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| Staring out at Shipwrecks and Razors |
This week, the Sōleïa Surf Academy (SSA) took a break from the hustle and bustle of Canggu and headed to Nusa Lembongan. A mere 13 miles away from the port of Sanur in Bali awaits this quiet island paradise with white sand beaches, turquoise water, lively coral reef and fun reef breaks. It's technically still part of Bali, so you'll still see balinese temples here and ladies can walk around in their bikinis (as opposed to Maldives, where bikinis are limited to specially designated "bikini beaches").
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| Sunset at Lembongan |
Surf Spots
From north to south, you've got the following breaks: Shipwrecks, Razors, Lacerations, Playgrounds, and Secret Beach. On the neighboring island of Nusa Ceningan, there is an absolutely fabulous lefthand point break / reef break called Mahana Point that I surfed back in April 2024 and is on my extensive backlog of posts to write.
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| Sunset over Mahana Point, a.k.a. Ceningan Point |
All the surf spots here are reef breaks, so reef shoes are highly recommended. To save paddling power for catching waves, you can skip the 20 minute paddle to the reef and take a boat for 50K rupiah per person each way. SSA picked up the bill for its guided surf sessions at Playgrounds and Lacerations.
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| A couple SSA peeps go for a free surf |
Lacerations
For our first session, one group went to Playgrounds while my group headed to Lacerations, where we were met with a hostile local instructor who shooed away our non-local instructor. Good thing we had our head instructor with us, who is Balinese, because apparently, only Indonesians are allowed to teach here.
Lacerations offered mostly righthanders and the occasional lefthander. We went at mid to high tide, when a mild current would gently nudge us back towards the peak. The wave was bowl-shaped and broke fast over shallow reef. The paddle back to the peak was a long, curving arc around the reef. I got a few satisfying rides and one late takeoff testing the limits of how vertical I can get without nosediving.
Caught on the inside during a set, I was pounded into the reef once then dragged across the cheese grater. Thankfully, the reef is not as sharp as Macaronis, otherwise I would have suffered deep, open wounds (and destroyed my beautiful swimsuit I spent countless hours searching for on eBay*).
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| Lacerations from surfing Lacerations |
Playgrounds
The following day, the wind picked up to 20+ mph and onshore, blowing out all breaks in the region. The sea was choppier than a Netflix livestream of a Mike Tyson fight. We lowered our expectations and went out to Playgrounds anyway. I had a blast, metaphorically and literally. Literally, the wind blasted me with spray. I developed crow's feet just from squinting through all of that. Metaphorically speaking, catching any wave felt like a windfall (no pun intended).
Then our instructor Junni throws a 360, which made me wonder if I just needed more imagination... and skill. There's potential for a maxim here. Something like:
Shit waves build character
...and lactic acid
...and your ability to spot opportunities in any wave.
Whatever. Just plug that into ChatGPT. I'm sure our new AI overlords can generate something eloquent.
Non-surfing Activities
Aside from surfing, we motored along the dramatic cliff-lined coast of Nusa Penida in search of manta rays (sadly, we didn't find any that day) and went drift snorkeling among vibrant reefs. We saw a variety of hard and soft corals, colorful fish, a couple turtles, and those goofy-looking pufferfish with huge eyes. Before or after surfing, some of us would go fishing or exploring mangroves. There's also an abundance of diving around here - dive boats went out every day the sun was out.
I went for a traditional healing massage at Lembongan Surf Spa, which felt like getting crushed by a pile of bricks then doused with gasoline and lit on fire. My therapist triggered a nerve so my arm reflexively shot up and punched him in the face. The spa owner quipped, "No pain, no gain". Well, that goes for the both of us, I guess. A day later, my shoulder is still sore and on fire. I was so happy to rip off those sticker patches they slapped all over me like I was a Subaru Forester.
Food
Sōleïa Surf House paid for our breakfasts at the Mola Mola Warung right on the beach. We could order mie goreng, nasi goreng, or fruit. For lunch and dinner, there are plenty of restaurants to try. My favorites were Jungle Bakery for french pastries and Curry Traders for food from India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand.
Lodging
Sōleïa Surf House placed students and staff at Nata Homestay and Mega Cahya Bungalow. For less than $20 a night, both places offer good value and swimming pools. They are a quick 2-minute walk to the beach.
Nata Homestay's rooms were a little rundown and could use some love, bleach, and stronger door handles. They were spacious though and the beds were comfy. Wifi was strong enough that neighboring hotels leech off of Nata's, as confirmed by friends who live in the area. My corner room on the top floor had black mold - the wall was wet and spongy to the touch, with paint bubbling up in places where mold intruded. My asthma was triggered immediately and my throat felt scratchy.
