Medewi

Left to right: Celine, Banker, Wayan, Sean, Mariano and Paita

07.25.08: I’m sitting here with a rash and feet so cut up that I can barely walk on them, trying to figure out how long we actually stayed in Medewi. Yep! We had an awesome time there! (I think it was 8 days.) Thanks Kevin, who we met in Kata, Thailand, for the tip on Medewi. You were spot on!

So, we got a ride from Ketut, who works at our villa in Seminyak but had the day off, to go 2+ hours up north to Medewi. The villa we stayed at for the first two days, we booked online last minute. It had an ocean view because that was all that was available. But, after staying at our brand new “oasis” in Seminyak, the place still seemed really overpriced and a bit worn. Although there was a nice reef right outside where Kai got to check out all the ocean creatures like sea urchins, local reef fish, and even an octopus swimming around in the pools at low tide, it was also not right at Medewi. You had to catch a ride from the hotel shuttle a couple kilometers down the street or walk about twenty minutes along the beach. It might have also been that my stomach still wasn’t doing good (which finally subsided after a couple days with the help of GSE and charcoal), but overall we were not impressed with it. Besides Sean trying to do a little fishing off the reef (but not catching anything), our only other goal there was to start looking for another place right at Medewi.

After two days, we moved to Medewi Beach Cottages. This place was not anything to rave about either. Our first room was really dark and even more “worn”, but at least the price was appropriate, it had a nice pool and it was right there. I suppose, if we weren’t a “family” and didn’t spend as much time inside, it would have done just fine. But after a couple days, an ocean view room became available, which was way more spacious and had a large window that looked out to the beach which let in light.

As far as Medewi itself, we spent most of our time with Sean and me switching off surfing and teaching Kai to swim at the pool, along with a couple massages, one not so good and one great one. There’s not a lot out there. As a matter of fact, no internet access except one computer with a modem line at the first place we stayed at. Also, there were only about three places to eat, all of which were not great. But, we made some great friends there. First, there was Abe and Darrah from Kauai. They were there for Abe’s work. His partner, Peter from Australia, lives in Medewi where he puts together Bale Maker pre-fab Balinese wooden houses, and then ships them over to Abe in Hawaii, who puts them up. We definitely want to check those out further. It was perfect to talk to them since we’ll be going to Kauai in October for a wedding. We also look forward to that local style BBQ that Abe kept talking about. Abe and Darrah had full-on Hawaiian style going on! Next, we met Banker and Celine from SF, who were on their honeymoon. We had a lot in common and instantly felt like we had been friends forever. (We haven’t been around Californians for a while!) They both totally charge out in the water! We had a great time with them, especially when we all got invited to Mariano and Wayan’s house (incidentally, Wayan does a GREAT massage!), a local family, for a Balinese dinner of some awesome crab in coconut milk curry, rice and grilled fish topped with a sweet, hot sauce. After dinner, we ran into Jacques and Cheryl from Australia, who are building their house in Medewi. (Poor Cheryl! Every time I saw her, I’d drill her about what it takes to buy land and build. We definitely want to know more about this!) They clued us in on this cart that made what Celine calls “Bad Pancakes” (she doesn’t usually eat wheat either), which were like a waffle sandwich, without the waffle ridges, filled with local Bali chocolate, lots of butter, crushed peanuts and sweetened condensed milk. Yummmmm! After Banker and Celine left, we spent some time hanging out with Roland from Guam. He also felt very familiar and seemed very Californian, maybe because he went to school in San Diego and had family in the Bay Area. Shaun from New Zealand leaves every winter to escape the cold. He helped us out with some places to check out there. Hopefully, we can meet up his fiancé when we get there. There were also James and Erik, a couple of single guys from Manly Beach, Australia, looking for some action at a resort predominately occupied with families and couples. Manly is a place where we are considering staying at when we go to Sydney, so they gave us some good info. Then there were another few Californians we chatted with, a family from Marin County, and Tim and Ann from Monterey, whose kids finally left the house so they are finally getting their “second honeymoon”. (Yes, I know the feeling!) Their first was spent at Plaskett Creek. (Ahhh…we miss camping there!...although we hear it’s seeing it’s share of fire right now.) Last but not least, there were the local boys, five of them, all in their 20’s, from a family of eight, and they all surf and hung out right at their mom’s little “warung” at the point, where she sold drinks and snacks. They are also who we rented boards and booties from, and one of the brothers, Harris, drove us back down south when we left Medewi.

