A morning to remember

Our morning yesterday was quite an unusual one…

First fishmonger at 5am

We woke up at 3.30am to be among the first ones to welcome the fish at Jimbaran Bay. As we approached the beach everything seemed very quiet but amidst the dark we were greeted now and then by several “Selamat pagi!” (good mornings) that revealed the fishermen already waiting. They were having a coffee (a super “manis” one… very, very sweet!) and chatting among themselves so we joined in and later followed them as they make their way to the sea shore.

Waiting time

Some fishmongers beat us there and were already displaying their fish from their evening’s catch but most took positions squatting and looking fixedly at the sea. The water was spattered with bobbing boats and we were wondering what would happen next as none of the boats seemed to be approaching us.

Boats at Jimbaran Bay

After an hour or so, when the sun had already risen, the fishermen came back to life and started to gather empty baskets that were soon loaded into small wooden boats. Men jumped in the boats and went out to sea while the women remained on the shore. Quietness returned to the beach for another hour and we were starting to grow impatient when suddenly the whole beach went crazy with activity. The small boats were returning and women and children started to run towards the water. Not wanting to miss whatever was coming next, we imitated them and had a privilege view of what was happening: the fishermen unloaded the baskets full of fresh fish on the heads of the waiting women while the children stealthily snatched small fish from the baskets ignoring reprimands from the adults and putting away their loot in small plastic bags.

Innocent looking children wandering around :)

Our cameraman filming the women carrying the fish

This scene took place every time one of the boats reached the shore and kept on happening for a couple of hours, every single time with the same excitement. Slowly the beach filled up with fish baskets and an equally mysterious activity developed… some people started to check the fish and shout prices while others were taking notes. Although the scene was mesmerizing, we realized that the children were nearby holding their own little auction and selling the few fishes they had managed to grab from the grown-ups.


When the commotion died down, we looked at our watch. It was already 9am! We had spent the last 5 hours captivated by a glimpse at the everyday lives of the fishermen at Jimbaran Bay.

Location, location, location

The first thing which strikes the visitor to Jimbaran is that the landscape is totally different from the rest of the island. Jimbaran is located in the “Bukit” (the hill), the peninsula at Bali’s southernmost tip, and has an ecosystem characterized by its lack of surface water so during the dry season the vegetation looks more Mediterranean than tropical. During the raining season, however, the vegetation becomes quite lush as it rains profusely. 

View Jimbaran, Bali in a larger map. 

Zoom in or out to get closer to Cuca real life location!!!!

The Bukit rises to about 200 meters above the sea level and it is ringed on all sides by steep cliffs overlooking white rollers world famous among surfers. To the north it is connected to the rest of Bali by a narrow isthmus, where lies the village of Jimbaran and the broad expanse of the tranquil Jimbaran Bay facing the Indian Ocean.

Since the weather does not allow for wet-rice farming the population looked to the sea for survival. Almost all fishermen in Jimbaran use "jukung" (traditional wooden boats) and fish with gill nets or large round cast nets. The nets are set out in the bay in the late afternoon and the catch is collected early the next morning. 

Everyone in the family helps to take the fish from the nets

Jimbaran went unnoticed by tourists until only a few years ago when world class hotels and resorts realized its extraordinary natural beauty and the unusual tranquility still prevailing in the area. A few months ago we also felt the magic of this place and found the perfect spot to build Cuca...  

Isn't it gorgeous? Just seems to be missing Cuca!

Unity in Diversity

There are few places in the world that offer such cultural variety and geographical complexity as Indonesia. Blessed with a phenomenal array of natural resources and unique cultures, Indonesia has been a magnet for every shade of entrepreneur from the west: determined missionaries, unscrupulous traders, unruly adventurers, artists in search of inspiration… The country has been occupied by Dutch and Japanese armies, surveyed, drilled, dug up and shipped off by foreign mining companies, analyzed and written about by ethnologists and anthropologists and more recently invaded by tourists. Despite this fatal attraction, Indonesia’s thousands of islands remain barely touched. 

Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world after China, India and the United States with 237 million people (2010), comprising some 300 ethnic groups who speak an estimated 583 languages and dialects. The glue that binds the people together is the usage of the Bahasa Indonesia, the national language, and Pancasila, the national philosophy, which stresses the doctrine of unity and universal justice for all Indonesians.

Over two thirds of the population resides in Java. By contrast, the province of Papua represents 22% of the total land mass, yet has only 1% of the population. A government transmigration policy resettles people on the less populated islands, and Indonesians have been alerted to the importance of only two children to a family to control the birth explosion.

Indonesia is the biggest Islamic nation in the world, with Muslims forming about 90% of the population. Bali, however, is almost entirely Hindu and everywhere there are Buddhists and Christians. But, strangely enough, there is no official state religion – freedom of thought being guaranteed by the Constitution.

With more than 17,000 islands, nearly 60 percent of forested land and a significant portion of mountainous and volcanic land, Indonesia is endowed with endless wonders in one unforgettable destination.