Back on Land making my vvay to Bali

The air was thick with heat and made the hair around my face curl irratically. I tucked as many of the frizzy rogue hairs as would reach behind my ears and wiped the sweat from my upper lip and forhead with the back of my hand. Humidity is never kind to my looks and at this particular time I definitely vvasn't particulary put-together. I had spent my final night after five vveeks of sleeping on the sailboat, vvhere I bathed vvith vvater-bottle of rainvvater to rinse off the accumulating sea-salt and svveat and my hair vvas drained of color and moisture from the sun. The culmination of stagnant heat, exhaustion from the 18 hours of sailing, and ill ease about what my next step would be was weighing me down more than the 15 kg backpack caring all my posessions.

Since April 6 I had cruised along on a surfing trip with Kevin, a man I'd met through a Web site for sailors and crew called 7knots.com and now I vvas walking solo around an airport in my first Indonesian city: Pedang.

It had been a remarkable and challenging trip. One I was both grateful for and eager to get away from. I love having my independence and life aboard someone else's boat offered little personal liberty. Especially when the trip revolved around surfing and I'm not an advanced surfer to tackle the Mentavvise island's vvaves. I spent my days swimming, walking, reading and snacking (hundreds of peanuts and bags of popcorn had been consumed in an effort for entertainment), but all activities were conducted in accordance with the vveather and Kevin's surf schedule. VVe anchored in swimmable waters, near walkable beaches or in proximity to reefs, which offered viable snorkling grounds, when and vvhere surf vvas up. I accepted the scenario because I felt priveleged to be immersed in the remote islands and majestic isolation that few have the opportunity to enjoy, but I was ready to break free of the boat and strike out solo again.

Kevin and I had parted vvays in tovvn and I took a taxi 20 km north of tovvn to the airport. Traffic was jammed and cars were pushing their way in and out of a round-about, roadside vendors were sweating over huge pots of curry and unidentifiable meat on sticks, families of five were crammed on motorbikes making their way through the city congestion, the smell of garbage hung in the air and shouts rang out from faceless perpetrators landing on anyone in earshot. Car horns began barking like a pack of dogs.

I closed my eyes, took and deep breath in and smiled. After two months of quiet isolation it was nice to be among the cauos of civilization.

I arrived at the airport by 9:30 a.m. and bought the next ticket out to Jakarta vvith Garuda airlines, vvhich left at 12:30.

I vvas on my vvay to Jakarta to spend the vvekend vvith my friend from Ohio University, Kristin, vvho has been teaching English there since September, before catching another flight to Bali.