Birthday boy

At 4am I'm woken by a massive thunderstorm and all I can think about is the boys at the temple in the rain. I eventually drift back off to sleep and wake shortly after 9:00 a.m. I go for my usual morning 3 in 1 coffee and while I'm there Made tells me the boys are on their way back to the temple, but Nico seems to be on the missing list. We have another torrential thunderstorm and it absolutely pours down for over an hour. Once the rain dies down I take the bike to go where Nico is staying but as I ride along the road there's a big flood so I ditch the bike take off the flip flops and wade through the water. It's only a 5 minute walk but he's not arrived back yet. I walk back to bungalow and decide I will give it till 1pm before I start to panic. Thankfully at 1130 I get a message from Nico. He's fine and has spent the night at the temple and thoroughly enjoyed it so now I can relax. Alexandra messages me and after grabbing a bit of lunch we decide to have a go at snorkeling. The torrential rain has washed back into the sea, and as soon as we get in the water we realize the visibility is not going to be great. We swim a little further out but still it's pretty poor and decide to head back I meet a guy called Matthew who is from the Netherlands but lives just outside Ubud and is here for a 1 day dive but comes here once a month. He joins us in the evening where we celebrate Nico's birthday. I've ordered a cake and psalm wine which is produced by cutting the coconut from the tree and placing a container to collect the sap/juice. It ferments naturally and I'm shocked when the produce the large Jerry can. Are we really going to drink that all Tonight? We sit on the beach with Katut and Made playing his guitar and other members of the family who were at the temple yesterday with Nico. A glass of the psalm wine is filled and drunk and then refilled as it's passed around the circle. It actually tastes good and within an hour is the can runs dry. I order a bottle of Arak to continue the celebrations and Sali brings out Nico's cake. It's such a wonderful night. We finish the night in the bar just down the road and thankfully it's just a short walk to bed.Read more