Only a 25 min plane flight from Bali to Selaparang, Mataram Lombok leaving at 8am. I feel absolutley exhausted as I was up until 3am getting all my possesions ready to take with me. I then decided to go out dancing at a bar called La Vida Loca in Seminyak that I know has live latin music until 6am. This i thought would be more beneficial for me than falling asleep for three hours when I would have finally entered a deep sleep just start having a cool dream interupted by my alarm to get up.
I Arrive in Lombok 20 minutes later. Once In the airport need to avoid al the local, guides touts and taxi drivers hustling and hassling me for business, fell asleep soon as I sat on the plane and then awoke in a blink of an eye. I have a backpack a big , and a surfboard bag with 2 boards in. Surfboard bags are such a pain in the arse to travel with. So big and cumbersome. This is definitley a bonus skateboarding has over surfing.
I mange to arrange a taxi to Kuta lombok expect to pay 230 000 rp,.. This is where I know my friend Richard Tetro “River” has built himself a villa over the last four years and he has invited me to stay with him and help him out with a few things on his villa in exchange for some accomodation. Problem here is I do not have his telephone number as my phone was stolen. I mange to get a taxi to Kuta Lombok and find some budget accomodation as a base for me to stay at until I locate him. he knows I am coming but he has not heard from me for a week..
Well it appears Lombok is still very undeveloped with a magical quality radiating from it, landscape is spectacular with sandy bays and coves, amidst mountainous peaks carpeted with coconut plantations at the foothills.. I am loving the vibrations I am feeling from the land here. The energy radiating here has a very tranquil and peaceful feel. Every road and pathway has water buffalos, goats, cows, chickens and dogs meandering about their business which really has forced me to take a deep breath and change down a gear or two. Such a contrast to Bali its neighbour.
Went to the local surfshop asked if anyone knew “River” it seems everyone does and I am soon escorted to his villa and move in there for my first evening in Lombok
Next few days..I have been having some fun with river surfing Mawi, a heavy left handed wave breaking amidst beautiful mountainous coastline onto a shallow coral reef. Heavy swell, River breaks his board and I get pulverised by the sets 3 days in a row but nonetheless enjoying myself. Mawi is not a beginners wave it has very strong rip currents that one is forced to continually paddle against. This current keeps dragging you away from the waves take off point and taking off here seems to be a tricky one the 3 times I have surfed it. The wave is fat and full for a long tie as it rolls in and is hard to paddle into then soon as it becomes steep enough it just jacks up and throws out its lip onto the reef. It is then very steep and I have had to be super quick to me feet, the times I wasn’t, I was thrown straight over the lip into the pit of the falls..I have managed to get some good waves though and it has balanced out over the last 3 days.
