We started the day with round two of fueling. We had been warned that fuel in Bali is dirty, so we filtered all the fuel with an external filter as it was pumped. We are pleased to report that the fuel did not have any debris or water in it at all. We are still going to polish it before we take off, to be safe. Kosmos is now level, which is nice.

After fueling, we went white water rafting. Eric went once many years ago and had a lot of fun. Christi once went on a week long white water kayaking trip, which was a disastrous experience where 90% of the time she was taking the rapids upside down. She does not look back on that trip with fond memories. Christi had been told taking the rapids in a raft was more fun than a kayak, so she was willing to give it a go. We figured that since it had been raining so much the last few days (we only mentioned the rain on days where it affected our plans, but it has rained at least a little every day that we have been in Bali), the river would be full and the rapids good. And we figured the water would be pretty warm, too, which is an important factor for Christi.

The company we chose is called Sobek and is just outside of Ubud. Much to our surprise, they came and picked us up. We were relieved at not having to worry about transportation up there. We took a different road into the mountains, which had fewer buildings and a lot more farm land. We got to see lots of rice fields along the way, which are pretty. We made some turns onto very small back dirt roads, then stopped at a road too small for a car. We walked about 200 yards through a village to the office. Upon checking in, they had us watch a video where they showed a release of liability form paragraph by paragraph and read it out loud. We were handed a life jacket, helmet and paddle and set off down a path that led to the edge of a cliff. Below us was a lush river valley, only as wide as the river. The river was a long way down, so far that you could barely see it from where we stood at the top. The path turned into a staircase that winded and twisted its way down the mountain to the river below. It was a long walk down. The staircase was carefully carved and is well maintained. We suspect that the people in the village above probably make this walk daily or even more than once a day to get water for their households.

We hopped into the waiting rubber raft and took off. The ride was wonderful. You seriously felt like you were in a remote forest and, except for the occasional building visible at the top of the cliff, you could completely forget you were in a densely packed city. The foliage was thick, with a lot of bamboo, some mangrove trees, banana trees, coconut trees, and much more. The birds were singing, and at one point we spied an odd looking tropical bird catching a fish in the water. Since the walls are sheer cliffs, as you look from the ground up to the sky, you see nothing but green plants and a patch of blue sky at the top.

Early on in the ride there was a large section of rock face along the river’s edge that had been intricately carved with the same sorts of deigns and images we have seen in the temples. The artwork was not totally complete. Our guide told us that a team of twenty people have been working on the wall for the last couple of years.

We had made a good call about the ride being better after so much rain. The river was a meter (3 feet) higher than normal and was flowing faster, making for a good pace without much paddling needed to keep us moving along. The other benefit was that there were gorgeous waterfalls all along the way. There were more than we could ever hope to count. We suspect that at other times of the year, most of these beautiful falls are dry, and the bigger falls we saw are probably mere trickles.

To be continued”¦