Leaving, not leaving

After breakfast is served to our room we are due to go to Gili Air on the boat at 900am but I've done something to my foot and really need to rest it before my hike on Sunday. I chill out at my cabin for the first part of the morning before hiring a snorkel and joining Bobby at the beach. We see a couple of tourist boats and once they've cleared off swim out to the point where you physically see the water get deeper as it changes from a beautiful turquoise to a darker blue in the hope of seeing turtles but as we get out there the other boats ask us to leave and it is quite dangerous with so many boats coming in and out. It's a lot further out than I expected so we come back and I enjoy fresh fish for lunch. I'm glad we've decided to stay as across the other side of the island are there are statues beneath the sea level a project called 'Nest' created by sculptor and underwater photographer Jason DeCaires Taylor. Placed to act as an artificial reef, there are 48 human like silhouettes and the algae growing around them also attracts an array of fish. As we're walking Bobby stops for an ice lolly and as he's walking along we pass a group of 11 kids. They all say hi and Bobby shouts "who wants an ice cream" Bobby heads back to the shop like the pied Piper with all the kids following him. They are so happy but when one of them throws the wrapper on the floor he tells them to pick it up and put it in the bin. They all follow suit and the round of ice cream costs less than our lunch. We continue to the statues and from the beach swim the 200m to reach them, barely swimming above the coral. They are mind-blowing although we don't stay long as it's packed with boats bringing in tourists from the surrounding islands. A little further along we stop and share a beer before I have one last attempt to see turtles. The swim out to the drop point where the turtles hang out is much more taxing and the current a lot stronger but I persist and eventually the water starts getting deeper filled with neon blue fish, huge angel fish the odd Barracuda and many more. In the water is a guy with a spear gun and he tells me there is a turtle and points with his spear gun. At first I don't see her but then I see her head poking out from the rock and she is massive I sit back and watch her glide through the water trying not to invade her space. I'm so chuffed and start my swim for shore only to be stung by a jelly fish and scraping my leg on the coral. When I catch up with Bobby and ask if he saw her he says no and that's how it goes sometimes your just lucky. It's only a short walk back now and along route we encounter a herd of cows with a baby calf as well as a pair of cats having a full on stand off screaming match. In the evening we enjoy a few games of pool then an early night as we're heading to Lombok tomorrow.Читать далее