Gili Air with Mom | Indonesia

I convinced mom it would be fun to go the tiny island of Gili Air to go snorkeling and drink on the beach. This was before she sprained her ankle….

With mom unable to put much weight on her foot, I had to take over the task of managing all of our luggage. She kept saying “I can do it, I’m not decrepit,” but I said “mom, I’m not making fun of you, I just don’t want you to get hurt!” So, I dragged the luggage from the bus to the beach where we waited for our boat, and then through water onto a little crowded boat, then off the boat and onto a horse rickshaw. I think it was right about this time that she commented that she would be fine “just laying on the beach in mexico,” and noted how much energy it takes to do “this kind of traveling.”

But it was beautiful. Hard to get to, but beautiful. We stayed at Gili Air Sunrise, which was perfect for us, though at point the electricity went out for at least 5 just as sun was going down, and because mom was injured and didn’t want to stumble in the dark, she was confined to our bungalow while I explored the island. The highlight of our time was our snorkeling excursion which was an all day trip that took us to an even tinier island. We got a great deal on it because I befriended one of the staff members at our bungalow who hooked us up with a discounted package. I think it was $20 for the day per person, pretty incredible. We saw big sea turtles and so many different kinds of fish. If you are on Gili Air,  go snorkeling or diving.

We also spent every night at the cutest little beach cafe called “Blues Corner Cafe.” We enjoyed talking to the owner, who amazingly enough had been to New York over 20 years ago and spoke about seeing broadway shows and thinking they were the most amazing thing ever. He also has the cutest kids ever featured at the end of this post.