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Indonesia

Back to civilization

We had a pleasant early morning drive back to Yogyakarta from Borobudur for our flight to Singapore.  We enjoyed a final view of morning routines in Indonesia- tons of kids in uniforms on scooters being taken to school, men on scooters loaded with goods to sell… everything like balloons, chickens, greens, and hats.

Yogyakarta airport is small and mostly outdoors.  Only ticketed passengers get to go inside and there is nothing there but check in counters.  When the flight is prepping to board they announce for everyone to go through security and immigration into a waiting room.  So, we spent or last rupiah on some donuts and fried chicken at the outside shops before our flight was called.  Luckily it was called the right number and in English once.!  Not like our crazy experience in Jakarta.

Silk Air was our carrier this time- not a discount airline, but the price and time was the best.  It felt fancy to get food and drinks without paying. Two hours later we were at Changi aiport and it felt like we jumped forward in time and technology.  Singapore is so modern and clean and tidy and easy… It’s like being in a pretty American city.  But safe.  And no gum.  And no food on trains.  Rules. 
Took the subway to our hotel in little India.  It’s great!  We had a blast walking around the area: specifically searching for bindi’s.  Zoe wanted a new stash.  She loves wearing them – it’s her jewelry of choice.  So we got a bunch for cheap.  
We also got some henna tattoos!!  All of us.  They were cheap and sucked in the kids first.  Avi got a cool dragon on his hand and Zoe and I got matching flowers. It was fun!!  I also enjoyed a great takeout Indian meal of “I don’t know” – whatever they had at the food but today.  It was great!!  
The  wanted noodles in the hotel after our dip in the top-floor pool. Tonight it’s fantasia and sleep.  We are a few hours off and heading to bed late. The space-A flight we were going to attempt tomorrow is now the following day.  So we will take advantage of an extra Singapore day and go to the science museum.  And maybe get more bindi’s, or a sari, and definitely some more Indian food. 

Going to school.  
That’s our plane!
 
Hindu temple in little India, Singapore
 
Zoe excited for her bindi hunt
 
Found the mother load of bindi’s and any other costume jewelry you may need.
 
Avi wanted and needed new sneaks… So he chose these lovely items that I didn’t know lit-up until we walked out. 
 
Henna for all!!
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Borobudur

Today I decided that I enjoy Indonesia.  Going to Bali put me off – but after being in Borobudur for three days, the distaste has worn off. Now that we are experiencing the ‘real’ Indonesia, as our guesthouse puts it, I am also seeing the beauty.

