Lovely Lovina
Gaviota
Sun 25 Sep 2016 08:13
Lovina
Bay was ‘yachtie heaven’. It had a large
well protected (reefs on both sides) anchorage with good sand holding and
surprisingly clean, clear water. On
shore there was a nice grey sand beach and just enough bars, restaurants and
shops that you could get more or less everything. Combined with a perfect climate, local wine
and the most friendly, helpful people, there was a not a lot that could be
better.
We
arrived just in time for the start of the Lovina Festival an annual event which
draws more and more visitors each year.
The Festival opened with a magnificent parade of dancers in traditional
costume and the Sail Indonesia Rally were treated to VIP seats followed by an
excellent Gala Dinner. The next four
days were packed with events – one of the highlights was bull racing. For this we were taken to a field outside the
town where teams consisting of 2 beautifully decorated bulls and their driver
who steered the bulls via ropes through the bull’s nostrils. The teams had to run from one end of the
field to the other and were judged on performance, decoration, grace and
technique. For horsey minded people this
was a bit like ‘bull dressage’! For
bulls these animals were amazingly docile and very beautiful creatures who did
not seem at all fazed by the amount of times they had to run up and down the
field in the searing heat. Judges
awarded points and eventually the teams were narrowed down to an ultimate
champion and large ornate trophies were presented. Before the bulls raced we had a performance
of Balinese dance and music all of which was performed with the grace and
beauty these people possess. The
Festival culminated with another dance performance by the high school children
and yet another Gala Dinner. All in all
we were treated to a wonderful 4 days.
We also
did a day trip to Ubud via the rice paddy terraces and some temples. Ubud was made famous as the venue where Mick
Jagger married Jerry Hall back in 1990 and one of the settings used in the film
Eat, Pray, Love. Ubud now is a tourist
magnet and we were told by people who had visited 20+ years ago ‘definitely NOT
the place it was’. Aside from the hordes
of tourists and tourist shops it did have a nice feel to it and was an ideal
place to catch up with Syd’s friends from UK Paul and Janet who were visiting
Bali en route to Komodo for some diving.
Paul spotted a lovely little courtyard off the main road which was total
peace and tranquillity and we spent a few hours there over lunch.
Lovina
was definitely a place to rest and relax and we really enjoyed eating out at
the amazingly cheap Warongs which lined the streets. Our favourite Warong Ayu where a wonderful
Indonesian platter came to the grand total of £4 for both of us!
