Day 125, Year 3: Double Dose of Gili Air
Date: Hari Kamis (Thursday), Bulan Sèptèmber 11, Pada Tahan 2008
Weather: Another Sunny, Perfect Day
Location: Teluk Naré (Kombal), NE Lombok, West Nusa Tengarra Province, Indonesia

We did get a boat to take us back across to Gili Air early this morning and we enjoyed a full day of snorkeling around the three Gilis – Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan. Here’s what the Lonely Planet has to say about these islands: “Just off the northwestern coast of Lombok is a vision of tropical paradise – a trio of tiny coral-fringed islands, each with white sandy beaches and pellucid water teeming with a kaleidoscopic array of reef fish.” I guess that pretty well paints the picture.
The boats that we travel to and from the islands in here are sampans. These boats are like an over-sized canoe, 20-30 feet long and VERY heavily built with a sunshade built overtop. They glide through the water so smoothly and are delightful as a mode of travel. The one we went out on today was painted a bright yellow with “glass-bottom boat” painted clearly on each side. We first snorkeled off the northern tip of Gili Meno with turtles. We then moved to the northern tip of Gili Trawangan to
snorkel the coral gardens that were teeming with fish. Next we went back to the west coast of Meno to the “swimming pool.” This was just a shallow snorkeling area running north to south along the island with a steep drop off. We motored around to the harbor on the east coast of Meno for a lazy lunch and a visit to see baby turtles. A man named Boulong has set up a turtle nursery to give the hawksbill, loggerhead, and green turtles that hatch on the island a head start. He collects them and keeps them in salt water pools until they are eight-months old. He then releases them but figures they have a better chance at survival by doing this. Our last snorkel stop was a drift dive along the shelf on the east side of Gili Air. We enjoyed every minute of the day in the “pellucid water teeming with a kaleidoscopic array of reef fish.” The Lonely Planet has this one described perfectly.

080911 Dqy 125 Lombok, Indonesia–Snorkeling in the Gilis