Hawaii Day 3: Into the Jungle

Written by: Dean Golan

8/19/21
Our typical morning rituals have involved sunrise yoga and meditations, but we decided to take a break this morning since we had such an exhausting day and late night yesterday. After piling into our minivans and trekking across the island, we arrived at Papahana Kouala eager to work and learn more about Hawaiian heritage. Upon our arrival we joined the staff in their morning ritual, where they blow a conch shell in all 4 cardinal directions to greet the sun, mountains, and rivers, and start the day with good intentions. After the ritual we started our first task of the day, which was trail maintenance for a new trail on the mountain of ‘Ioleka’a. Armored with machetes and shovels, the group channeled their primal instincts and entered the jungle. The day was especially hot, and we worked tirelessly to bushwhack plants and clear out brush from the trail with our machetes. On our way through the jungle we encountered some red berries, which our guide Ka’iwi informed us were strawberry guava, and so we eagerly scarfed down every last berry we could find. At the top of the mountain we took a break from our machete’ing and Ka’Iwi told us a couple stories about the history and mythology of the mountain we were on. We also had a discussion about the harmful effects of invasive species to foreign ecosystems and the devastating impacts people can have on an ecosystem by making thoughtless decisions with no regard to the land. We really came to understand the importance of serving as a humble steward to the land, rather than only acting as a greedy consumer. Seeing the entire ahupua’a (slice of land between mountain and sea) of He’eia from above showed us the value in striving for balance and harmony in life. Prior to the unlawful colonization of Hawaii, tribes lived in harmony within each ahupua’a and provided sustenance from the ocean to the mountains in one society. Nobody took more than they needed from the land, and people traded with one another and worked to preserve and protect the land, having no other alternative since there was no reliance on importation of goods. These discussions provoked our line of thinking and introduced alternative perspectives that we will all take home after this trip and apply into our daily lives. 

Later that afternoon, we finished our trail maintenance work and took a plunge in the ice pool we had been frequenting for the past 2 days, providing a much needed bath for our muddy, bug-bitten, and sweaty bodies. For lunch we ordered takeout from the Waipole Poi Factory, a restaurant that specializes in Poi (mashed taro). Eating poi after previously working in the taro Lo’i was a really cool experience that brought a sense of closure to our time on Papahana Kouala. Despite the poi having a strange gelatinous consistency and exceptionally bland taste, we held a deeper appreciation for the cultural significance of the plant and the the hard work required to create such a local delicatessen. After lunch, we helped roll some meaty logs out of the forest for a chicken coop, and then we hopped in the stream to collect fish to be ground up and used as fertilizer for the taro plants. The tasks we had performed for Papahana Kouala continued to reinforce the principles of living in harmony with the land and our surroundings, and working to minimize wasteful behavior and think resourcefully to achieve balance in the ecosystem. One interesting thing we learned in the mountains was the value of the tea leaf plant: every part of the plant is used for some purpose in Hawaiin culture – the roots used to make moonshine, the flower used to treat asthma, and the leaves to build hula dancing skirts. By thinking resourcefully and avoiding sheer consumerism we can strike a balance that will help to push the world towards giving more than receiving and can hopefully combat climate change. We ended the workday with a closing ceremony, where the workers sang a chant in Hawaiian to express thanks to the sun and resources of the land for providing us with sustenance and happiness. 

After working the full day, Alexios and Joey were eager to bring their cheffing skills to Hawaii and so we bought grilling equipment and a mountain of food so we could feast on the beach right by our campsite. We grilled some meaty veggie burgers, ahi tuna, marinated chicken, and a bunch of veggies and pineapple to supplement our meal. We did some classic EGL bonding with soccer games on the beach, hot seat circles, assumptions, and star gazing to end the night. An all around incredible day packed with learning, activities, and bonding, we went to bed eager to continue our trip! 

Hawaii Day 5: Sunny Workday and Statehood Day

After waking up to watch another sunrise, some of us spent the morning doing yoga, meditating, and reading on the beach while the rest of the group enjoyed sleeping in a bit before heading out for our final day of volunteering.

