August 21, 2025
I love the morning hikes we take from our home base in Munduk, Bali. Today, we went out exploring rice fields, coffee, and clove plantations and wandered through rural villages. We walked on cement, grass, mud, and dirt. We crossed streams and climbed a few stony, leaf-strewn muddy hillsides. The sounds of motorbikes, goats, roosters, and lots of barking dogs surrounded us. And there was always the rushing of water.
Mostly, our path was narrow, just wide enough for us to walk single file. Much of it had been paved to accommodate motorbikes. Periodically we had to squish over to one side to make space for a local on a motorcycle, driving home, picking up their kid from school, or transporting crops.
Our path wound up and down hills. We passed papaya, pineapple, and sugar palms. The lush greenery filled my senses and calmed my nervous system.
A beautiful reddish gold dog adopted us halfway through our hike and led us for a couple of miles through the rice fields. All of us who had left dogs at home were jonesing for our dogs. This was the little fellow who adopted us.
A lot of what we witnessed today was one gorgeous rice field after another.
Every time there was a juncture or turn where someone might get lost, we stopped and waited for the others to catch up. We had Ketut guiding us in front and Surya bringing up the rear.
We learned a lot about what was growing iall around us. This next shot is of Arabica coffee, one of two kinds that grow in northern Bali. Ketut gave us each a coffee bean to taste. They were delicious.
I just had to stop and take a closer look at this baby pineapple:
These flowers stopped me in my tracks, they were so beautiful.
I loved these textures.
As always, there were used prayers on the ground alongside garbage.
At one point we came upon this clove ladder and took turns trying to climb it. Ketut, of course, did it like a local. He scampered right up.
I struggled a lot more, but I gave it a try. It was a bit too wobbly and I decided to head back down to the ground. I am definitely getting older and more cautious.
All in all, it was a joyful way to spend a morning. Here’s Vicki dancing to music wafting out of a home we passed along the way.
And here’s Dina, following her own thread, stopping to study something that interested her. There was always time for doing that. It was a leisurely hike with lots of stopping along the way.
We walked at our own pace, some walking alone in silence and others chatting.
My camera kept gravitating to Vicki because of her brightly colored shirt and backpack.
Our trek reminded me very much of walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain because we were walking on varied terrain and our route traversed people’s real lives. We passed homes and tattered tarps covered with cloves. We passed family temples and heard children’s voices. Laundry hung out on the line. The sound of TV rose out of one doorway. It sounded like an Indonesian cartoon.
We were definitely walking through a neighborhood.
Maybe this is where this driver parks everyday.
These farmers were weeding their newly planted rice fields.
This woman was placing daily offerings.
This was another altar along our pathway.
In other places, the sacred showed up with in a few small leaf wrappers placed on the ground with a tiny dollop of cooked rice on top. I assumed these were for blessing the rice fields.
This father and child had somewhere they needed to go.
This family had carefully stacked wood from clove trees in this outdoor shed for firewood.
Surya said this bamboo will be used for construction and to build gamelans.
This person was advertising their business.
It was a substantial trek and we stopped several times to rest, drink water, share snacks. At this stop, Ketut, who guided us to the waterfall yesterday, demonstrated his abilities as a healer. He did hands-on work on several people in our group who had physical complaints, and they all experienced relief. Here is Ketut treating Kathryn. Surya calls Ketut “a humble healer.”
At one point, mixed among the sound of roosters and dogs, we heard the loud baaahing of sheep, came around the bend, and discovered this fellow.
At another junction, we came upon this little store that seemed to sell everything. As Meg remarked, “It’s a one stop shop. You can get gas and beautify.” While we were there, Surya bought a giant bunch of smallest and sweetest bananas. They were delicious and we were ready for a snack!
When we finally reached the end of our trek—and we were happy to sit and rest.
Until we got in our vans to drive back to the hotel for lunch, our sweet dog companion was still with us.
Later in the afternoon, after lunch, the writing group gathered. Today, we wrote to explore a deep question we were carrying in our lives. And I taught my students how to write a blessing.
After class, we gathered outdoors at the Sunset Bar for Balinese treats and drinks, a talk by Surya about the four major passages in the Balinese cycle of life: birth, coming of age, marriage and cremation, while we watched the sunset.
What a beautiful day.
