Bali, day 1

The adventure started going through airport security in Perth- in my carry on, I had multiple miron glass bottles (block all light, including x rays) in my carry on.  Once they went through the scanner, security searched through all my bags and opened up all my superfoods... fortunately they let me keep them.  So the miron glass definitely works to protect food from being fried by x rays!  Alys and I arrived in Bali at midnight only to find that the driver that had been arranged to take us to Ubud, one hour away, was nowhere to be found.  We waited 45 minutes before giving up and going to ask taxi drivers how much it would cost.  The only problem was, we only knew the name of the villa we were going to, but not the address or location and none of the taxi drivers had any idea where it was.  We found one guy who agreed to drive around Ubud looking for it for as long as it took to find it for $50.  We decided this was our best option, so he drove us out to Ubud and we drove up one skinny street and down another and another and another.  On the outskirts, the taxi driver decided to turn around and head back into the center of town and just then on a little wooden sign above a doorway, he saw the words "Villa Gaia"- that was it, we found it, totally by accident and miraculously!

It was now 2 AM, and knowing I only had a few hours to sleep before 6 AM yoga practice, I slept grounded and inverted and woke up feeling fully energized.  After yoga practice, we started arranging the retreat space, met the chef Sayuri, went through the Ubud markets (hectic!).  Then I rented a scooter ($20 for the week)- driving around on the roads here is so gnarly!  People everywhere on bikes, on foot, on motorbikes, in cars!  Later in the afternoon we drove through a monkey forest, with little monkeys all over the place! It was wild!  Then we got to see a very interesting ashtanga ashram and next to it a massive three story ultra elegant bamboo house that was like nothing I've ever seen before.  From there, we went out for dinner.  I had to stop to buy a razor, having forgotten to pack mine, on the way back from dinner.  Bali is wild with so many streets and I had just been following other people around all day to get wherever I needed to go.  But Sheridan told me just to follow this same road and it would take me back to the villa... I was a little apprehensive, but I said okay.  After buying the razor, I followed the road for many kilometers... and finally it came to a fork- the first sign that something was wrong.  I picked left, and drove for 15 minutes... nothing looked familiar.  I went back to the fork, now getting cold being out in the open air in the evening.  I went right at the fork... nothing looked familiar for a long way.  I went back into Ubud, drove all around... trying to ask for directions, but everyone either didn't speak English, or had no idea where to find the street I was looking for.  This went on for 3 hours!  I was really missing my GPS!  (It turns out the directions I was given left out several key turns!)  At one point, going up a hill, I ran out of gas!  I had to push my bike half a kilometer to the nearest gas station to fill back up and I was still no closer to figuring out where I was or where I was going.  I stopped at an internet cafe to try to figure out where I needed to go on Google maps... but the "show my location" function wasn't working.  Finally, some guy walked into the cafe and he knew where I needed to go!  Ten minutes later I was back at the villa... what a crazy adventure.  My first day in a new country and I spend 3 hours driving all around these little wild streets completely lost!  It was intense, but I think I enjoyed the adventure!  This afternoon we start the yoga retreat, I'll be teaching superfood, superherb, and longevity lifestyle classes.  Check out my morning view...

The Moon's Bathing Place

After a wild concert last and two farmers' markets this morning (where I bought 4 kilos of bee pollen, all that they would sell me due to limited supplies- I'm stocking up for winter!), I needed to get back out and explore nature.  I love having meaningful experiences in nature- to me, that's what its all about... all the raw foods, all the superfoods, all the superherbs, everything else I do to cultivate vibrant health and longevity is all really designed to enhance my ability to have meaningful experiences in nature.  Sometimes I get the profound pleasure to share these experiences with others, sometimes I have the equally profound pleasure of experiencing these moments in solitude.  This occasion happened to be one of the solo adventures.  I knew I wanted to go somewhere interesting, but I didn't really know where.  I knew it would take some driving to get there, but I wasn't really ready to spend half my day driving.  I looked through a local tourism book that was given to me for Christmas by the amazing family that I stayed with in Mandurah when I first arrived in Australia.  I wasn't finding much, but then read a small section about Meekadarabee Falls in Ellensbrook.  I knew the word Meekadarabee was obviously aboriginal, but I had no idea what it meant.  It didn't really say that much about it, but waterfalls are always nice and Ellensbrook wasn't far from Margaret River, the second farmers' market I went to this morning.  I knew almost nothing about this place, but decided to go for it.  I drove out there, parked, and started following the trail out into the forest.  The nature around me was exquisite- large, majestic, wild looking trees everywhere and several small creeks flowing within view of the trail.  I arrived at a viewing point in front of a pond, which sat just below a 10 foot tall shallow cave.
    
