Batu Karas

There is really nothing to compare to sitting at the beach and listening to the sounds of the ocean waves crasing on the sand. I think it is one of my most favorite places to be...somehow it brings peace to my soul and rest to a weary heart. Maybe it is the getting away from the same old, same old but for me there is not better place to that than the beach....well a mountain in Idaho could do that for me, but the beach is a lot closer and more accessible than the Idaho mountains.

About a week or so after school was out, our family along with two other families and 5 single teachers headed southwest to a beach known for its surfing. It is a little bay and at one point has some great waves for those learning to surf or for the more experienced surfer. This along with another nearby beach experienced a small tsunami in July of last year. It was good to see that there was very little damage to Batu Karas although the other beach, Pangandaran, still had visible signs of the HUGE wave that hit it. We had a wonderful time together, getting up late, running or walking along the beach, surfing (well for some of us you could call it that...some of us were just glad to be able to stand up for a few seconds on the board) a couple of campfires with modified s'mores, playing games, laughing and talking.


Photos above: Motorcycle Mamas, Nick surfing, Local surfer on a good wave, Amanda and Anna, Luke surfing on the left.

Jay, our resident croc hunter, was out running one afternoon and came home with a monitor lizard, also affectionately known as Dodger. We were all impressed with Jay's ability to catch this fast moving creature but also with Dodger's ability to play dead. For the first while that Jay had him, the lizard was very calm and docile. Later that night, in Jay's room (he just wanted to keep him for a night), Dodger woke up and wasn't the nice playing dead lizard he had been earlier. Won't share the details but no one was hurt. :) We all enjoyed getting a chance to hold this wildlife that seems so rare on this rather populated island. Can't say that i have ever held a lizard this big before. We also took a trip to the Nature reserve which is full of monkeys and deer. I was hoping to see some beautiful birds but the closest we saw was a cave full of bats.


It definitely was a great trip and full of laughter and fun. I am sure it will be a place we go to again, despite the 9 hour drive over some very bumpy roads. :) We were exhausted but "puas" (satisfied) with the time away.
Just a few more images to share with you. :)

Photos: Laura and Nick, Luke looking cool, Jay the tree hugger


Anna and Hannah-best buds, Nick bargaining for boards, Jeremy and Jarod