We were lucky enough to have a new experience at Hui o Ko’olaupoko today which is located in the same valley as Papahana Kuaola but farther downstream. Hui o Ko’olaupoko is a non-profit watershed management group that focuses on ecosystem restoration and storm water management in the Ko’olaupoko region. After meeting our volunteer leaders for the day and some initial introductions, we grabbed some gloves and weeding tools and set out to the He’eia State Park. Working together, we cleared invasive species such as weeds and mangrove tree roots which are non-native to the land. We took a quick lunch break and were able to try some fresh coconut water by shaking down coconuts from nearby trees and chopping them open with machetes. After this we went back at work, this time filling planter boxes with plants, soil, and mulch, constructing the irrigation system for the boxes, painting a water collection stand, and shoveling invasive plants out of the area. Our volunteering ended after we finished those tasks and we left the site to explore more of Oahu. 

When we left the volunteering site, we noticed how empty the streets and roads were and upon asking some locals at a gas station, we found out it was Statehood Day. Also called Hawaii Admission Day, it commemorates the anniversary of the state’s admission to the Union. To learn more, we decided to visit the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. This museum is the designated Hawai’i State Museum of Natural and Cultural History and is made up of several buildings, each with different aspects of history and science from the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu. This opportunity gave us a new perspective on the stories and history that we had been learning about during the week while volunteering and talking to members of the non-profit organizations we were visiting. 

With a spectacular day of working under the sun and visiting the museum almost over, the group headed back towards Camp Erdman for the night. On the way, we stopped for shaved ice, malasadas, and groceries for dinner. When we arrived back at camp we started a barbecue on the beach and enjoyed a great night of bonding and stargazing before going to sleep.

Our volunteering site for the day

Taking a break for a group photo!

Learning about Hawaiian history at the Bishop Museum

Hawaii Day 2: Leadership & Collaboration

Aloha! We started our day with sunrise yoga and breakfast at a local coffee shop. Many of us tried açaí and pataya bowls for the first time, and we fueled up for the day ahead. 

We elected to have a late lunch and condense our volunteering into one nonstop session. We further tended to the kalo plants from the previous day. Submerged in mud, we fertilized around the plants with fish meal, dehydrated and ground fish from the local area. Half of us then courageously carried buckets of mulch back and forth from the farmhouse to the swamp, and the other half covered the kalo plants in mulch. This was a particularly significant endeavor, because the fertilization and mulching process only occurs twice throughout the twelve month life cycle of the plants. During this work, we discussed the significance of recognizing and preserving the space that we occupy, as well as the transfer of energy from our bodies to the plants. It was very important that we nourished the plants with positive, gracious energy so that they can nourish the people they will feed. 

After tending to the kalo, we began weeding in a nearby forest. Ninety percent of the plants at the preserve are invasive species, so it is of high priority to preserve the native plants. All of us contributed to a tree that was suffocated with weeds so extensively that the branches grew in a helical manner. With some careful landscaping, it was beautiful to see how the tree regained vitality. It was also an important reminder of our collective power and ability to restore and transform, even in an unfamiliar situation. 

We ended the day with a dip in the freshwater pond that sits near the top of the preserve and drove to our subsequent location, Koko Crater. 

There, we climbed the 1,050 stairs to the summit together. We relied on each other for motivation and perseverance, especially in places where the steps where missing or eroded. After enjoying a few moments at the top, we continued down the coastline until the end of the rocks. We took a few moments to take pictures and enjoy the strengthened relationships that formed on the way up despite our sore muscles. 

We climbed back to the summit and started our descent back to the ground. About midway through the stairs, we encountered a woman who fell and was in need of help. Together, we used our leadership and collaboration skills to orchestrate an emergency helicopter rescue for her with the help of the Honolulu Fire Department. The group cleared the way for fellow hikers and emergency personnel while Joey and Sadie stayed with the injured woman’s son. After a successful helicopter rescue and reunion, we enjoyed a much needed hydration and shave ice break. We also took some time to reflect on our gratitude for the safety of the group and the promptness of the emergency personnel on Oahu. 

We then visited a nearby beach, where we watched the sunset, climbed near a blowhole, and crawled through a cave. The beach was incredibly beautiful, and it was a tranquil ending to a high energy day. 

On the way back, we celebrated Taco Tuesday at a Mexican restaurant in Honolulu. We also enjoyed some churros and chips and salsa on the ride back. 

Back at Camp Erdman, we sat together on the beach and looked at the stars and watched the waves roll onto the shore. We discussed some of the lessons that had manifested during the day that we could apply to engineering and business. Most notably, the importance of acknowledging and learning about the different cultures of the environment and people with which you are working is critically important. We are more likely to take care of land and people that we value and respect, which can be a useful principle for synergy in both our personal and professional lives. 

