slowly there begins to be a little bit of light and then the black silhouettes of the fis
hermen and their boats against the pre-dawn skyline is so special. another silhouette of a fisherman on shore, getting his big new bamboo fish trap that he made over the past 2 weeks, ready to be blessed on this auspicious day, and then he can place it on his boat and take it out to sea. the balinese calendar has auspicious days for everything. and the balinese do not do things, without consulting the calendar, including sexual relations (which according to lonely planet, get 10 days a month).usually about this time i have finished journaling (just need the kinetic movement of my hand going but i am looking out at the sea the whole time). madeh, a former fisherman and still in charge of the local fishermens cooperative but now the gardener and maintenance man and wonderful person, usually comes walking up behind me with a coffee and sits down to join me watch the sunrise. i take the opportunity to ask him about the sea, the fishermen, balinese mentality, his family, ecology, the village, ceremonies...
"how do you know if today is a good day to go fishing?" "we look at the sky. if the sky is clear, it is good for fishing, if it is cloudy, then there will be waves so we don't go out."
"how do you know where to go for the fish?" "we look at the sky. if there are seagulls, we know that they are looking for fish too, so we go where they are. sometimes if a fisherman came back with alot of fish, the next day we go to where he was too. we have borders where we can fish....from that tree, over to that one is for our village....we do not go past that area, because the fisherman from the other village go to fish over there. the swallows here by the shore are just coming to dip down for some water, they do not tell you about the fish. there are some people in the village that build big houses for the swallows because they like them and then they come over to the sea sometimes."
suddenly he giggles and says "oh, did you see? the flying fish!" and i look at where his glance is and see a whole school of baby fish again in the air as the wave has gone down and left them in the air!
"is now a good season for fish?"" no. when there are big waves, we cannot go fishing and bali needs to bring fish from jakarta. the price goes up since there are not alot of fish. it is like that for the next couple of months, and then in september thru december the sea is like a lake. it is good for fishing, all the villagers come down here and go in the sea." (with their clothes on, no bathing suits, most do not know how to swim).
guests at the resort noticed that we were eating fresh tuna everyday for dinner in a variety of ways, all delicious, and wondered whether that is the only fish they catch here? " no, just the owners like the tuna (expensive). once when i just became a fisherman i was far out at sea where the tuna are. about an hour boat ride from here, and i had my fishing rod and i caught a tuna. when i tried to lift it out of the sea, i couldn't, my hands were shaking, it was so heavy and big. i looked into the sea and i saw it was a huge fish! my first tuna! and i sat in the boat holding the rod for three hours until another fishing boat came by and the fisherman dived into the water and had to lift up the fish together with me to put in the boat! it weighed 60 kilo.at that time there was a very good price for the tuna, too." what did you do with the money?" " i gave it to my wife."
"how come some men use nets, some rods, some traps?" "the traps are expensive so only if you have money can you have one (only one man has one here). you put it in the sea and wait for 2-3 days and then take it out, the little fish swim in the trap, and then the big fish go in after them, but cannot get out, like the little fish can. the nets are easy, you row out a little way, and lower the net down, and just wait an hour and then come lift it up again. the fishing rod is for going far out to sea for the tuna, and then you need money for gasoline for the motor for the hour ride each way."
"madeh, do you think the balinese notice the difference if there is garbage strewn on the sand and the forest, or if it is clean? i have a feeling that they do not think that plastic bags and aluminum foil wrappers is an eyesore...for them it is all one, no?" "no. they just do not think "why should i put this in the garbage?" they just want to be lazy and not be concerned with what happens when they finish eating or drinking or smoking.they just throw it down." "do you think they notice when i have cleaned up the forest and the beach, is it something they can see and appreciate?" "yes, but they think "why is she doing it?" they do not understand that it is healthier and that it is harmful for the sea life, and that burning it is emitting poisonous fumes and harming the roots of the trees...they just think "why is she doing that? (me, doing my daily round of collecting what they have thrown down on the way to the temple, after sitting on the beach, while driving on their motorbike, while buying something to eat at the kiosk....). i also think that since they do not swim, they do not snorkel and they haven't seen how the coral looks with the plastic bags and candy wrappers. they stand and watch me; some amused, some bewildered, some appreciative, and some, like this morning...nonchalantly dumping 2 sacks of garbage into the sea, along with the emptied plastic sack just as i have finished filling up one sack with what has been swept ashore....hmmm....is it worth it??! he continues:"maybe now things will change. the government makes announcements on television, there are cities that have cleaned up the beach and it is nice there now, and maybe eileen has come to cili emas resort in tejakula in order to help bring about the necessary change!"
by now, the orange ball of sun has risen, there is always a moment just before when the sky is light enough to see a silhouette of a distant mou
ntain from lombok. made proudly tells me the name of it. "have you ever been there?" "no." most balinese never leave bali...some do on cruise ships as waiters...for most, it is out of the question monetarily to fly or take a boat somewhere abroad. made leaves to go to his little compound behind the resort where he lives with his wife, and 3 children. they are such gentle happy kind people. and now he goes back home to change into work clothes after having slept on the sofa as guard while the owner is away for a week.i continue with my writing, noticing the daily parade of the chickens as they come to search around for some food, totally secure in their strut, not threatened by dogs or cats eating them or their chicks (could it be because they pray for them all the time, there is no agressiveness between the animals?!) i suddenly notice a bit of a ruble going on and see a cock releasing his hold from a rooster. she straightens out her feathers and struts off (aha, is that where the phrase "don't ruffle my feathers!" comes from?) and he lets out a loud "cock a doodle doooooo!" (and is that where the slang for the male sex organ comes from too?!)
and slowly the shore which is filled with the lovely morning sunshine glittering on the sea becomes the backdrop for the 2 women that come down with buckets on their heads each morning to collect and carry sand to a building site, to a few kids with fishing line that lasso it into the sea to try and catch a fish or two before school, to a jogger, and me doing my tai chi every morning, which is another strange phenomenon for them to observe. and then the men that gave gathered at the steps that lead down to the sea go sauntering down as the fishing boat reaches shore and all 8 help bring it ashore and see what luck they had this morning...
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