Today we walked up the road to the UNESCO heritage Borobudur temple.  It’s a gigantic ancient Buddhist mound that seems to be a journey in itself.  Going up represents the stages to nirvana and the thousands of intricate carvings along the entire thing show scenes from Buddha’s life and each stage.  
It’s really breathtaking.  There is no inside, so I’m not sure it’s actually a temple so much as it was used as a walking meditative journey.  The kids shocked me in their interest.  We stopped at every level and walked the way around the check out all the carvings and select our favorites. Found some really unique ones too with boats and monkeys and animals .
At the peak there are hollow stupas with carved Buddha’s inside and a giant stupa top. The view from there is great!  We did’t linger long at the top as it seemed that was where most Indonesians gathered.  We got more requests for pictures with the kids here than anywhere else so far, and I started just saying a nice, “sorry, no”.  Though a few were fun because then I could get a pic of them too.  The kids were the best.  
There were 3 school groups here with the students all wearing matching uniforms. Zoe did want her picture takin with the girls in pretty purple headscarves. Avi is very standoffish; grandmas tend to want to grab his cheeks and he hates it.  Not like Korean grandmas who give him candy.
He did have fun flirting with a gaggle if girls in the little tram we rode first.  They squealed and giggled when he spoke and hid under his hat.  He loves to be the center of attention on his own terms… with cute little girls, not old ladies or grandmas. The train/ tram took us on a little tour of the area around the temple to see where the museums and horse and elephants were.  It was a fun intro and good to do and see how large it all was.
After the temple we settled in a shady spot to eat our snacky lunch that I bought last night.  We then discovered a deer enclosure with those Asian barking deer!! The deer were so friendly and ate grass from our hands.  They did their barking squawks, too, when we would try to leave. So we stayed a long time. 
Past that were the elephant rides which I discovered we needed to buy a ticket for at the front – no way!  We were so far from there now.  The kids weren’t actually very bummed because we saw the horses and they asked for that instead.  Surprisingly my kiddos have ridden elephants more times than horses….  that I could remember.  So they rode horses instead and loved it. Got to choose which horse to ride, too!
We were pleasantly surprised by the ship museum which showed Indonesia’s ancient shipping history and how it was tied to the western world and China by trade quite early on.  The highlight, though was a huge real wooden ship!!  We were all super excited to see this.  It was immense – the little dioramas don’t do the real thing justice.  It’s like the size of the mayflower… Which does seem small a first glance, but I thought this Indonesian boat was going to be the size of a john boat. So imagine my surprise.
The Borobudur museum was not super interesting except we learned that the Dutch (former colony, recall) helped moved every block and built a drainage system about 20 years ago because the whole thing was sinking. People from the Netherlands, by the way, are the most common western tourists here. 
Tired and hot we trudged out the exit through the maze of vendors selling all sorts of crap from clothes to nicknacks.  Avi, who rarely wants anything non-vehicular, asked for a mini borobudur temple and a super-touristy outfit.  So I got them for him.  He and Zoe also got a hat at the entrance. She picked a floral sunhat while he chose a spiderman ball cap. 
Our sore feet saw the horsecarts and we had to take one back the three blocks to the hotel.  So glad we did.  
All of us crashed out for the Afternoon, then enjoyed a hot shower, some tea, and watching Indonesian cartoons.  That is one fun thing about traveling with kids.  I get a kick out of seeing what kid shows are like in other countries. Fun to watch animated kids in skullcaps and hijabs, or sunbears and clouded leopards as well known characters.
One final evening here.  We spent it walking around the neighborhood behind the guesthouse.  It’s so neat to just walk around where people live.  First we has a gaggle of kids join is and play with some weird dead-rat looking toy.  Then we rounded a corner to find a few kitties that needed petting just as a family was getting home.  They all wanted to know our names and why we like cats.  The houses here are mostly identical single story cinder block homes with gabled roofs and a big front patio. Some people  paint them wild colors for variety. The cats lived at a lime green place.  As the sun was setting we continued our exploration on one of the smaller brick lined roads that break up the central part of a block – many homes front a walkway but not a road. 
Well,  along one of these walkways we passed a girl helping another off the ground.  I stopped to see if she needed help and she was quite grateful.  The girl who couldn’t walk was sick to her stomach.  We put her arms over our necks and supported her to walk down the way a bit til she couldn’t.  She sat on a front stoop for a bit and then threw up!!   I wondered if she was pregnant or drunk or something, but her friend said no.  It was odd to see a muslim girl in a head covering in such a situation.  I expect they are all well behaved and not going to be out throwing up on porches; I suppose all teens can get into trouble.  Or maybe she just had spicy food like her friend said.  Zoe and Avi were so helpful carrying our bags and stuff.  

The call to prayer started while we were helping the girl,  and we happened to walk past the mosque before getting to the main road.  It was neat to see all the men inside and the moms and kids all out on the front porch.  The little kids from earlier were waving at us.  Fun to be recognized in the neighborhood.  Interesting experience.

We then got take out food from the nice family that lives across the street again. Avi ran around with their 3 year old boy playing helicopter in their house while I chatted with dad.  He had been to Phoenix once. Like most stores here, the storefront is simply the front room of the home.
Early morning taxi ride back to Yogyakarta airport tomorrow, so we ate and the kids watched some TV while I packed and settled up our bill.
 

Had to wear these sarong in order to enter the temple grounds

Borobudur!

Climbing the first of 7 levels

walking and gawking at level 2 (level 1 is under)

the carvings are amazing

found a cool carving of an ancient boat
 
Elephants and kings?

Zoe took my picture by some of the hidden Buddhas

Looking out from level 4

Zoe got her picture taken with quite a few girls on a school trip.

This is the iconic shot from magazines.  There is a carved Buddha under all of the checkerboard domes.

The giant domed stupa at the top.  It looks to be another 2-3 storeys high.

Me and the view from the top.

Back at the bottom.  Avi got our picture!

Zoe and the whole temple.  The big stupa we is visible directly above Zoe.  It has an lighting rod sticking out of it.  That may help with size perspective.  This place is huge!

barking deer we found on the temple grounds

The neato Indonesian boating heritage museum

horses to ride? why not

Avi picked his horse out, and the guys were quite impressed. It was the biggest one.

took a carriage home from a long day walking around the temple

our ride!

out for a walk around the neighborhood

our guesthouse is the white building in the background.

petting local kitties!
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Java Countryside

It’s pretty in Java.  Huge volcanic mountains, big green hills, lush forests growing wild between everyone’s little village or terraced rice field.  Pretty.