Thank you again to the EGL Alumni, the Seth Bonder Foundation, and the College of Engineering for this incredibly enriching day and the opportunity to leverage our leadership and collaboration skills in a new environment. Speak soon!

Day 4

Hello All,

This morning started off as any other has been—a soothing crash of waves coupled with the soft morning sun trickling in through the window onto our eyes. We have our own little “ahupua’a” here (“land from mountain to the sea”), lodging at Camp Erdman in a space that is nothing short of dramatic when you witness it up close. Not only do pictures fail to do the justice to what we can see from here, but they also fail to capture the essence of all the senses which are stimulated by the elements here.

For me this takes me back to when I learned about Immanuel Kant’s teachings on the Sublime and the Beautiful. He says “Whereas the beautiful is limited, the sublime is limitless, so that the mind in the presence of the sublime, attempting to imagine what it cannot, has pain in the failure but pleasure in contemplating the immensity of the attempt.” The beautiful in this case can be captured by the sunrises and sunsets we view—both passing moments which we take in and think of in the context of the moment we are in, the people we are with, and of course, the awe-inspiring colors. The sublime in this case is the Ocean and the Mountains and the Land. For thousands of years, these elements in the ahupua’a went through a limitless amount of change that we cannot possibly fathom. It makes us feel in our blood that there is something more that is linking everything together, and this blends perfectly with our teachings from Papahana Kualoa in the first few days. To be one with the land and work with something truly sublime, thousands and millions of years in the making elevates us to really consider everything in a new light. Working to regenerate this land the first few days in tandem with the many thousand year old stories we heard only gave us more appreciation for Camp Erdman and all of Hawaii.

We arose with our bodies tired from the day prior, having collectively chopped down over 35 invasive trees on a stunning trail up the side of the mountain at Papahana Kualoa. With the volunteer site short-staffed for the day, they could not accommodate us, but we have struck a deal to extend our work on Friday to make up for loss time. We ventured then to learn more about the Ocean having been on the land for three days. We discovered marine life through the eyes of snorkel gear, and witnessed sea turtles, monk seals, and a plethora of delicate fish. Despite some sightings, we can now with certainty say we see the connection between human intervention and damage to this ahupua’a, with reefs having been decimated (and consequently sea life) by humans due to toxic sunscreen. We learned all of this on the boat, and it only underlined the fact that everything is connected, from the mountains, to the valley, to the beach, and to the sea.

Hawaii Day 1: Muddy Salty Sandy

Our first day in Hawaii was incredible! After some of us watched the beautiful sunrise and did yoga and meditation, we started our first day of volunteering with an ancient hawaiian morning greeting ceremony at our worksite at Papahana Kauola. The ceremony involved blowing a conch horn in all four directions and chanting traditional hawaiian prayers. Our leader for the day, Mae’le, explained to us their purpose as an organization to reconnect hawaiians to their ancient roots of sustainable living and culture. We discussed hawaiian history and mythology and learned about the violent takeover of their monarchy by US businessmen and the current problems locals face with poverty and generational trauma. We learned about Kalo, or Taro, the staple food in Hawaiian cuisine which they farm at Papahana. Then we got down and dirty in the mud pits where the Kalo is grown to pull out weeds and lay down cardboard to prevent more harmful growth so the Kalo could grow strong and healthy.

Throughout the hard and dirty work, we learned so much from Mae’le about hawaiian history, culture, mythology, and contemporary issues. We learned many of the original names of mountains that have been changed by the tourism history to mask their origins and connection to local culture. She showed us a cold mountain stream to wash off the mud from the Kalo pits, or Lo’e, and cool down and we continued to discuss hawaiian history and contemporary issues. To finish the day of work after lunch we learned about the invasive species that plague the island and weeded out some to protect the native species they grow on the Waipao.

Mae’le also taught us about the history and significance of surfing for hawaiian culture, so we decided to surf that afternoon after finishing up work. We headed back to the north shore for surf lessons and kayaking where everyone that got lessons successfully stood up to ride a wave! We met up at a beach for sunset where some of us got to see some sea turtles on a secluded cove. After a long and tiring day we all fell right asleep back at Camp Erdman excited for the rest of the week of work!

by Joey Shoyer

San Diego Days 0, 1, 2, and 3 by Sharon Sun

Day 0: Everyone trickled in at different times. I was the first to arrive, followed by Jess, Hanna, and Nam, then Matt and Neal, then Jared and Santiago, and finally Sarah. 

