Australian rules in Legian

We've been staying in Legian, Bali the last few days. The weather is perfect with sunny days and consistent highs of 28 with lows of 24 Celsius. The kids had two days of surfing lessons, two hours each day. They acquired a lot of rashes and scrapes from their lessons though, so they took a break today to rest and heal up. John's fingertips were scraped up somehow, and when he did his math homework on his iPad later in the day he complained that some blood was streaking his screen - yuck. They might try skipping the lessons tomorrow and we'll just rent the boards. I might try a boogie board - that's more my speed I think.

We have been strolling along the beach near sundown the last couple of days. The first time we walked along the long beach we went south and walked through a couple of small streams which were emptying into the sea. After the second stream we noticed a sewage smell. We cleaned our feet after that and started walking the other way. There is definitely room for infrastructure improvement here, especially to maintain such a beautiful beach.

The late afternoon was also the time for the local Balinese to flock to the beach. Many local families had headed out to enjoy the sand and sea. Local teenagers were playing soccer games up and down the beach, and Australian kids were kicking footballs around. Locals and tourists were jogging along the flat and wide beach which was ideal for running. We saw people riding horses, and there were a couple of weddings going on. A lot of people were lounging or sitting on beanbag chairs having a drink.

We saw one guy walking along with what looked like a weasel or otter following him. We were so transfixed watching the animal pass that we didn't notice a huge wave coming our way that soaked us. The wave immersed the weasel as well, but its owner just plucked it out of the sea before it was sucked back into the ocean by the riptide. The animal was happy enough and they continued their walk together.

The waves are calm early in the day and pick up for ideal surfing later in the morning. After that the conditions get rougher. By late afternoon the waves are truly awesome in power, and break with such strength that it creates an ominous low rumbling sound. It reminded me of huge white galloping horses. We saw a few foolhardy souls trying to surf these waves, but they didn't have much success. I thought they were risking their lives. The whole beach was marked with red flags, some with skull and crossbones, to warn people not to go out there.

The North Queensland Broncos beat the Brisbane Cowboys 17 to 16 in the National Rugby League finals at the Sydney Olympic Stadium today. The only reason I know this is because we're in Legian, Bali, where the tourists must be 95% Australian with a few Kiwis mixed in. There always seems to be a rugby or Australian-rules football game going on that fills the pubs along the streets with cheering fans. Just this evening we were walking home from dinner when we heard yelling coming from a bar. It turned out to be a large older man who was demonstrating the Haka, based on a Maori war chant, which is always performed by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team before the start of their games. I think he was doing his old team proud.

That's the thing about this place. We're more exposed to Australian culture here than Balinese culture. I don't know how many times someone has called me mate - ga'day mate! The kids have been playing with some Australian kids at the hotel pool, and it's fun to listen to them exchange stories about their homelands. One kid wanted to verify Elizabeth's claim, and so asked Catheleen if it's true that people in Canada really pour maple syrup onto the snow and then eat it. He didn't believe it.

The Australians have great beaches themselves but must come here to stretch their tourist dollar further. It's calmer here in Legion but I understand there is some hard partying going on nearby to the south in Kuta, where the terrorist bombing took place back in 2002.

Here's Elizabeth showing us how it's done.