Our first day snorkeling in Pemuteran was fantastic! The following day, after a humid run, we went down to Pemuteran’s black sand beach. Our guesthouse was actually a 5 minute walk from the beach, but we took advantage of the low-season and used beach chairs at a resort right on the beach.

Honestly, I didn’t think too much of the beach itself (the sand is course), but it was a perfect spot to read a good book and take a dip in the water on occasion. Chickens would wander along the beach which reminded me just how different Bali is from the tropical destination I imagined it to be.  I took a nice walk along the beach and enjoyed the mountain views that play backdrop to Pemuteran.

I enjoyed our guesthouse in Pemuteran just as much as I enjoyed the beach. It uses part of its profits for an afterschool program on site. The staff were extremely friendly and our room was really nice. One of my favorite moments at Kubuku Guesthouse was when I ordered breakfast for my friend. I had requested no butter, so when one of the women brought out breakfast, she filled the butter slot on the plate with…. chocolate sprinkles. Haha, who wants chocolate  sprinkles on their toast? At least it was thoughtful :)

After three days in Pemuteran, snorkeling, enjoying the quiet beach, and eating at roadside warungs (local little restaurants), we drove to the east side of the island to Amed, an area of 5 coastal villages (and also the name of one of these villages).  It started raining when we were halfway there, so naturally, we used our windshield wipers. And then they died on us. We just hoped for sunny skies the next five days on our road trip, and luckily the rain let up pretty quickly after that. We stopped en route in Tulamben to snorkel the USS Liberty shipwreck. This ship was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine during World War II. From what I understand, it was beached until 1963 when Mount Agung erupted. The earthquakes that followed pushed it out to sea. Honestly, it was a disappointment for me. The beach is extremely rocky, making for a difficult walk into the water, and then the ship isn’t very big. The visibility wasn’t good the day we went, and the fish and coral couldn’t compare to what we saw at Menjangen Island.

Once in Amed, we drove through all of the villages on this narrow two-lane road.  Each village is defined by a bay. Ultimately, we decided to stay in Lipah and got a great deal on a room with a balcony and a gorgeous view. We soon found out that, as luck would have it, we were staying right across from one of the best snorkeling spots in the area. Snorkeling at sunset in the bay was a spectacular way to end Day 4 of our Bali road trip!