Lucky D’s Hostel, located in downtown and a seemingly hodgepodge living space where travelers of all kinds come together, is where we would be staying in for the trip. Despite the broken ceiling fan and lack of AC, we embraced the ambiance and settled down into the place that we would call home for the next week. 

Here is us enjoying our first group meal (minus Sarah who was still struggling with a flight delay at the time).

Day 1: After a long day of traveling, our group was ready to start our first official day together in San Diego. We started the morning with a nice stroll through our surrounding neighborhood and climbed what Google maps named as the “Stairs of Death” and aptly labeled as a gym, but it was all worth it because we got to see this amazing view of the pier from up top.

With Nam keeping us productive, we followed up this trek with a journey to Coronado Island via a speedboat. Here is us at the drop off site, with mainland San Diego in the background. 

We were so excited and busy exploring the beaches and soaking up Southern California culture that we forgot to take any more pictures but here is one of Nam and I after infiltrating the Hotel Coronado’s exclusive pool area 🙂

We were all extremely tired (and unfortunately sunburnt) after swimming in the waves so we couldn’t be happier when dinnertime came around. We knew we wanted to take advantage of the diverse cultures present in San Diego so here is us at a Thai restaurant about to dig in.

Afterwards, we knew that our volunteering assignment would begin the next day, so everyone turned in early, eager to start contributing towards what the volunteer site had for us. 

Day 2: We set off to what would be the furthest volunteering site from our hostel, a community farm/garden where San Diego residents can rent out plots of land and grow their own food for sustainable living. There, with the blistering sun above us, under the friendly eye of an Englishman named Andy, 5 minutes away from the Mexico border wall, we helped clear out plots of people who had abandoned their lots in order to get them ready for new tenants to take over. Some plots had been completely overgrown by thick weeds and others were a treasure trove of miscellaneous items that someone had collected over their time with the community farm. Here are some pictures showing what we dealt with, us hard at work, and where our valiant efforts eventually took us to accomplish.

At the conclusion of our time at the farm, with some of us still reeling from getting sunburnt, we decided an indoor excursion would be best suited for the afternoon, so we decided to head to the San Diego Aquarium. We saw so many fun aquatic creatures like seahorses, tropical fish, sting rays, and so much more. A group favorite was the tide pool sea cucumber which we all got to touch. Here is us in front of a big tank inside the aquarium.

Day 3: Our second volunteer day was with Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore where we helped move donated items around in their storefront. The profit generated from ReStore would go towards getting supplies for building houses that Habitat for Humanity organizes. Slipping seamlessly between Spanish when talking to some customers and English when talking to us, one of the floor managers, Alex, would tell us exactly where he wanted various pieces of furniture and we were there to move it. Here is Neal, Nam, and Santi on the loading deck unpacking a truckload of donated items along with Jess and Sarah using all that they can to pack the garbage can after cleanup.

After ReStore, the group went to tour the USS Midway Museum (the Uber driver that got us there was actually an ex-electrical engineer who served on the Midway back when it was still in commission and had a son who went to the UM Med school!) This was, in my opinion, one of the coolest things we’ve seen so far in San Diego. We could go inside the actual sleeping quarters of those serving aboard the gigantic naval aircraft carrier and see what command central looked like. We could even push the navigation buttons and sit inside different aircrafts on display. Here is Neal and Nam plotting out navigation as well as Hanna, Matt, and Jared checking out a throttle board, and also Jared piloting a small aircraft aboard the ship.

Final Thoughts: The trip as been truly eye-opening and fulfilling. Our group has made some great memories and are learning a lot at the same time. Alongside the fun, some of the darker societal issues were made clear to us too: the prevalence of homeless encampments along city streets and the wealth disparity between neighboring communities but through the darkness, our hearts were warmed by the dedicated and inspiring people working at the volunteer organizations like Andy and Alex. I think we’ll all be taking away more than just fond memories with each other from the trip and I’m excited to see who we’ll meet and what we have in store at our next sites!

