"Gili" means small and we have chosen to visit the middle sized 'small' island, Off Lombok, Gili Meno, of the three well known Gili Islands. The young chap at the resort in Lombok that we stayed at, took one look at us and announced "you must go to Gili Meno". The tourist info says of the three, this is the best island for families and honeymooners, who want the quiet life. Not sure where we fit in but the quiet life suits us! After a "bemo" ride....a sort of van turned into taxi.... to the harbour, followed by a very crowded ferry ride across the waves, here we are in Gili Meno.
Our tatty but hasty bemo!
The waters surrounding the island are clear, turquoise and stunningly beautiful! The white sands of the beach is just so amazing. I think we have found another Paradise! We are delighted to be here.
We are staying in Kontiki Bungalows and everyone is friendly and obliging. It is just a short walk to the beach where we spend the day on our Beach Beds, reading, sleeping and going for lovely walks or a swim and we do a bit ofsnorkeling. The beaches are well kept and generally free of litter!
It is all so lovely! The beautiful and varied fish are amazing and the coral is imaginable colour.Right next to our bungalows is a turtle nursery where turtles are kept until they are eight months old. At the moment there are two batches of eggs being protected and waiting to hatch. It is wonderful to know that this programme is being run and the turtles are taken care of.
I just love setting off down the beach and picking up shells. Those little cowries just have my name on them. I can spot their little shiny backs or their smiling side a mile off. I picked up so many but had to leave the slightly broken or cracked ones behind. There are lots of bits of coloured coral too which means the coral is being shattered and spoilt by all the boats and people standing on the coral.
There are no motorized vehicles on the island. It takes about an hour and a half to walk right around the island and twenty minutes to walk across it. We walked across the island yesterday hoping to enjoy a beautiful sunset but once we got to the other side we weren't all that impressed with the beach so we just kept walking around till we got back to base! Horse drawn carts are used to carry lazy tourists from the Harbour to their resort or to carry baskets of veggies, water and groceries to the resorts. I also saw local folk on bicycles which looked like fun.
When we travel we try to eat local fare but I have to avoid spicey food which means NO CHILLI! Fortunately there must be more travels like me as the request for no spice does not surprise the caterers. I enjoy Nasi goreng with seafood and Warren enjoys Mee hoon noodles with chicken in other words I like fried rice and Warren enjoy fried noodles! After nearly a week of this fare I am a little weary of Nasi Goreng and can't wait for a change of diet. Maybe it's time to get back to our base! We go home with our minds are filled with beautiful images and we have every intention to return to Gili Meno!
Sunrise on our last morning!
