Our next adventure with Sasha and Julian was to the small island of Nusa Lembongan. The Nusas consist of three islands, Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Cennigan, and Nusa Penida. Although only 11 miles from hectic south Bali, the Nusas are known for its quiet beaches, slow-paced village living (the population of Nusa Lembongan is only 5,000) and great surfing and snorkeling. We hopped on a fast boat from the town of Sanur in Bali, and within 30 minutes we were in Nusa Lembongan. As we approached Lembongan we immediately noticed how blue and clear the water was, and also how undeveloped the coastline was (lots of small boats, but no towering hotels or sprawling resorts).

Lembongan has one “town” area, so taxis aren’t really necessary. We walked along the beach for about 10 minutes until we arrived at our small, family run hotel.  There is a shallow reef that encircles the entire island and produces some great surf, so we didn’t waste anytime renting a moped and beginning our search for surf.  Lembongan has just one paved road and lots of intersecting smaller dirt and gravel roads with tons of potholes, so driving was a bit adventerous (the mopeds on the island go and up down battered roads much more suited for dirt bikes). We followed the one paved road until it ended, then took the curvy road up the hill, and turned right at the very bumpy ride that led down to the beach. After about a 10 minute drive, we arrived at Song Lambung Beach. Song Lambung is a small white sand cove that fronts a surf spot known as Playgrounds, which is the only surf spot on the island you can get to without a boat (the other spots are further off the coast and notorious for having very shallow reefs).  The other two spots on the island are called Lacerations and Shipwrecks, which both sound pretty intimidating. Within minutes, we rented boards and were enjoying beautiful chest to head high surf at Playgrounds.

On the way back to our hotel from Playgrounds, we stopped on the side of the road to enjoy the sunset and snap some photos of the Lembongan coast with Bali’s Mount Agung (10,000 feet) in the background. Night life in Lembongan consisted of eating dinner and watching a movie at Jungut Batu Restaurant and Theater.  Although it was entertaining to relax on futons and bean bags and watch a big screen movie, Jungut Batu has a very small kitchen and one cook, and we imagined meals were prepared in the order they were received (including our pie and ice cream desserts, which took just under two hours to get; fortunately we were preoccupied with a funny movie). This was also a great opportunity for us to practice patience, for which our Hindu hosts are known for.

Our second day in Lembongan began with enjoying larger surf at Playgrounds, and fighting a much stronger current than the day before.  Sasha discovered a great little infinity pool and restaurant that overlooked the surf, and we rested our weary arms and enjoyed a delicious lunch.  We also met an owner of a small boat anchored at Song Lambung Beach, and we negotiated a three hour private snorkel charter with him for $35. He motored us past the thick mangrove forests of northern Lembongan to the neighbor island of Nusa Penida. The reef was healthy and alive with colors, and we also swam with some really yellowfin large tuna. On the way back to Nusa Lembongan we got a great glimpse of the surfspots known as Lacerations and Shipwrecks, and although our boat was about 100 yards out past the break, the swell passing under our boat was monsterous (i think it made all four of us feel a little weak in the knees).

We spent our second and final night in Lembongan fine tuning our patience at Jungut Batu, before catching the 11am fast boat back to Bali the following morning.