Today we woke early.  Dark early.  It’s Sunday and apparently that is the day for a special ceremony at the local mosque.  Not only do they do the morning call to prayer but it is followed by a 2 hour long lesson and music service that is distributed to the town via loud speaker.  Zoe really liked the music. It was interesting to listen too, and attempt to Skype with family during.
Otherwise our morning was uneventful – did some school lessons, took a walk around the neighborhood and to the market, and got lunch across the street in a ladies house/cafe. Delicious fried noodle and rice. 
This afternoon we took another local area jaunt with Jack – this time in a car though. It was about an hour to this cool small hill-perched village of Selo.  We then walked through town and along an amazing trail through a huge terraced mountain of rice, pepper and corn fields. We walked through pockets of jungle and up along little creeks to the Selo temple.  It’s a small ancient Hindu temple high in the mountain.  
Mostly for us the walk the fun.  The kids loved it!  They got sticks,  they touched those plants that close when you poke them, they went barefoot like the local kids, they played in mud and washed off in the creek.  It was wonderful.  Our guide was surprised at how fast they went and how they enjoyed themselves.  We occasionally had to avoid scooters hauling bricks up to mend the trail, or a man with his water buffalo. 
On the way back into town we stopped and relaxed with the local folks – mostly the men and boys – who were racing their pigeons.  They had pairs of pigeons and would take two males up the trail to release and then hold up their female.  The pigeons would beeline it to their woman!  It was quite the social activity. My kiddos loved watching the birds race and also got  their own chance to hold some.  This is entertainment in a small village in Indonesia! 
I was such a nice day out!! Plus on the way back we got to see mount Merapi.  It’s not currently erupting you will be happy to know, but usually covered in clouds.  Avi was beside himself with questions for Jack who was here coming back from this exact trip when it erupted in 2010.  That was the most recent bad one, with the ash cloud coming west to Borobudur where we are.  He said it was beautiful and very scary, and due for another eruption soon. 
This evening it’s relax time, and we may walk around the corner for food if the kids get hungry. The sun sets so early here: I usually like to be inside after dusk when traveling alone, but geez it’s 6pm and getting dark already.  We will go to the market.
Update:  chicken satay is amazing fresh off the street and the Indonesian peanut sauce is so good!  The kids and I scarfed down 15 sticks plus rice and a chocolate roti (it’s like a stuffed cake).  Total cost for dinner: $1.50
 

Good morning Java!
 
Time for some school lessons

walking around the neighborhood, past the mosque that wakes us each morning
 
feeding local kitties!
 
 
chickens
 
Our trail and our guide Jack

 
The view!  we are heading up toward that big hill

more scenery

me!

Avi wanted to increase the difficulty of our trek

Zoe had fun collecting flowers and seeds

 
the view got better and better the higher we went

most of the trail was bricked

at our goal

they are replicating the statue
 
the little ancient hindu temple at the top.

the fam!

Back down we go.

back to the little village
 

 

pigeon racing anyone…that boy in RED up near the fields will release the two males.
 
Zoe fit in well.  Look how young that kid is smoking.

Avi was a bit more nervous about the birds.  Then, when the guys laughed at him once for jumping back from a nip he really got feelings hurt and cried to mommy.  He isn’t competitive like those boys.

getting a roti!

 

 

 
 

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Java

Our early morning flight from bali to Yogyakarta on the island of Java was quick and easy, bummer our ride wasn’t there to retrieve us!  But the nice lady at the info both let me call using our phone. They mixed up our dates….so, after Zoe lost her tooth, we caught an hour long taxi ride that ended up cheaper instead.  Win-win.