As far as the beach, it’s a pretty long left point break, a kind of a mushy break that could bowl up once in awhile on the inside, surrounded by rocks and lots of sea urchins. The waves get better during high tide and so does the paddle in and out. But nothing beats the morning with no wind and nothing but glass with maybe a hand full of people. I let Sean surf the first day when the swell hit, and then went the next day when it was dying down a bit. The selection of boards to rent was fairly dismal. The best we could find was a 6’ 10” which had finger-groove pressure dings on the rails. It floated, but I was already nervous enough being in foreign water surrounded by rocks. Needless to say, I didn’t catch much and was REALLY missing our boards in CA, especially because almost everyone else had their own boards with them. To top it off, I seemed to catch some type of rash. They say there are little “sea lice” out in the water that can bite you. So, just as my body finally got “used to” mosquito bites that were soooo uncomfortable for me (incidentally, there are virtually none here), I was itching like a flea-bitten dog again. But finally, I broke out the homeopathic remedy kit and either the Ledum or Rhux eased it.

The second time I went out, we at least found some old long board with fins way too small for it. It was a bit chattery, but it worked. The tide was pushing to high, the waves were well overhead outside and there were some huge clean-up sets that pulled me under. First, one pulled out my ponytail. Then, another held me under so long that I had time to wonder if I’d had enough air. The last tossed me around enough that I couldn’t tell which end was up until I opened my eyes to see where the sun was shining from. But then, I lost my contact lens. After that, I decided I’d better work my way in. When I finally caught a wave inside, my hair, one big dreadlock at that point, was covered over my half-blind eyes. So, I spent half the wave pulling it away so I could see. When I got out, I decided I had enough of Medewi waters. An Australian guy who paddled out with me ended up getting out at the same time as me. He had nothing else to say except what I was thinking.

Next, it was Sean’s turn. He immediately woke up first thing in the morning, itching pretty bad to go again. When he finally came out, a half a day later, he had a big smile on his relieved-looking face. He said he finally got the monkey off his back and that it was one of his more epic sessions ever. I didn’t think much of it. But our last morning there, I changed my mind (with a little encouragement from my other half, who added this line in) and decided to go out again before breakfast. After I rented the long board, I went to Hadi who always had booties for me to rent. This time, someone got them before me. So, I walked out over the rocks, with no booties, during low tide. I kept my eye out for urchins, but still all the rocks were covered with little prickly barnacle things. Out in the water, I could feel my feet in the water were all slashed from the walk out. I was patient and finally a good set came through and a wave right to me. I was a little slow getting up but at least made the section so I could take it all the way to the end. At that point, I knew that I too had gotten the monkey off my back. :-D After waiting a bit, I decided I’d better go in before Sean, Kailani and Harris would be waiting for me so we could leave town. Getting out was the next issue. I tried my best, but it was just too hard to avoid not slipping on the rocks at least a few times. After my shower, Sean got to play doctor on my feet for about an hour, pulling out a couple urchin spines and scrubbing out the dirt from the inside of my cuts with a toothbrush. I hadn’t even eaten breakfast, but the pain was enough to “need” a beer to handle it. I still get the chills thinking about that toothbrush! As I’m typing right now, I’m getting more use out of my homeopathic remedy kit by soaking me feet in a tincture of Hypericum (for nerve damage), along with some calendula (heals the skin) and GSE (antibiotic). Next will probably be some Silica to expel the spines that Sean couldn’t get out. Ahhh….Medewi!

PS: I take it back about “no mosquitoes”. Later that night, one of those stupid buggers snuck into our room and bit us all up while we were sleeping!