INDONESIA: Nusa Penida Island

After a couple of days in Bali, we took a detour to the neighboring island Nusa Penida. Just a short ferry ride from Bali takes you to another world that lacks the tourism infrastructure of Bali. Penida Island is a famous scuba diving destination known for its Mola Mola (big weird creatures also called sunfish), manta rays, and strong and sometimes dangerous ocean currents. We stayed and dove with a small Czech dive resort, Penida Dive Resort.  Above the water we rented scooters and traversed the entire island and found secluded beaches, friendly locals who didn't understand a word of English, a Hindu ceremony in a temple within a giant bat cave, a hollow sea crater in a cliff, and a clear blue swimming hole below a waterfall.

We took part in a Hindu ceremony in a temple that was built within a cave on top of a hill on Nusa Penida

Temple and swimming hole on Nusa Penida. This particular swimming hole is intended only for men, and apparently it would have severely offended the locals if we had chosen to swim in it

Sea Crater, a circular lagoon surrounded by steep cliffs with a natural bridge over the inlet from the sea

Nusa Penida school kids waving and gesturing to us as we rode our scooters by

This. Beach. A long trip by scooter and on foot brought us to this perfect beach below a cliff called Last Beach. This is the cliff where I shot an Instagram drone video out over the water