Jerry has just left with a friend on a guided "catch and release" fishing trip for Giant Trevally. They will fish off a beach in Sumbawa, which is two islands west of Bali in the Indonesian archipelago. To get there they will take a short flight to Lombok, a ferry to Sumbawa and then a five hour 4 X 4 ride on dirt roads to a remote beach where they will have to walk over rocky coral in hard-sole diving boots to get to where they will surf cast for these huge fighting fish. Bug spray and SPF 50 sun block are a must and then there is sleeping in the jungle. Clearly not my kind of holiday!
So I am here in beautiful Bali, where today, at 5 AM I was awakened by the loud grinding sound of the fogging trucks, roaring up and down the streets of Sanur spraying some ungodly chemical into the air to kill mosquitos. I grabbed the cat and hide under the covers to wait for the blue-gray fog to dissipate. The first time I experienced this, I was so freaked out that I couldn't stop talking about it that morning at the Kalimantan. They all looked at me and with such concern Muni said "Ya, bagus, it kills mosquito so no Dengue fever"—DENGUE FEVER!?! And then a giant 2" cockroach scampered across the floor...
The brilliant colors of fall foliage have finally come to us in Southern Maine. The mountains are past peak and the leaves are probably off the trees. Around Portland about 50% of the leaves have turned. Fall foliage is one of those things in nature that is so beautiful, but so fleeting. One minute the leaves are just turning and then they are gone—it makes me sad. I sometimes have to remind myself to stop and look, so I will really see.
