What a wonderful and full day!
We began our day at the Blasinga Waterfall, near Ubud. After paying the nominal entrance fee we made our way down an outdoor corridor, lined on either side by tall bamboo poles. We emerged in a multi-level tropical paradise, complete with infinity pools, tiki bars, and bamboo swings. We could hear the waterfall but would need to walk down two more levels before we could actually see it. It was incredible! On the opposite side of the river local folks were already beginning to gather at the pool at the bottom of the falls for a day of fun. It was really cool!
The weather, however, was hot! hot! hot! as you’ll notice in the pictures from our next stop – the Kemenuh Butterfly Park. I’ve never seen so many butterflies of all shapes, sizes and colors. The park is small but impressive, designed for conservation and education, and to attract the highest number and variety of butterflies possible. Included in the park is a small garden shed where the pupa/chrysalis are kept to protect them from the birds and lizards that would otherwise prey on them in the garden. Here we saw the various stages of butterfly development and met the Giant Moth, a beautiful creature with a very short life span. It is born without a mouth and no way to take in nutrition, and lives only 24 hours. Being a butterfly is a hard life – even the other butterflies in the park have a life-span of only 5-7 days.
Next up was the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. The intent of the Sanctuary is to preserve the area based on the doctrine of Tri Hita Karana, a Hindu philosophy of maintaining a happy life through harmony with others, harmony with the environment, and harmony with the Supreme God. Home to approximately 900 Balinese long-tailed monkeys, the park is filled with beautiful sacred trees and is the site of three 14th century temples.
No visit to Bali is complete without a visit to at least one temple. Our final stop of the day was an historic temple whose name we do not know, where we were both required to don appropriate attire (wrap skirts kindly provided by the people at the temple). Thanks to our wonderful driver and guide, Fepi, we were able to fit a lot into our five hour day before it was time to return to the ship and set sail for the Philippines!
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