ketut's hideaway!

We had some good friends who had been to Bali and found the coolest place called 'ketut's hideaway'.  Ketut and his family met us at their waterfront 'hideaway' for the day and took us snorkeling, on a water tour, and fed us lunch!

in the back is one of bali's famous volcanoes!  the weather and water here were our favorite in all of bali!  there was a breeze from the water and it wasn't crowded at all!

Ketut's bungalow had places to relax and enjoy the views!  our family had the place to ourselves for the entire day!!

We had fresh coconut water (which I think is kind of yucky).

But Mack thoroughly enjoyed it :) 

we got a boat all to ourselves with Ketut as our captain!

It was so nice to have a 1 to 1 ratio for adults to kids!!  it made our day exponentially better.

I loved the area with mountains and beach!

this was our kiddos' first experience snorkeling!!  they all did really well. Metta was initially terrified- but ended up loving it!  Zeb was a natural.

mack mostly enjoyed checking out the fish from inside the boat!!

there's nannie, gramps, and metta!

there really is something so incredible about snorkeling.  seeing an entire new world that exists under the water is magical!!

after our snorkeling trip- we went on a water tour of the area!!

I loved the shore with all of the palm trees and thatched roofs.

After spending a couple of hours in the water- we got back to shore in time to watch ketut's family make some amazing balinese dishes for lunch!

I have never tasted food like this.  Bali has such original spices- and for the most part wasn't too spicy!!

fried little breads- I think! they were bright yellow!

this one- a sweet and nutty- chicken was my very favorite!

we ate until we were stuffed!!!

I'd never even heard of most of the vegetables we were eating!!!  it was crazy for my tastebuds!!

coconut chicken and rice was cooked in the banana leaves!!

here's ketut's wife teaching us all about the dishes!

this is snake skin fruit and the only place in the world it grows is the west coast of bali!  there's something about soil content and water percentages that suit it perfectly!

 it's kind of like an apple inside- but a lot softer.  They try to grow it in other spots on bali- but it never tastes as sweet or flourishes.

Zeb and Ike bought a balinese chess set and played every free moment we had! I still don't know how to play chess!!

After dinner- we learned how to create large offerings made of leaves and fruits for the Gods.

It was insane to watch these girls create masterpieces out of banana leaves!!  their cutting and weaving was so speedy- yet so intricate!!

this little girl was just a couple of years older than zeb!

The great thing about these offerings is that they make them- take them to offer- and then take them back to eat so they don't waste the food!! 

this carrier of flowers was pretty cool.  they tried to teach me how to make one- but I was NOT a good learner.

look at the bottom!  they threw this thing together in five minutes!!

we absolutely loved being a part of Ketut's family for the day.  They were so hospitable and the day was perfect!!