Turnbull Family Pacific Tour 2015

Yesterday we went snorkelling on a glass bottom boat. The wooden boat was pretty basic with a couple of glass boxes covered in algae which prohibited much of the view. And I wasn't impressed when we were more or less crammed in with 50 other people, but all was forgiven after we arrived at our first snorkelling site. We were diving in the middle of the ocean between two Gili islands, drifting with the current. We followed our guide, who was an expert at spotting turtles on the sea bottom that I couldn't spot. He would then dive down 20 or 30 feet to nudge the turtle, who would slowly swim away. What a thrill to swim with the turtles. Sometimes they would swim to the surface to catch a breath, and one time John was able to touch one and then swim along with it. We went to two locations before lunch and two places in the afternoon. At two locations we searched and found turtles, who rested deep down on the seabed. The other two times we saw some spectacular coral and fish. The co...

The seafood is very good here in Gili Air. Yesterday we had excellent fish tacos, and the night before Catheleen had Mahi Mahi in a garlic sauce which she said was good. Today before the sun had set we went out to get some gelato ice cream. Along the way we saw today's catch on display for dinner at one of the restaurants. The seafood included multi-coloured parrot fish and bright red grouper fish. We've done some snorkelling off the beach over the last couple of days and I'm pretty sure we saw similar fish while they were alive. Catheleen said she wasn't interested in eating the fish after seeing them swim among the coral, but don't think I mind. This afternoon we witnessed how some of the fish are caught as we sat on the beach enjoying lunch. About six men, each with 25 foot poles, waded out about 100 meters through the shoals up to their waists and cast their lines into the deeper blue water. This is the same place we were snorkelling earlier and the fishermen we...

Tuesday evening John and I went for dinner by ourselves and listened to some Singaporeans perform a Karaoke version of "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond. The whole place was getting into the groove with its catchy (or kitschy) "Sweet Caroline, Ba, Ba, Ba...". All the while we watched the Just for Laughs show from Montreal where pranks are pulled on Montrealers, without any speaking or commentary. I wonder whether this show is popular elsewhere. It seemed to be popular here - everyone was watching it, including the local staff. I always get a kick out of the Americana and sometimes Canadiana on display when I'm abroad. Yesterday in a convenience store I heard a couple of Balinese girls who were minding the till sing along to an Avril Lavigne tune. They hardly spoke English, but that didn't matter - they liked the song. Wednesday morning we took a fast boat to our next stop, Gili Islands. I was a little concerned when the staff offered anti-nausea medication ...

Last night we had dinner at the only restaurant in this small cove. We took the dingy from our sailboat to the wharf, which consisted of two floating docks with a four foot gap between them. It was dark and at first we weren't sure how to cross the space. Elizabeth quickly discovered that there was a rope which joined these two docks, which she pulled to close the gap. So we all leaped over, with Elizabeth keeping the open water at bay like a little strong man. As we walked the remaining way along rickety decking, I imagined we were on an adventure passing obstacles like tests to be overcome. We slept onboard in the cabins below, one in the bow and one in the stern. I don't think anyone had a really good night's sleep except perhaps for the skipper and crew, who were used to sleeping on a boat. I was told that conditions for sleeping were near ideal for this part of the world, with a fresh breeze blowing and the boat gently rocking through the night. I did find it very pe...