A toad, a coconut and a lizard at the bar

My first encounters with Bali’s wildlife were considerably less dramatic than the wildlife documentary I was preparing for in my head.

Adapted from my travel notes dated 22 June 2023.

The toad

On my first sleepless night, I was sitting with my phone, trying to make sense of being somewhere unfamiliar, on my own and for a long stay.

Something moved at the edge of my vision. I was already preparing to identify a venomous snake from a photograph when I turned around.

A toad. A proper toad.

People say Bali is a magical island that grants wishes. I was not quite ready to kiss this particular possibility, so I pretended not to understand the hint.

The toad took offence and hopped away.

The coconut

On the second evening, I saw someone from the surf camp drinking from a coconut. My new mission was to find one.

Found it.

Our camp had a simple system: take what you want, write your name on the sheet and pay at the end. I was determined to get my part of this system right.

So I went looking for a pen.

The lizard at the bar

There was something small beside me with an unusually large head. For a moment, my spectacular eyesight informed me that this must be the pen.

It was a lizard.

This one had shapes: a diamond for a head, an oval body, a triangular tail. A walking advertisement for geometry.

With all the insects around, I felt it ought to have grown into a comfortably overfed little dinosaur. Instead, it was hanging out at the bar.

Honestly. Of all the guests to choose the bar.

Another letter from the island: why I keep coming back.