Seminyak, day 9

Strangely enough, today was a great day. I'll explain why I say "strangely enough" in a minute. We started out with the third yoga lesson of the week, an hour and a half of breathing and twisting into funny shapes and then having an excuse to lie down for a bit. It was fantastic. And all without a slip and slide show thanks to a nice pair of socks. This was followed by a massive breakfast (pancakes, muesli, poached egg, odd looking but yummy brown juice drinks, ginger tea), then some pool time and a one hour massage to top off the morning.

Then came the part I was dreading, the surfing. All the girls were so convinced I was going to stand up on the board today, while I was quite convinced of the opposite and worried about disappointing them (or worse, getting pity looks for being the only loser in the group). But I did it! It took a while, and the waves were bigger today so I was absolutely terrified. But with one very patient instructor holding on to my board and shouting "don't stress" repeatedly, mixed in with a healthy dose of pride, I got up there. And the photos look pretty good too, if I do say so myself (and I do).

So I was feeling pretty pleased with myself this afternoon; it's a good thing the girls here are so fantastic and supportive, because I'm fairly certain I was bordering on unduly smug. Which is when the gods decided to strike me down (as gods are wont to do). When you surf, turns out the most dangerous part (for beginners) is getting off the board. We surf in very shallow water so when you land you're going to hit the sand pretty hard. Most times I landed on my amply padded backside (which will turn out nice and bruised in a few days). But once I landed on my right ankle. It hurt, but not for long, so I thought nothing more of it.

Three hours later, I was in agony. Right in the middle of our girls' night out at Ku De Ta. I somehow managed to grin and bear it through a couple of drinks and a starter, but then it was too much to handle and I had to go. Two of the girls actually carried me out of the restaurant, into a cab, and all the way onto my bed (I can't even put a toe down). And I barely know these women. So despite the pain (slightly numbed now by cocktails, ibuprofen and a very large bundle of ice), this was a good day, and I'm happy to be here with these new friends. And tomorrow I'm seeing a traditional Balinese healer (a rather fortuitous appointment) so hopefully I won't miss out on the whole rest of the week.