First Day in Montana by Matt Howard

Today was our first full day here in Montana. We woke up early (7:30 am) and had orientation at 8. Orientation consisted of introductions, learning more about the program, etiquette, and our volunteering project assignments. After that, Joe (a local friend of Global Volunteers (GV) ) swung by to meet us and answer some of our questions as a church service took place in the church we’re staying in. We then ate lunch and headed to a sweat lodge (referred to as a “sweat”), which we endured 4 rounds of spirituality, prayer, and a ton of heat. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life, but also one that I am glad we got to experience. We were invited because of the good connections that GV has with the Blackfeet people – we learned that not all groups get invited to do these kinds of activities. The sweat lodge lasted like 5 hours or so, because we needed many breaks to allow our bodies to cool down and to rehydrate. It was way hotter than any sauna I’ve ever been in! After the sweat, we went back to the Pow Wow to eat Indian Tacos and watch the last night of dancing. But then, we were invited to join the community in a friendship dance which was super cool. We left and we’re all absolutely exhausted and we’re asleep by 10 pm I believe. What a great first day. 

Trip Reflection by Robbie Greenberg

I’m writing to you all after our final days in Bali have come to an end. After an adrenaline-seeking high octane first 10 days, our group finally hit our exhaustion capacity. Our last couple of days never really left the confines of our volunteer site and facility, and perhaps that was for the best. The mix of adventure and cultural exploration is a significant part of these volunteer trips, but it was nice to have our final days feature the heart of what we were in Bali to do: help Green Lion and our local community. This blog post is a reflection of the trip and the impact we had.

Throughout the trip, we had multiple discussions about the purpose of a volunteer trip. Was it to work full days only at the volunteer site? Was it to experience the culture and share our experiences? How could we best balance both? Bali obviously has so many tourist opportunities, but should we be spending some afternoons in paradise when we could always do more at the temple? The volunteer site didn’t like to let us work more because they were so proud of what Bali had to offer and wanted us to experience it, but throughout most of the trip, our group couldn’t shake this guilty feeling.

On my final days of my final VA trip, I began to get clarity. On our third to last day, I went to lunch with some volunteers at a cafe owned by a villager named Harry. Harry’s entire business revolved around volunteers choosing to come spend just a bit of extra pocket money to get his fresh acai bowls and smoothies. He explained to us how much his business has changed since the volunteer program begins in 2017 and how thankful he was for us choosing to come to his village. He couldn’t have been a more friendly host and even though we walked to his cafe, he offered to drive us back to the homestay after our meal.

On the final morning before we left, I went for a morning walk around the village. The local shop owner waved, and a bunch of smiling kids ran by on their way to school yelling “Hello!” After going about fifteen minutes away from the village, a motorcyclist stopped me and asked if I was one of the volunteers in English. After I nodded, he emphasized his thanks to me explaining how much the village had changed. All of the streetlights, paved roads, taxi drivers, and local business owners were thriving as a result of the residual benefits of extra spending to their village economy, something most volunteers probably thought was marginal. All of this was in addition to our actual work which he commended on as well.

After leading this trip, and being a participant on 3 VA, these final moments have helped me understand the totality of the experience. Sure, I’ll always remember waterfall jumping and the sunrise on Mt Batur. I’ll remember my past experiences in Portugal and Philippines cliff climbing and islanding jumping. But what really sticks with me emotionally even amongst the criticism that programs such as these take, is not just the work we actually did but the residual impact we have had. Sure in Bali we helped renovate a temple floor, but we also empowered an entire community and made cultural connections that will transcend our physical accomplishments. Just by creating blogs like these we help spread their culture, attract more volunteers, and completing the flywheel of continued development.

I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity our alumni have provided with VA and implore future EGLers to keep the program alive. Our impact is harder to visualize than you’d initially expect, but after 3 years of these trips, I can definitely say is there in force and we are making a difference.

Sunrise Hike and Ubud by Adrien Beaufils

Our day Wednesday began early – and not a 7am kind of early. By 2am, everyone was up and (almost) out the front gate of Green Lion. Despite the chilly night air and the lack of sleep, we all piled into the waiting van eager to get started with today’s first adventure: the famed Mt. Batur sunrise hike. After about an hour of driving through deserted villages and empty rice fields, we reached our first stop. Perched on a hill side, a small shop served as our base camp as we sat together and had tea, coffee, and fried bananas for breakfast. We then got back into the van and drove to the start of the hike. There, we met our three guides, passed out flashlights for everyone, and started the climb.

