Going beneath the surface in the Southern Gilis

The plan for the day was snorkeling at different islands in the Southern Gilis. The islands are surrounded by coral reefs, so there is lots to explore. Plus, the ocean is calm so it is easy. 

We greeted the day with a sunrise - we could watch it rise right from our bed (but of course we didn't). It was a different kind of beautiful to see the sunrise with Rinjani as opposed to on Rinjani. And, it definitely was much more relaxing.

Snorkeling among the coral

We had a yummy breakfast (including banana crepes) then headed out for snorkeling. We shared the snorkeling trip with a great couple from Marseilles, France (Elvira and Kevin). They were super psyched to snorkel as much as possible which was awesome. When the guide asked us if we wanted to hang out on the beach, we all agreed that we wanted to maximize the snorkeling.

There were 3 spots at which we snorkeled and they were all different. The first spot was a mix of cool fish and corals - and we saw a morey eel. The second spot there were several sea turtles, loads of fish, and coral. The third spot has sea horses and gorgeous coral that you could see super close up. The 4 of us wanted to snorkel so much that we tired out the guide who ended up waiting on the beach for us to eventually get out of the water - he looked very cold. Soon, word will get out among the guiding community to never take us on as customers.

Coral love 💕

Cool sea star

So many fish!

This sea horse wrapped its tail around my finger - so cool!

These sea stars were so blue!

A sea turtle 

Beautiful coral

One of the many islands in the southern Gilis

Cute guy on the boat

Kara finishing up snorkeling - check out the crystal clear water!

A fishing boat

Dan communicating with some local fishermen

Three fisherman fit on this tiny boat

Kara chillin' in a perch in a tree on a deserted island

A group photo with Elvira and Kevin

Our snorkeling boat arriving back at our lodging

Lunch at our lodging

After lunch and our snorkeling trip, we went back out for some more snorkeling action just off the beach from our lodging. It turns out that, even on a super quiet island, I am not very good at sitting still. Poor Dan. Snorkeling just outside of our lodge, we saw sea turtles, puffer fish, lots of other fish, and beautiful coral.

A cool puffer fish

Checking out some coral

Lots of coral

A sea turtle

Lots of fish

We had a delicious dinner at the restaurant next door and then headed to bed.

Mmmm...fried bananas and ice cream