We got up before sunset and were met by a fishing boat at the back of our resort, which was a surprise given we were waiting on the road at the front of the resort. We climbed aboard the fishing boat and we were off for a sunrise dolphin tour!! The cruise out the front of Lovina beach was beautiful and so was the sunrise! We, at first, seemed to be the only boat on the water.
However, we were challenged by the 'dolphin experience'. As soon as dolphins were spotted, 70 (not exaggerating, I counted) fishing boats rushed towards them. It was crazy...I felt for the dolphins...it was not a pleasant part of the experience. I did feel that our 'captain' was quite sensitive to the situation. He didn't rush too fast rather waited in some still water nearby and the dolphins would come up near us. He did ask us quite early if we wanted to stay longer but we said no and were one of the first boats to leave. I would have been happy to just to have had the 'sunrise cruise' minus the dolphins.
Back to the resort, breakfast resort style and then we left for our road trip to Candidasa. Lovina was lovely, definitely worth the visit and short stay. On the way through many villages we stopped at the Hot Springs at Kintimani. This is at the base of Mt Batur, a volcano last notably active in 2000 and Mt Abung. The place we visited was the Dreamworld [Aussie place] of Mt Batur...the water was very warm...healing properties!! But the actual Hot Springs venue was very different for us. I don't think it would be every Australians cup of tea.
Then it was back on the road. We continued our drive through the countryside and many villages....via Mt Agung. This volcano is currently active. Many villagers have been evacuated, waiting for it to erupt. We went inside the exclusion zone. Villages in the red zone were ghostly but today they have dropped the warning level and many can return to their villages. We stopped at the displaced people's shelter and donated 6 very large bags of rice. The government does not support these people until the Volcano erupts. If it doesn't erupt the community has to support. Mt Agung is impressive and so is the countryside. Finally we got to our resort, The Nirwana Resort & Spa, Candidasa. It was lovely. The afternoon and evening was spent just relaxing after a long road trip! Another stunning day!!
