An early start today with Breakfast at 7 as we were leaving for our big trip around with Diva our driver.

He met us on the first day and now we’ve adopted him and he’s going to drive us wherever we want.

We headed north to a Temple.

Terta Empul temple was about 45 minutes north.

One of Bali’s most important temples because of its sacred waters ……said to be healing.

It’s quite a process.

We arrived at the entrance and paid our fee – about $15 Aus. We were given a sarong which had to be worn with the yellow band facing the top

We made our way to the sacred water and were given a lesson by our guide on how to behave and what to do.

We made our way to the change rooms to get into our swim wear and to wrap ourselves in a different green sarong with a red sash. The change rooms were a mass of men and women waiting in turn to change in funny little cubicles most with a urinal inside. Not for storing clothes as you changed!

The guides helped wrap our sarongs carefully. Ours were done quickly. Some girls in their extremely brief g- string bikinis seemed to have extra help from the male guides! Not bvery respectful for visit to a temple.

We started with the offering at the alter.

We then made our way to the pools.

It was slippery getting in and the bottom of the pool was rocky which made it hard for me!

We all had a turn in the first pool where at the first fountain you put your hands together to pray and splash our face three times to cleanse and then accept the blessings of health before leaving that one and entering the second pool.

Lynne decided she would not enter the second pool as she had to pee!

After changing back into our clothes and feeling fresh and cleansed we followed our guide around the temple ground. They are preparing for a special ceremony soon – hence the statues wrapped in sarongs.

Time for lunch so we walked the maze of stalls with everything from beads, fans, clothes, art, fruit and made it back into our van and headed off to lunch in a rice paddy field.

We stopped again in about 10 minutes for a coffee & cacao plantation walk. We saw some civat cats. Apparently the civet cats eat ripe coffee cherries, and the beans pass through its digestive system before being collected and processed. Quite a story. We sat on the terrace and had a tasting of about 15 different coffees and teas. Coconut coffee was delicious and the rosella tea beautiful. I bought some lemongrass tea and turmeric. Hopefully they’ll give me vitality and bones that don’t ache!

Back in with Diva we decided our old knees would not cope with 150 steep steps down to the river at the falls. So decided to look from the bridge. We got there and decided no! It was too expensive for a walk out on the bridge!

We opted for the monkey river sanctuary.

Usually I don’t like monkeys but these ones are lovely and funny and don’t try and raid your bag for food.

Heading back to our accommodation we felt like we’d had a great day. Prayer and cleansing, lunch and coffee and playful monkeys to finish the day.

Diva was a star ushering us around

Fresh after lovely showers we enjoyed a few gins on the terrace before our lovely staff here at Gunung Merta brought dinner out.

Off to bed as we are up early to do a walk tomorrow.