Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

So Tami kept her part of the bargain, flying halfway around the world to bring us our stuff.

(That’s not a turn of phrase, by the way.  She actually did.  Fly, that is.  Pretty much halfway around the planet…with our stuff.)

And now we had to deliver on our part…unique and interesting cultural experiences.

But how do we even top flesh eating fish cleaning your pores?

Or getting mugged by a sacred temple monkey!?

Um…hey surfing!

Yeah, yeah!  Bali is famous for surfing!  It’s a thing!

Yeah, this’ll be good…

So it may or may not be common knowledge but though Tiffany & Tami’s home state of Florida is known for its beaches, it is specifically NOT known for its surfing.

Consequently, Floridians as a rule are not known as a surfing people.

Therein the new cultural experience for the sister…

…and the anticipated high level of amusement factor for the siblings.

In her defense, she did, in fact, surf.  On a wave even.

As for us?  Well, while neither of us exactly come from surf intensive backgrounds we did have the advantage of training.

Australian training even!

So we should be better at this the second time around.

Well, the more accurate expression would probably be

 “We expected to be better at this the second time around.”

 And while expectations did not quite match reality, we didn’t completely embarrass ourselves either.

OK, we probably did completely embarrass ourselves but we did manage to stand up on the freaking boards…a little.

And allow us to dispel a final surfing myth for you-

There is this expectation that at the end of a day riding the waves one ends up, cold drink in hand, relaxing with a view somewhat like this:

Allow us to explain that this picture was staged.  It was staged by us.  We acknowledge we should have waited for sunset for an optimal “surf roll credits” picture but we didn’t.  We didn’t because we were too busy dealing with the actual aftermath of rookie surfing, which is kind of more like this:

If watching us catch a face-full of surf amuses you, be sure to take a look at our experience with Kangaroo surf culture and what happened when we put Kiwis on water skis!

 

About the authors

Greg and Tiffany are traveling around the world on sailing yachts and keep a video blog of their (mis)adventures.  If sailing to Tahiti on a 44 ft sailboat, 3-day delays for wine tastings, getting pooped on by seagulls, opening coconuts with dull machetes, sailing past tornadoes and ukulele Christmas carols are for you, then check them out atwww.CoastGuardCouple.com!