Wrapping Up A Week in Balangan

Almost a week down in Bali. It's felt a lot more busy than Siargao. In part, because surfing here has involved a drive to a break most days, sometimes two times a day. So, you end up spending around 2 hours in back and forth per session, plus 2-3 for the session... you can do the math. Barely time for naps. Plus, the bigger surf group (some Brits, Germans, Italians, my friend Lizzie from SF) has meant more social hang out time than the lazy afternoons in a hammock in the 'pines.

After my dismal outing last reported at White Rock, I returned the next day and had some success. The first 45 minutes were more of the same, but I tried to really study what the waves were doing, how the current was pulling us down the reef, where/how people were getting into them, and harnessing my frustration and turning it into a commitment to charge over the edge. It finally started clicking. It required taking late, steep drop ins, over a fairly shallow reef that got more shallow as you went down the line. But once I'd made a couple, I found a good rhythm and caught waves until I literally couldn't paddle out one more time. Totally stoked. I was exhausted going up the long climb up the cliff (White Rock has a steep set of stairs carved into the cliff that goes on forever--reportedly 200 steps. I haven't counted. The day before I was so frustrated, I turned it into a punishing cardio workout and probably got my heart up to 170 or so... Supris, one of the Balinese kids who guide us, was clearly determined to stay with me but I could here him wheezing and gasping about halfway up. He finally stopped to "admire the view" near the top. He's a great surfer, but I don't seem him racing bikes.)

We came back the next day. Conditions were less consistent and it was back to frustration. I caught one good wave, fell off of two, and chickened out of one monster to my backside. I eventually paddled in and enjoyed the setting sun lighting up the gorgeous reef at the end of the world. I could also see why I'd been struggling. Where I'd been fighting the current was a lot of big, closeout surf. Our guide Jessi paddled in (who I saw take several severe beatings on the many closeouts that were on order for the day) and asked how it had gone. I said poorly. She responded, "Well, that's surfing isn't it? The bad days make the good ones seem that much sweeter."

The next morning, I woke up literally at the first light cracked the horizon. I waxed my board and headed for the beach. Incredibly, I was still the second person to make the line up. It was probably the best day here at Balagan so far, which is not saying much. I had two of the best sessions of my life here last year, but the surf has been quite different. Still, there were really clean, glassy, fast breaking waves peeling off the reef, mostly waist high but very occasionally shoulder-to-head high. The drop in was so fast... and almost every wave turned into a quick close out at some point... the only question was where. It happened so fast you were sure to get a minor to major beating. I dropped in on one of the largest waves to roll through, a bit hastily and a bit deep. The drop was lighting fast and the face was practically vertical. It felt like I had only a few inches of my inside rail actually in the wave (which I'm sure was actually the case). It was a bit overhead as I hit the trough and I could see it feathering above me--I thought I might be about to get barreled. Instead, with dismay I saw the face bowl up about 15 feet in front of me and the hole thing closed out as I was pulling in up the face (to get my fantasy barrel). I wish I had video of that it was a beating worth sharing. Anyway, it was a fun session with a nice haul of racy little waves and a relatively relaxed vibe after the bigger, more challenging stuff we've been surfing all week.

In the afternoon, we went into Kuta, the tourist stronghold of Bali. Picked up some board shorts, got a good massage and strolled around for an hour being reminded how much Kuta sucks. Careening scooters, drunken foreign idiots, 5 foot wide alleys with mult-directional traffic, ominpresent touts selling stuff, dirt, noise, yuck. Bali seems even busier than I remember and there is development happening everywhere. I hope the Balinese are getting their piece of the pie, but I've been told its largely Chinese investors who are making all the money.

Today has been a lazy day of rest, recovery and Bin Tang. Balangan is dead flat. The foot has gotten pretty sore again, not so much from surfing I think but rather from the long hikes up and down cliffs to get to the breaks.

Tomorrow, we're up at dawn for a morning session. Then I leave Balangan and head north to a small hamlet called Balian. A couple from Santa Cruz who were staying here raved about the place and said it was a incredibly peaceful place. And the coastal set up tends to amplify whatever small swell is in the water so hopefully there will be some good waves up there.