About Me

My photo
Plagued by wanderlust since I can remember, I would ride my bicycle all over my rural town to feel like I was going somewhere. I would pretend I was in far- away places. My wonderful stay-at-home Mom took me on treks to local spots but my desire to go to places farther and more exotic was unfulfilled. As I child I studied the Encyclopedia and National Geographic magazines and I daydreamed of someday traveling to other countries. In my teens and early 20's my friends resembled the United Nations representatives. My desire to learn all things foreign continued: foods, dress, language, music, etc. At 17 I jumped at the chance to be a student missionary in the Dominican Republic. Once I started a career I would spend my salary on travel. My first self-paid overseas trip was to Bermuda. But the ultimate, I though, would be to live and/or study abroad. Living in Spain x2 allowed me to conquer two other goals, traveling Europe by train and learning a second language. My bucket list is still long, but I never give up hope or attempts of slowly chipping away at it during my life-time.

Blog Archive

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Tanah Lot and the Sea Cucumber

Tanah Lot is the site of a large rock formation with a the temple Pura Tanah Lot sitting on top.  Hindu make pilgrimages to this unique shrine to worship the Balinese sea gods (Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara). Priests are on site to bless you with holy water which comes from under the temple. Venomous snakes are believed to "protect the temple". In caves across from the temple there is a snake available for viewing.  Not certain if it guards the temple or is venomous, being anti-snake I chose to stay clear.



The temple is one of seven Balinese "sea temples" located around the south-western coast Bali all built within view of the other. At high tide the temple on the rock is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, but at low tide the site is a fun place to explore tidal pools.





As a non-Hindu, I still appreciated and enjoyed this site immensely for its gorgeous ocean views, life filled tidal pools, and many souvenir shops. There is also a cliff side restaurant with outdoor seating.



My favorite memory of this site, however will be my family's discovery of a Sea Cucumber, a sea creature I previously knew little about.

The discovery - Video

Sea Cucumbers are echinoderms, found only in salt water and are distant family to urchins and starfish. They often move along the ocean floor scavenging on tiny bits of algae or microscopic marine life.  The serve a important purpose in the marine ecosystem, breaking down nutrients to assist in the degradation process. I don't even want to begin to describe what it felt like or explain it's extremely gross defense mechanisms (you can read more about that for yourself).



In Asian countries this creature is eaten as a delicacy! Let's just say that it was a very very interesting tidal pool find, but I never have plans to sample that dish.  There were plenty of crabs, fish and snails in the tidal pools but the sea cucumber was quite a surprise. I was excited that we found and were able to learn more about this strange creature.



For more information about Tanah Lot go to and sea cucumbers:

http://www.bali-indonesia.com/magazine/tanah-lot.htm

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/seacuke.html

Copyright 2016. Vivienne Lettsome. All rights reserved.
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)