Back to Bali

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

-The Lake Isle of Innisfree, a poem by William Butler Yeats

Somewhere along the Camino I started to daydream.

Well, ok I daydreamed about a lot of stuff along the Camino, but I was more consistent with one. And that one was to travel a little more slowly. To find a place where I could stop moving for just a little while. Feel my feet planted on the ground for more than a few days with nothing more to do than a little yoga, meditation and reading (and ok…maybe practice my siestas too). Somewhere where I could take a minute with all the amazing memories and experiences from the last few months and really let them all sink in.

So I started a little wish list of what this place would be like and it went something like this:

Simple and sweet,

Near the coast,

Trees, trees, trees,

Peacefully private,

A little wild and a touch remote,

And most importantly…have a fantastic sunrise and sunset.

As intentions go (at least as I’m told intentions go), first you get specific, then you take action. So I started taking the only action I could think of at the time…talking about it. As I met people from all over the world I started sharing my wish list with anyone who would listen, hoping it would be that easy.

But not so much.

Then I took the next best action I could think of. I asked Google.

Now while I don’t think the universe really takes Googling seriously when we’re playing with intentions, I was pretty curious what would happen. So googled ‘beach sunrise sunset’ and hoped in my heart I would get a hit on a coast back in Europe (Ireland please, please, please) but not quite. Turns out there is place in North Carolina called Sunset Beach (duh) that was a perfect match.

And my search continued.

The summer went on and before I knew it I was back in Austin for August and the daydream turned into a subtle memory.

Until a series of conversations, coincidences and a little serendipity pointed me back to Bali.

Bali.

The land of ‘omg like Eat Pray Love’ Bali.

(No…not like that! But ok, kind of like that….)

The land of ‘last time I was in Bali I was engaged only to have it all fall apart two months later’ Bali.

(And who needs those memories…..)

But yet for some reason it just felt right.

It was time to go back to Bali.

This time had to be different though. A second chance of sorts. A refresh. A restart. So rather than repeat the past and go for the safe bet in Ubud and the south, I decided to chance it and head to the north coast.

And then I found this.

The beach bungalow in Bondalem. And guess what?

Cozy? Yep.