Lombok and the Super Bowl (Almost)

Our decision to spend at least a week on one of the out islands meant choosing (back to the French cheese market dilemma); there is no shortage of beautiful islands but we decide to buck the tourist tide and try a week on Lombok.  A short walk to the 'fast boat' counter and we're booked.   We've been prepared for the 'walk through the water to get on' but it's still a surprise.  Shoes off, pant legs rolled up, backpacks ported by women, and we're off! 

We're totally unprepared for the ungraceful exit from the front of the boat upon arrival - mercifully, no photos of that!  We're practically assaulted by men yelling 'taxi!!  taxi!!' while watching our bags being ported away from us at top speed!!  Somehow, we manage to negotiate a ride (turns out we were terribly overcharged) but we share with a fellow from Nelson, B.C. who's headed our way. 

Destination:  Sengiggi Beach, and an absolutely, lovely oasis, Cafe Wayan Cottages where we are given a heavenly room right in front of the pool!  We deliberately chose accommodations with a tv, hoping against hope that we'd be able to get the Super Bowl in which Seattle is playing the Patriots.  Last year we were in India during the Super Bowl and swear we could hear the roar from the crowd all the way to So India when Seattle won!  Can they do it again?? 

If they do, we won't be watching it on Lombok tv.  Their sports programmers have opted to broadcast the Australian Open!  Oh rats!  But Tim has anticipated that and downloaded an NBC Sports ap that is Plan B.   Sadly, it doesn't work (the internet in all of Indonesia is weak and intermittent) and we go to Plan C - KIRO Radio!  Yes!!  We listen to the play-by-play until mid third quarter . . . Seattle is ahead 24-14 and we lose the connection!!  We have to wait for a news feed to find out that . . . the Patriots have somehow pulled victory from the jaws of defeat and won 28-24!!  And we have missed what may have been the most exciting third quarter in Super Bowl history.