Despite the early hour and cold weather, we were far from alone on the mountain. As we climbed, a trail of flashlights bobbed up and down after us in a single file, almost like we were being followed by a giant scintillating snake. To our collective surprise, we reached the top a lot faster than expected. While we’d like to attribute this to our superior athletic abilities, the total elevation change was only about 1,200 feet and the trail fairly straightforward. Still, we were happy to settle down at the top with our breakfast boxes while we waited for the sunrise. The lack of cover gave way to frequent gusts of cold wind mixed with dust and we were all anxious to feel the warmth of the sun’s first rays. Bit by bit, one of the most amazing sunrises any of us had seen unfolded before us. Clouds rolled through the valley and over us as the sky brightened with red and orange hues, until finally the sun shot up over the horizon right in front of our eyes. I think it’s fair to say that this unforgettable sight made the early awakening completely worth it for everyone.

After plenty of pictures, including some selfies with local monkeys suddenly interested in the bananas we had been given for breakfast, we started heading down. Along the way, we walked along the edge of the crater and got to feel the warm steam rising up through natural volcanic vents. We made good time on the way down and were back at Green Lion before 10am.

While the bravest members of the group set out for breakfast, the rest of us caught up on sleep before regrouping for lunch. Refueled and somewhat re-energized, we set out for the Ubud market. After checking out a multitude of little shops and stocking up on souvenirs, we headed away from the market and towards The Yoga Barn. Somehow, we’d all decided that the best way to work off the hike was to participate in a 1.5-hour collective yoga lesson. But in all fairness, the unique setting and theme of the lesson (which involved chanting) only made the experience more interesting and fun!

By this point, all of us were looking forward to the next activity we had in mind: massages! Since massage parlors and spas are everywhere in Ubud, it wasn’t too difficult to find a place. We split into two groups and all enjoyed a well-deserved Balinese massage as night fell over the island. Finally, we closed out our day with dinner at Clear Café, a vegetarian cafe with a menu and decor centered around healthy food options and ingredients. Beyond satisfied, we settled into our beds at Green Lion in preparation for Thursday’s volunteering. Talk about a day in paradise!

Weekend Excursion Car 2 by Jason Comstock

For our weekend “Excursion” in Bali (granted, every day feels like an excursion on this beautiful island), we headed over to Canggu — a quaint, beachside town about two hours from our homestay. My first impression was it strongly reminded me of the laid-back, surfer lifestyle of Southern California. As someone who’s originally from the Golden State, I especially appreciated this environment from a place that was so far from home.

We woke up early on Saturday morning to soak up as much of the Canggu sun as possible; we first explored the local town and checked out the various surf shops (it’s hard to beat these SE Asian prices!). Later, we attempted to enjoy a surprisingly strenuous vinyasa yoga class — but the craziest part was we soon discovered that our nice yoga teacher was a recent graduate from the University of Michigan! The Largest College Alumni Network in the world really does span every corner of the globe…Go Blue!

Saturday night, we enjoyed a light dinner of healthy salads and smoothies at an organic cafe (again, very similar to SoCal), followed by a gorgeous sunset walk on the beach to wrap up the peaceful day.

On Sunday, our activities were quite more adventurous and extreme, as we first embarked to go “Waterfall Jumping”. The first jump started at 5 meters high, and they progressively ramped up to 15 meters (roughly 50 feet). For those of us who are deathly afraid of heights (myself), this was a great opportunity to overcome our fears. And I was proud that everyone in our group was courageous enough to try every jump. Needless to say, it was quite the exhilarating experience for all of us! Also, it’s worth mentioning that as potentially dangerous as this activity may sound, we were closely supervised by experienced guides who exercised every precaution necessary to ensure our complete safety and security. No reason to worry, parents!

In continuing with the Waterfall Theme of our day, we later traveled to Sekumpal to swim under the island’s tallest waterfall. On our walk to the falls, we explored a mountainside village where we graciously sampled a handful of tasty Balinese staples (jackfruit, snake fruit, coffee, and more). When we finally made it to our destination, neither words nor pictures could do it justice, but these falls were absolutely stunning. Complemented by the lush green jungle, towering mountains, and colorful skies, the picturesque image of these waterfalls was truly something I’ll never forget.

We concluded our memorable weekend by feasting on a large dinner at a local restaurant overlooking the breathtaking mountains that we had previously climbed. Our Weekend Excursion to Canggu was a total success and we were tremendously grateful for the opportunity to experience such an awesome town. We returned to Ubud on Sunday night refreshed and excited to get back to work on Monday!