I was up at 8:30 to get my breakfast before my dive on Shark Point. A good job as it took half an hour before it was delivered (it was only a banana pancake) and I had to check my equipment before we hopped on the boat at 9:30.
Ours was a small group – myself and our diveguide plus a French couple. Plenty to see as well, and the dive was split as the two less experienced divers were sent up (along with an inflatable sausage) while the remaining two of us continued to explore. Nice not to have to pop up when I’ve still got 80-90 bar left.
Sadly, we didn’t see any sharks. Perhaps we needed to be earlier. But we did see lobsters, cuttlefish, sweetlips, trigger fish, angel fish, bat fish, a lion fish, two turtles… Quite a busy dive, though with a bit of a current towards the end. Not bad for $35 and close to the dive shop as well being barely 15 minutes’ ride by boat.
When I’d got back Leah told me we’d almost snagged an extra night when someone had rung to cancel. Only they rang back to cancel their cancellation. Grr. I’d have told them “tough” but I don’t run a hotel business. And I’m selfish.
One thing we did discover which I was told didn’t exist – there is, in fact, an ATM on Gili Trawangan. We’ve not used it yet as we loaded up on cash before we came out (5 million between us) but I’ve been reliably informed that it doesn’t charge for withdrawals. Quite a few places seem to take Visa though there’s a fee, normally around 3%.
In the afternoon, we headed for the beach and I went snorkelling for the first time (believe it or not). Both of us returned a vague shade of pink and in the evening opted for a restaurant nearby with an Indian menu.
The food was good, and the little black cat that sat on my lap appreciated the little titbits we fed her. However, Leah’s tummy didn’t seem to appreciate something that night and… well, let’s just say she didn’t get much sleep.