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| Nata's Homestay. Mucormycosis, anyone? |
Mega Cahya Bungalow posed less of a health hazard. The walls were tiled instead of painted and there was no sign of mold in the room. Clean, dry, spacious. I was comfortable and the scratchy throat went away. The bed smelled good too - the sheets were thoroughly dried before use. No dank. My only issue was the window wouldn't lock, so it would bang open and close when the wind blew.
Transportation
As there is no Grab or GoJek on the island, Sōleïa Surf House provided us with rental scooters to get around. The lack of traffic during rainy season made driving a lot less harrowing than Bali. There are no continuous sidewalks, but it's easy to walk on the street because there aren't many cars or scooters either. It's such a small island, you can walk the length of the main beach in half an hour. You can also walk on the beach and relax in the many humble, beachfront warungs where you don't have to pay 5 million rupiah to rent a chair. None of that Finns Beach Club exclusivity here.
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| The not-so-mean streets of Lembongan |
For the ferry to/from Nusa Lembongan, we rode on Marlin Fast Boat. The ride between Sanur and Lembongan usually takes about 30 minutes but going back to Sanur presented an hourlong ordeal on rough seas as we took off during a storm. Not only did the short-period, 2-meter swells coupled with 35+ kph winds whip the ocean into a roiling mess, but the boat had a broken window and the other windows had leaky seals so we took on water each time a wave broke over us. Oh, and it was pouring rain.
As a sailor, I would never leave port without making sure all windows, portholes, and hatches were closed - even on a sunny day with calm seas. You just never know when a squall might hit or you heel over hard on a close reach (the sailing version of getting your boat on rail) that water enters through those holes. It's a basic measure to keep your boat from sinking, especially on tippy monohulls that roll sideways easily.
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| Loading up the boat |
To add to the rockiness, the captain missed the channel and drove straight through a point in the Badung Strait between Nusa Lembongan and Bali where the water depth rapidly decreases from 250m to 100m, running into more turbulence than if he had gone around that point - as one elderly local onboard loudly complained about.
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| Red is the course we took according to the old guy. Yellow is the course he expected. |
As the boat rolled around and plunged into the waves, seasick passengers started vomiting while water poured in through the windows. That water sloshed around the boat and spread vomit onto our feet and anything that was stored on the floor. Some shoes were lost as the water rushed out the back.
Gross bilge water. Does this boat even have a bilge pump? | Video credit: Ruben
The rising water and growing wave heights worried the passengers so much that we grabbed life vests and stuffed our phones and gadgets into drybags in case we needed to abandon ship. People sitting at the stern frantically bailed water (and cargo) out of the boat as our buoyancy grew critical. A few yelled at the captain to turn back or go around the shallow point.
It was pandemonium.
I turned pensive. I ruminated over why I'd been having a string of bad luck with boats lately: first with a capsizing that nearly killed me in Senegal four months ago, then running aground on a coral bommie in the Maldives a month later, and now this. Was the Universe testing my love of boating? Or was it telling me that I should hurry up and become a commercial captain so I can supplant the careless ones that exist?
I mentally revisited my experience of sailing my family through Cyclone Debbie in Australia then estimated our chances of actually sinking or capsizing. I snapped back to the present with my conclusion: "We'll be okay," I thought. People are gonna vomit but we'll be okay.
Oh, but my boards! Anxiety swelled inside me as I envisioned my boardbag up on the top deck falling overboard in one of the waves crashing over the bow. I didn't see the crew tie down our cargo. Thankfully, the sea calmed down as we moved into deeper water in the center of Badung Strait. People chilled out and started cracking jokes about what just happened. Perfect example of Type 2 fun.
Conclusion
Lembongan was an adventure in paradise. As I warned in my first post in this series on Sōleïa Surf House, life in Bali requires surrendering your life to forces beyond your control. It can be uncomfortable to teeter on the brink of death but also exciting and, if you survive, you'll have great stories to tell afterwards.
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| We all lived to tell the tale |
Overall, I really enjoyed this trip to Lembongan - all the jaw-dropping beauty of Nusa Penida, the snorkeling and surfing on bright, sunny days, the dinners with an old friend who lives on Lembongan, the relaxing hours of doing nothing but stare at the wild blue sea. We got unlucky with the weather at the end, but no surprise there. It's rainy season after all.
Footnotes
*Seriously, I put a lot of effort into putting my wardrobe together.
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| Today, Mikka is dressed in Camilla from the Desert Visions collection |
Reviewed by beachplease
on
February 09, 2025
Rating:
