Gili Air as I mentioned in the previous post is the smallest island of the Gili island chain. We were staying in a hotel walking distance from the dock and right after disembarking the boat noticed the colorful carts and horses that “taxi” people to their accommodations. Our hotel was less than 10 minutes from the port, so we just walked. You can walk around the island in less than 2 hours!

I had booked the “Romance Package” from the tour company, which came with a snorkeling trip, couples massage, and romantic dinner. It was a good deal and I was planning on doing all of those things anyway, so why not? I had a good laugh when our room had a heart in flower petals on our bed and a cake that said, “happy honymoon“.

After checking in, we set off for lunch and to explore the island. As soon as we left the hotel grounds we ran into our Australian seat mates from the Fast Boat, they were visiting Gili Air for a lunch break during a snorkeling trip. The husband challenged us to drink a beer at every bar we passed on our walk around the island. We did not take him up on it. I would not have been able to if I wanted to there was literally a bar on the street/beach side at every hotel we passed. There were at least 30 places if not more on our walk around the island.

We settled on a beach side restaurant, ordered, and were quickly joined by some uninvited cute furry guests. Gili Air and all the Gili’s for that matter are teeming with cats. They are not super aggressive, but are vocal when they want a taste of your meal. I am convinced that they can smell allergy because D had two extra lunch companions. There is a charm to it all and who can complain, beach, cold beer (I am my father’s daughter), and cute animals! Sharing these with the ones you love; it does not get any better.

After lunch, we finished our circumference walking tour of Gili Air. There was some earthquake damage apparent on Gili Air too, but nothing could mar the beauty of this little island. We also scoped out where we were going to go for dinner. I also tried my hand at haggling with one of the locals. She had a pretty floral purple with hints of gold sari. I am not a huge fan of haggling, but there are so many markets on this side of the world where it is just part of the shopping experience. I find it hard to argue price when you end up arguing over what ends up being cents for us. I would rather give it to them as sometimes it is an extra meal for their children. We went back and forth a few times. I settled on what I thought was a reasonable price that was not unfair for her and she complimented my bargaining skills! That is a first… I am not the master haggler by any means, but it was funny.

We passed the One Love Rasta Bar and had an interesting conversation with the owners promising we would come back for a drink later that evening. On such a small island, you run into the locals more than once, so we were determined to keep our word by having a beer at this beach stand. Upon completing our circular tour of the island, we decided on the menu for the following night’s romantic dinner, and took a nap… I mean we are on vacation after all.

After watching the sunset, which was spectacular, we went to a place for dinner on the first night that one of my coworkers recommended. The food was good, but being able to put my toes in the sand at the table was my favorite part. We then had a beer with the locals at the One Love Rasta Bar, it was amusing. We had beer, ate peanuts from the counter that they kept pouring in front of us as we drank, listened to several Bob Marley songs, and practiced our broken Chinese with this vacationing couple sitting next to us from China.

The next morning we had a full schedule, the snorkeling tour, our couples massage, and the romantic dinner. The tour guides pick you up from your hotel and lead you to the boat, which was right across from the hotel. It was another moment of me relating to my surroundings via Finding Nemo. Colorful fish and coral reefs make you appreciate the vast variety of the underwater neighborhoods we visited. It also was a sad reminder of how man is ruining the earth. Our first stop had beautiful fish, but it had a reminder of human pollution with plastic garbage floating along with us. It bothered me so much I began to collect it on the snorkeling path.

There was a guide who would swim at the front and the boat would drop us off and meet us where the established end of that particular route was. One of the animals that these snorkeling tours are known for are the turtles. We were not disappointed! There was one turtle hanging out on the ocean floor at our first stop. As we went to other spots around the islands the pollution got better. One of the locals told us that the currents during the rainy season makes the pollution worse and that the use of plastic bags had exacerbated the problem.

Another highlight was this underwater sculpture. It looked really old, but in reality it was only a few years old. It was interesting to see, but honestly the natural world was more interesting. We stopped for lunch at Gili Menos before one last snorkeling spot. Many on the tour were tired after lunch and opted to stay on the boat… like D. His loss! There were three different turtles going for a swim! It was so exciting to swim with the turtles. It made me again reference Finding Nemo and the “surfer voices” the turtles had, such peaceful creatures. I was definitely glad that I opted to get in the water one last time.

When we returned we had a nice couples massage. You know it must be relaxing when D starts to snore. The romantic dinner the hotel put together was over the top! I actually felt bad that they went to so much trouble for us. The put up this candlelit gazebo in the garden and they served us an amazing four course steak dinner. It was a little awkward because they have a worker there to attend to our every need and I really felt like inviting her to join us or at least to go take a break and come back and check on us later because we really would be okay.

After an eventful and memorable day we went to sleep knowing that we would be leaving Gili Air to return to Bali the next day. Gili Air, I see why people love you, you take a piece of people’s hearts daring them to come back soon… someday hopefully…