We are staying at Lotus 2 Guesthouse in the village of Borobudur, about an hour out of Yogyakarta. The people who run the place are super nice and helpful which has more than made up for the mixup. 
After relaxing and finishing our nap we wandered out and about for some lunch. This is a small village so the food stalls were not hard to find – got some Bakso, which Avi loves!  He calls them meatballs though I’m pretty sure it’s fish in a noodle soup.  Tasty and cheap.  We had three bowls full plus a couple sodas and our bill was under $2.  Much better!! In Bali I was spending around $15 a meal. 
Back at the guesthouse we arranged for a fun tour of the local villages.  Our guide, Jack,  took us on a scooter ( yes one scoot and 4 people: I’ve seem more) out to visit he local villages and their traditional industries.  So we stopped in the tofu village where we got to learn and see how tofu is made.  It’s incredible!!  Beans are soaked, ground into milk, boiled, mashed, settled, strained, and the goo is put into moulds.  Labor intensive, AND this is basically in someone’s house in a garage.  Half is sold local as fresh or fried and some is exported…?to other parts of Java I assume.  It was all so low tech and hands on- baskets for straining, a wood fire for boiling, oil vat boiling on the floor next to the cat.  And no refrigeration. In fact I’ve not seen any refrigeration in this village anywhere.  Makes me wonder how necessary it really is if good was actually fresh. Probably we are a little over concerned in America because our food travels further than even I do.  
Zoe LOVED the fresh tofu.  It has a different, earthy, taste than the pakaged stuff.  Avi had two glasses of fresh soy milk.  Again it’s very different than any of the disgusting soy milk I’ve tasted from a store carton. It was yummy!  It was kind of green tasting – sweet but you could tell it was from a bean.  It didn’t have a fake-cow milk taste.  
Aside from the tofu learning Avi liked playing with the little boy who lived there and Zoe wouldn’t leave the cat alone.  I think the cat like it.
Back aboard our scooter we popped over to the next village via tiny main roads with jungle or rice paddy on either side and the mountains looming above.  
The pottery village was a favorite as both kids or to make their own piece. The potters use a hand- spun wheel and clay they dig out of the ground.  They burn straw in a small brick oven kiln to fire the pottery.  So low- tech, again, it made me wonder why this all has to be so distant and mass produced in the states where I’ve no idea where my bowls came from. Here, the bowls – obviously- come from the pottery village. Duh.
We get to go back Monday to pick up their creations.  Zoe made a little temple dish.  It’s really an ashtray but I told her its for jewelry. Smoking is all over here. 
Our ride back from the tiny villages and their dirt roads to our bigger village with its fancy pavement took a nice long time so we could see the scenery, stop and take pictures, and even have a go around the local dirt motocross track on our scoot!  Of course this was the fave!
This evening we are just hanging out at the guesthouse with some noodle for dinner and an early bedtime.  Exhausted from our early wake up to fly and then the afternoon adventure. Just listening to the call to prayer sound from the local mosque and watching the cat out in the rice field from our window.  Pretty nice!
The airport cats in bali.  This is on the flight line… We took that bus to our plane.
Volcanoes!! From the airplane. Mt. Merapi on the left. 
Mmmmm.  Bakso stand.
Scooter tour of the local villages.
 
its laundry day in Indonesia, too

where the tofu dries

tofu making – the white stuff to the right goes in those moulds

 

Kitties galore

 
Where tofu comes from.
The guy that makes the tofu.
Yummy fresh soy milk
Delicious freshly made and fries tofu. See the blocks of tofu stacked on the wall behind Zoe?
The tofu cat that Zoe is trying not to choke.
Local village
Making pottery
Avi’a bowl.
The boys were fascinated with Zoe!
Her jewelry bowl.
Hand washing station and cute girls just home from school.
The scenery! 
Out for a ride!  That’s an average sized road, too.  
Listening to the prayer out our window of Lotus 2 guesthouse in Borobudur. 
 
Watching a little “My Hijab Style” to learn how they do it so neat and tidy!

And Family fued is funny in any country
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Last day in Bali

Today was our last day on Lombongan and Bali.  We enjoyed a relaxing morning at our hut and the pool, and playing some island music.  The coast was way too rough… crazier than yesterday… for anyone.

Our transportation showed up nearly on time- we were busy petting the calf.  We got into the back of a pickup truck and rode to the primary beach for our rough boat ride back to Bali. 
Our fare included a van ride to our hotel – staying in a cheap but very nice place near the aiport.  The kids spent the afternoon in the pool and then walked the neighborhood for some food.  This area is very local with quite a few small alleys with kids and people running about.  It’s a highly Muslim area, so we ate at a Halal fried chicken open-air cafe/food-stand.  It was delicious and so much cheaper than anywhere else we have found. 
Back in the hotel it was time for some lessons before TV and bed.  Tomorrow we are off to Yogyakarta to stay at a homestay for a few days.  This was our decision point for continuing the trip or calling it quits.  Well,  it’s a consensus that we will head back to Singapore (and, hence, space-A toward home) after Yogyakarta. 
planning summer camp
our hotel / hut
Avi playing some tunes
 
Lembongan!  You can barely see Bali in across the water
 
off we go
 
yum, fried chicken stand
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Lembongan

Tonight I’m blogging from a great little restaurant called Gomez in a tiny hamlet called Mushroom bay on the island of Lembongan.  THIS is beaching it to me.!

