How many surf instructors does it take to get a girl from North Carolina up on a surfboard?

4 apparently. That’s how many we had helping us in the water today. Our first surf lesson and all 6 of us got up. It wasn’t pretty, but I’d call it surfing. Though for all of you that had painted a picture for me of stunningly gorgeous surf instructors, I’m sad to report that they’re just average looking guys. Very tan and very fit, yes. But as they’re Balinese, I’ve got at least 6 inches on all of them. Erika, on the other hand….

But forget the instructors, surfing is sexy enough all by itself. Although I only got fully up on my feet 3 times in dozens of attempts, for a grand total of about 30 seconds, it was an amazing sensation. Not sure how to describe it… Floating? Flying? Ruling the world? I may be starting to understand the addiction. Like our female surf guide: a 44 year-old Australian named Melinda. She was an executive at a major Australian fashion retailer until she was given a trip to Bali for her 40th birthday, fell in love with it and moved here permanently within the year. She’s now a full-time surf guide and hasn’t thought about high fashion ever since.

Surf lessons were followed by an amazing 2-hour spa treatment. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves (one day, when I have faster internet access, I'll send more than 1).

Finished off our day at our villa with a yoga session, a fantastic Indonesian meal and tea by the pool. It’s almost perfectly silent here in our compound. We hear rumor that there’s a bustling nightlife out there. An adventure for another day… maybe.