Lovina: First Impressions can be deceiving

I arrived in Lovina after a long and winding drive across Bali from Canggu, now with my feet firmly on the North-Eastern corner of the island, I was getting closer to Java. Feeling refreshed from my relaxation time in Canggu, I was ready to kick-start the adventures again! Lovina seemed to have other plans though, and I was greeted with empty restaurants and empty beaches,  no one else seemed to be around and my guesthouse appeared to be miles from the action. Disheartened, I started to walk towards central Lovina town, sure that there had to be more than this. I found that there was, but not so much, and chose instead to collapse into a shady patch on the beach and re-think my options.

Back at my guesthouse, wondering whether I had made a mistake coming all the way to this part of the island, I messaged a friend online who told me, things can change so drastically day to day, don’t worry about it. She was right of course, a little later I met Ketut, who showed me his Instagram and some of the amazing places to see nearby….I could already see tomorrow blossoming!

I spent the evening in a small Warung (restaurant) a few doors down from my homestay, where the owner, Putu, invited me to try some fresh Marlin, it was delicious, and I got chatting to a few people from the village and started to feel much more at home.

I was woken the next morning at 5:40 by the captain of a local fishing boat who would take me out to look for dolphins, and dolphins we did find…so many, all around, although mostly quite far from our boat. Just as we were heading back towards the shore a whole pod came within just a few metres of us, we had front row seats as they played and swam by, it seemed that I was wrong to judge Lovina so quickly, it had well and truly delivered, and all before 8am.

After the excitement of the dolphins I met up with Ketut who would take me to the seven waterfalls, or Sekumpul waterfalls, a little over an hour from where I was staying, up in the mountains, we drove past rice paddies and through small villages, eventually arriving at the start of the decent. I clambered down the steps and along the muddy track which took me zig-zagging across rocky rivers until eventually I reached the base of the waterfalls, only 4 other people were there. It was spectacular and by far one of the most amazing sights I have seen so far on my trip.

So Lovina taught me not to be so quick to judge, and I was reminded to enjoy the journey for all of it’s ups and downs, as things do really change so fast. I spent my second evening on the beach listening to local Warung owner, Domingo, play his guitar and realising that the small community a few kms from Lovina town had opened it’s arms to me and welcomed me in, even for just a short stay. My adventures were back on track and I can’t wait to see what Permuteran, my last stop in Bali, and then Java have to offer!