It’s not crowded, has a pleasant number of little cafés to walk to, no ATM, a cliff with a cave to play, tide pools to spend time in, and lots of fun coral to pick up.  Our hotel is even more withdrawn on the “secret” beach around the cliff, or along a dirt trail above it. This afternoon is was us and 3 others!  Yes!  
The sand is a bit rough but that is because there is a small coral reef just off the beach.  When we got here the tide was low and part of it was exposed to walk on. 
Our thatched hut is up an embankment from the secret beach and quite nice.  It has a cool outdoor shower and a small pool.
Getting here this morning was a fiasco.  We had our final amazing buffet breakfast at the Wina hotel in Bali, took a dip in the pool, showered and packed in time to be waiting in the lobby at 11am as directed by the boat folks. Well,  at 1130 I has be front desk call.  At noonish the guy from the sales desk came in to wait.  He said it was delayed because of a temple ceremony and wouldn’t leave until we were on it.  The driver was on his way.  He kept giving me “10 more minute” updates until it showed at 2pm!  I was mad and told him it was not acceptable to make me (with kids!) wait for 3 hours in a lobby .  At lunch.  No food.  He was apologetic, but I still feel he should have known either that it would be late or to tell me and the kids to go get lunch and return…. Not drag us out.  
The driver had a British couple already in, who had been through the same morning as myself.  They were fun to talk to.  Both university students doing a a Study abroad in Kuala Lumpur and coming to Bali to surf. Sounds fun. 
The boat was indeed waiting and took the 5 of us to Lembongan where a driver took the kids and in the back of a pickup truck to our hotel.  This is nice.  No taxi, no ladies or kids peddling things, no super loud dance clubs and never ending scooters.  Just a little village, a couple beaches, some paths to explore, and a hut. 

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It took the shirt!

This morning we discovered that the Indian Ocean likes to eat shirts. Dinosaur shirts.

We woke with the birds and enjoyed a relaxing morning on the deck of our thatched roof hut. Zoe was doing school lessons.  Avi did a bit in his workbook and then ran around chasing chickens and visiting the cow. He loves the cow that lives next door.
Down the cliff to beach we could hear the surf really pounding and discovered it was high tide.  Really high!  Up to the top of the beach in places.  We bolted for the end near the cliff as it was not getting wet, but the kids got too low and Avi got wiped out.  I dropped the clothes to grab him and they got pulled out with the wave.
I secured the kids up high and dry and ran in to retrieve our stuff. Got the wet shorts, soaked shoes, and eventually my flip flops came riding back in.  There were a plethora of those washed up,  so I had my pick if mine didn’t return.  But, Avi’s shirt was not seen again.  We’ll check this evening at low tide in case it got stuck in the coral at the bottom. Bummer.  It was a cute T-Rex shirt that had also been Zoe’s . 
Spent the rest of the morning dodging waves and taking a bit if a swim when it was calmer.  Mostly we enjoyed creating “Babylon” in the sand – complete with temple, hanging gardens, protective wall and village.  
In the afternoon it was a swim in the pool then quiet time.  I love quiet time. 
We walked back to the tiny mushroom bay village to play on that beach a bit and get dinner at Gomez again.  This place is great as it has Mexican food with cheese! Can’t find that in Korea. Plus it has a kid playground and wifi.  Love it.  Visit Gomez if you find yourself in Mushroom Bay on Lembongan island. The owners and their kids are very kind – Aussie I think. 
Back out for some beach exploring before bedtime.  So many stars to be seen from our open air shower! 

school time
Avi collecting flowers
OK.  It doesn’t look big, but it’s really rough.
Avi the destroyer!
Babylon in sand
Avi loves this calf.  Spent a long time with it and kept heading down the lane to visit.  He was so sweet with it!
mushroom bay

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Bali… It’s just OK

Today we took an all day tour of Bali.  We got out of touristy Kuta to see the rest of the island.  It’s pretty, BUT…

Visualize this:  you are in a tiny Asian mini van on a single-lane road no wider than 15 ft.  The road edges are notional white lines that are bordered like a canyon on either side with single-story cinder block shops and houses.  These places are mostly stores with completely open fronts, but some are walled houses.  They are cute, they are filthy, they prevent the road from getting wider.  
Beyond the village buildings you can see open space full of rice paddys or perhaps a jungle or maybe even a gorgeous view down a mountain.  But stop looking at that!! On either side of you there are a million scooters to navigate. Some scoots have people, some are loaded with boxes,  or maybe 4 kids, perhaps a guy holding a suefboard,  that one over there has a lady on back with a chicken. And they are driving around you like maniacs. 
Also in the road  There are people walking,  there is a horse cart behind you and a big bus in front.  Every now and then a pack of dogs decides to jump in the middle and he whole mess swerves around  them. Not to mention that it’s really two way traffic,  so when your minivan isn’t able to fit around the scoot in front it is driving heading into the same mess coming  at you. 
So even with all the traffic everywhere we did get to see a beautiful old temple by a lake, swim in a black sand beach, feed monkeys some banana at a roadside stall, and take a dip in a local hot spring. 
The kids especially loved the beach and we even took some black sand home with us.  The water was quite warm and shallow so they built a castle on a sandbar that slowly became a sand island as we stayed longer. 
The drive back looped us up over the mountain a different way – a tiny backdrop that didn’t have the traffic as before. The scenery was incredible, and the fact that our van fit on the road was unbelievable. At times we were riding a ridge that dropped down on either side often with small houses and paddys dotting down the hill.  
The enjoyable part was brief, however, and we soon joined the throngs back on the main route.  
So, visualize the above traffic but now it’s raining a bit and getting dark.  The drive home was so long as the traffic turned into “rush hour” and near standstill. 
This place is so beautiful but the excessive crowds and traffic that permeates the island – even out of the city- is raking my nerves.  I feel like we are in Thw Australian equivalent of Cancun. Tomorrow we are out!

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Surfing is rad!!

As per my previous post I haven’t been impressed with Bali, but today the island redeemed itself from all the horrid traffic and touts and trash.

The kids and I did a “family” surf lesson with a group called Up2U surfing.  They picked us up at the hotel and over to their shop.  It was a dirty little disorganized place, and Avi was in his grumpiest mood ever so I did not have high hopes.  I fully expected to sit out with him after one go.  
Zoe was the motivated one here.  She pushed for this and I have to admit I was, like Avi, apprehensive and not stoked to try.  Don’t know why… Perhaps because I’m not a beach person (can’t stand all the sand and cold salty water)… but I’ve never desired to surf. But, surf I did and surf I love!!  As long as it’s in warm water.
The school set each kid up with their own instructor while I joined a group of six adults and two instructors.  But we were really all just one big ole group.  On the beach we learned about boards and flags and practiced how to stand and get up.  Then it was out to surf!
Zoe was incredible.  She was the first in the water.  Her teacher would set her up on a wave, get her to stand and give it a push when the wave came.  She rode in standing her first time!!  For the next two hours she rode wave after wave while her teacher helped her less and less.  By the time we were done she was catching them on her own!!
Avi rode with his instructor on their bellies. He squealed with joy!! His teacher tried to get him standing a few time but Avi wasn’t interested. It was awesome to watch both kids having a great time.
I also had a blast!!  We were catching small waves and I got to standing on the first try.  Again,  the teacher helped with the board at first but then I started paddling on my own and doing it myself!!  It was so fun!!!!  
At one point I was surfing in and looked beside me to see Zoe right there!  We were on the same wave!! Such joy!!!!! We hopped off with a high five and watched Avi come in too. What an experience.  
After a break we tried the larger waves a bit further out (not the kids).  I wiped out pretty hard twice.  Then I caught a big one on my own!  The teachers were clapping.  It was cool.
Not all the other students were having such luck, and my ran out toward the end.  Guess I was getting tired and fell off a lot more.  So, when it was time to catch, “Just one more” I was ready.
Amazing time we all had!!  Until Zoe realized she had surf rash on her thighs.  Then she declared it all bad.  Of course, by the end of the day she was raving about surfing again and teaching daddy!
Sorry no pictures or video of actual surfing.
  No way to do that on my own. 
Super bummer.
 

Getting in our surfing attire.  Avi was super pissed off about EVERYTHING.  They even gave him that pink shirt after he pitched a fit to get it from Zoe, and then he grumped about it, too.  Nothing could be right for him.  Until we started surfing =)

Zoe and the boards!

Out front of the surf shop when we were done.  Avi’s teacher is having lunch.  He was so good taking Avi on the board and getting him out of his grumpy funk.

This is Zoe’s teacher.  Most of them, like him, were Australian.   Avi was back to grumping when we were finished.

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