Manta Rays swimming in the clear blue waters 700 feet below. We got to see around 10 of these massive creatures. Tomorrow we will be actually going into the bay to swim with them. The average size is between 10-12 feet across. By this point we had done enough climbing and hiking and headed home for dinner and another stunning sunset on the beach. For those interested in the scam and the money problems we faced here I’ll be adding the story to this blog on our website as soon as we get to better wifi.                                                  Day 3 – Our goal for the day was to swim with the Manta Ray’s so after breakfast we went to the beach and hired a private boat to take us to a cove where the Mantas come to feed. We geared up with snorkels, fins and cameras and dove right in. The water was warm and clear with visibility up to 50+ feet. We saw a large assortment of different fish as we searched for the giant Manta Ray’s. Several times we could see them in the distance and we could hear the captain on the boat yelling directions to us as to where they could see them from the boat. Unfortunately we weren’t quick enough to get up close to them. It was still quite a rush just to be in the water with them. After 45 minutes in the cove our captain dropped us off back at our beach and let us use the snorkel gear to explore the waters off our beach. The assortment of fish in Crystal Bay was even more exciting then in the Manta Cove so we played there for about an hour. Getting out of the water was tricky as it was all coral and rocks so Alyssa’s knee and my foot got pretty beaten up but so worth it. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at our resort and over eating.
Day 4- Travel Day! We usually don’t make reservations so far in advance but since we were heading to small islands for this 10 day island hopping adventure we booked each island in advance to ensure we had a place to stay. That backfired here as we would have loved to spend another 2 days here exploring. Instead we got up early breakfast and thanked our host for all he did for us financially (more on that in my upcoming blog Nusa Penida vs The Gili Islands) then caught a taxi to the harbor where we got a ferry to The Gilis!