Rewind to March- I went on an aboriginal bushwalk with David Wolfe and the retreat group and at the end of the bushwalk, David and a few others were asking the aboriginal guide about cold water springs in the area.  The lady mentioned two places.  One nearby was dried up and the other she didn't really give us enough details to know how to find it.  All she said was that it was called "The Bathing Place of the Moon."

Fast forward to today- there was a large illustrated book at the lookout in front of the pond, which told the short story of Meekadarabee, which it explains means "The Bathing Place of the Moon!" I found it!  (The story of Meekadarabee is a story of forbidden love, resulting in the death of both lovers.)

This pond clearly wasn't the source of the spring, so I kept walking, soon coming to the most incredible set of waterfalls, covered by lush greenery with water cascading in all directions.  I was so mystified by it, I stood there for the better part of an hour, just watching it in contemplation.  Then I went around the back of the falls, walking a little further to where the spring comes right out of the rocks.  I had no plans (maybe subconsciously) to find a spring today, so I didn't have a TDS meter or bottles, so I just knelt down and drank until I was full.  Definitely going back tomorrow to collect!

Then I went and watched Truth Calkins presentation on Jing City from the last longevity conference... what an inspiring presentation!  All of the super powerful aspects of herbalism that I'm furthering my knowledge of and bringing into my life are getting me really excited!  How's this for an affirmation? I am a God in a four layer biobody suit.  I have neuroplasticity and I'm ready to create reality!"

Mangosteen!

Ever since I found out I'd be going to Bali later this month, the main thing I've been looking forward to is experiencing fresh mangosteen, the queen of fruits (the Jewish relative of the mango).  I've used mangosteen in juice and powder form not for the inner fruit, which I've heard is sweet and delicious, but for the bitter rind, which contains very high levels of xanthones, the most powerful natural anti-inflammatory compounds known to man.  Little did I know, my chance would come sooner than I expected.  Today Ben told me in passing that the local supermarket (of all places!) had great mangosteen.  I didn't think you could get mangosteen in this area, not having seen it after being here over 6 months.  "No way, mangosteen?! Here!?"  I rushed over and bought the 12 that they had left and split them between Ben and I.  I cut one open and enjoyed the decadent sweet juicy fruit inside.  I once read an account by someone who tried biting right into the mangosteen peel or pericarp that it was so intensely bitter, he felt like he died!  Hoping to take a slightly easier route, I ordered a fresh glass of cucumber juice in the cafe and blended the rind up with the juice in the Vitamix.  The mangosteen has similar gelling properties to chia seeds, noni, aloe, and irish moss, so the drink had a great red color and thick smooth consistency.  Margot, who blended it up for me, tasted a little and instantly said "AH! YUCK!"  Two more people got little tastes before it got to me- one instantly ran for water and the other nearly threw up.  Finally I got my hands on it and started taking it down... my throat instantly started going dry.  Sixty seconds later, it was all down and I was going for water.  But no matter how much I drank, my mouth and throat felt completely parched!  A few minutes later it started really hitting my stomach... I left my office and headed for the toilets.  I passed Ben on the way "I don't know mate," I told him, half laughing at my own predicament "I might not be able to keep this one down."  I was feeling really quite sick.  I went and sat next to the toilet for a few minutes and started having a massive craving for chia... it made sense because the chia gel would slow the mangosteen absorption and make it more bearable.  I rushed back out to the cafe and got a cup of chia pudding and practically inhaled it.  Slowly but surely the revolutions in my stomach turned to small protests, and then peace.  I got some serious medicine out of that one!

The most exciting recent raw superfood creation- raw sweet potato chips- a raw superfood that tastes and feels just like regular potato chips and makes you feel incredible!

Tonight I had a great talk with a few wonderful friends that has me reinspired- the fire has been rekindled, I can't wait to make it all happen tomorrow!