Day 6 - Sanur

Up before sunrise again, but this time to catch our snorkel tour!  We were the only snorkelers on our trip, which was great, along with three divers.  We left Sanur on the dive boat and were at Manta Point in about an hour.  

Beach, leaving Sanur

Rocks near Manta Point

After about 30 minutes of swimming around, we were getting concerned that maybe the mantas weren't going to make an appearance, but all of a sudden, Henry spotted one!  We watched it for a bit, but it was on the move and we lost it.  Just as I was about to give up and head back to the boat, we noticed the divers below us signaling another sighting!!  This time we got the chance to really swim with one.  It was about eight feet long and so gorgeous!

It hung around and checked us and the divers out for about 10 minutes, then drifted on its way.  I felt so lucky to be able to see them; it was the best part of the whole day!

Our second snorkel spot had a lot of fish and coral, but we didn't get many photos.  And after another 45 minutes of snorkeling, we were all ready to chow down some lunch.  We spent a little time on the top of the dive boat and Andrew, Henry and I even jumped off the top, like little kids :)

The final snorkeling spot was really great - a drift snorkel along a drop off.  We saw tons of fish and really nice coral, all while drifting along with the current.  It was reminiscent of a lazy river, but better.   We only had one camera between the four of us, so we have limited fish photos.

Exhausted from a full day on the water, we took full advantage of the late afternoon with a lovely nap :)   

Refreshed, we walked the beach-front walkway in search of drinks and found our same old spot with the lychee mint cocktails and enjoyed ourselves for a while.  Unfortunately, the service at that place left much to be desired (we had to order our second drinks when they delivered our first, and we still finished those before the second round arrived!).  We considered eating there, but couldn't deal, so set off in search of a place with 1) NO Christmas music (it's rampant here), 2) decent food (not spaghetti bolognese (which, surprisingly, they serve a lot of here), and 3) comfy chairs.  We finally settled on a nice spot with a table near the water and enjoyed our Christmas eve dinner of seafood and french fries.  I didn't get any photos, but I promise to take more tomorrow.  We're going on a day trip to a nice locals-recommended beach, Uluwatu (a famous temple on a cliff) for sunset, and a seafood dinner.  Happy Christmas eve, everyone!