what brad has to say...

Hi all!

We are here, i swear it. We are actually on the equivalent of
Gilligan's Island right now. As for the photos? We spent 5 hours one afternoon on Bali trying to upload the pics to flickr and it bonked on the final one, so nothing made it. Internet is satellite as we are very remote right now, so we won't be trying it anytime soon.

Ila and i did something pretty amazing the past 4 days! As of last night, we completed a PADI diving course, so we are now certified to dive anywhere in the
world down to about 70 feet! We had a really great instructor and have been studying our asses off for four days. Three of them were spent trying to learn how to do many difficult things underwater without sh*tting in our wetsuits. It was the first time in a long time I have truly been scared. Ila will vouch for me. Making your body
do one of the most unnatural things is a really taxing experience.
www.manta-dive.com
Anyway, we have now seen up close, blacktip sharks, mantas, puffers, turtles, and a plethora of reef life that i never dreamed existed. Actually, our fourth open water dive yesterday was the rock star one for our guide as we were the only group out of 6 that saw the manta (12 feet wide btw). Some of the other instructors that have been here for over a year haven't seen one, so we were subject to a lot of middle fingers last night at dinner. Everyone is jealous, we feel blessed. It was like flying with an eagle.

It is just great to share an activity with Ila that we can plan future vacations around. The surf here is a bit scary for her, so it's been the Brad Show for the first couple weeks. And yeah, I got to watch Rob Machado surf up close. Almost as cool as the Manta sighting.
He was doing a photoshoot for Reef , I think, for about three days. I thought the first day i was just looking at a guy that looked like him, but then some Aussie
surfers gave us the skinny. Never seen someone so gifted in the craft up close!

We are off the LOmbok today if we can manage (WE are on Gili Trawangan right now).
There are no ATMs on the island and we are running out of pocket money...yikes.
Anyway, hope to see more of the NOrthern part of BAli before we leave INdonesia.
Ila has a friend in N. Bali that she wants to go visit. He teaches school and his name is Scholastica. He keeps saying that the kids want to meet us. Because we
are truly exotic to them. Funny. I've heard so many things from Indo people like "Do you live in Hollywood", to "Do you have a poster of the Golden GAte Bridge that you can give me"? (???) Apparently, CAlifornia is the only state in "America". Oh well.

Gotta go now. The internet is sooooo expensive here. It's about 20 cents US for an hour!!

Dad, thanks for the KU update. Didn't think it would ever be possible.

LOve,
Brad

Growing Gills in the Gilis

The past 4 days have been a marathon - physical, mental and emotional hurtles. Is that how you spell "hurtles" like rhymes with "turtles?" well that makes sense, then. brad and I just completed our open water diving PADI certification! Breathing underwater. WOW. And what an incredible place to do it. We've been staying at an absolutely gorgeous "rice barn" style bungalow, surrounded by bouganvillea, and with an open air bathroom with polished volcanic rock floor. Lightning threatens on the horizon each night as the rainy season approaches. But still after all the written exams and tests in the swimming pool, by the time we did our first dive, the visibility was crystal clear, and we swam down in the deep with giant sea turtles and so much more. Status: officially stoked.