The night the hen refused to lay an egg

We will be arriving in the UK soon. We have had a lovely time in Bali staying with a family in central Bali, learning more about life in a village there. Our last day was special, because it was my birthday. Our hosts surprised me with a ceremony usually performed for such occasions in an intimate family setting, involving blessings, flowers and incense, and special foods and home made decorations.

We then traveled to the island of Nusa Lembongan where Sophia and Benjamin and I surfed for a whole week. We celebrated Benjamin's birthday there. This time together provided a very good space to reflect on our year so far. Surfing is a good metaphor for what we tried to achieve by taking Sophia, Benjamin and Helena on our adventure around the world this year. The waves are out there, you may get a push every now and then to help you; but ultimately you have to catch them and ride them, as best as you can. And then you have to paddle back to where the waves break to do it all again, because it is such a cool thing to do.

We are now less than one week away from going back to the UK. When we were in New Zealand we decided we wanted to visit the Buddhist monument of Borobudur in Java, as our last travel destination prior to coming home. The people of Java are predominantly Muslim and we arrived yesterday on the last day of Ramadan, which finishes with a huge party and holiday. Last night at 6 o clock, the small town of Borobudur and surrounding villages erupted with sounds of joy and fireworks. Everyone was out on the street. The mosques all through the valley were full with people celebrating and singing. The minarets exclaimed. All night long, from all corners, the sky was filled with the chanting of GOD IS GREAT. We didn't have much sleep, but who needs sleep when contemplating this eternal truth. Our host's chicken, terrified by the night's ordeal, refused to lay an egg that morning.

This morning we climbed up the Borobudur temple. Walking around its various levels which symbolise our earthly lives, and our struggles, we finally reached the top level which symbolises heaven. We walked around the central stupa, the symbolic boundary between heaven and earth. We were surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, which last erupted in 2010. The fields and valleys below were still misty, the sky was blue. The fireworks and minaret calls continued to exclaim GOD IS GREAT. Filled with such divine abundance, we are now ready and inspired to go home again after such an amazing year.

Komodo

And so we travelled from the top of the world in Rakaia to the tropical seas of Indonesia. We have spent the last 8 days in the Komodo region of the island of Flores. We stayed on a liveaboard initially, sleeping below deck by night. We went diving and the children went snorkelling, mostly at the same sites. The seas were quite choppy at times, but this didnt stop us enjoying it. Most mornings we would wake finding Benjamin and Helena at the front of the boat enjoying the roller coaster ride provided by the swell. Helena amazed the crew by her enthusiasm for the big waves, shouting with joy on the dingey rides with big waves. Sophia had her first discover scuba dive for a whole hour and managed to see three turtles and two cuttle fish. The children loved the fish books on board of the boat and were keen fish ID enthusiasts, spotting new fish species or juveniles on every snorkel.

The scenery in Komodo National Park is breathtaking as is the wild life. We have spotted sharks and turtles on just about every dive, and even got to swim with 8 manta rays! One day we went on land to spot the famous Komodo dragons; they are big!

After this we stayed on an island in a bamboo hut and swam with baby black tip reef sharks in the mangrove forests and shallow beaches every day.

Farewell Rakaia

We have left Rakaia with fond memories. We had a lovely farewell meal with Olwyn and Alan, and went for a final day skiing. Sophia, Benjamin and Helena have developed into capable skiers throwing themselves of blue/black slopes with no hesitation and full control. We are very proud of them!

I leave behind a great team of colleagues at the Medical Centre. The children leave behind new friends at the Rakaia School which they attended whilst we lived here.

Our time in Rakaia inspired us to come up with the following - clearly there'll be some adjusting to do when we get back to Cambridge!

Simply Delicious Apple Cake

This cake is the only cake I can bake, so it is fool proof, and delicious. It is a success in Cambridge, was a success in Golden Bay and is taking Rakaia by storm with requests for the recipe! It was originally passed on to us by our friend Lucy, so thank you Lucy   :)

Ingredients:
150 gr butter
2 large eggs
225 gr castor sugar
1/2 to 1 tea spoon vanilla extract
190 gr self raising flour, 35 ground almonds (the more ground almonds the better, reduce flour accordingly)
1.5 level teaspoons baking powder
about 3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
icing sugar for dusting

Instructions:
1. Heat the oven to 190C
2. Grease a 10inch/25cm loose bottomed cake tin
3. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat until just runny and pour into a large bowl
4. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until well mixed
5. Mix together the flour, ground almonds and baking powder and sieve this into the mixture, and fold it in.
6. Put about half to 2/3 of the mixture in the cake tin.
7. Add the apple slices and arrange roughly on top
8. Spread the remaining mixture on top of the apples - it is always difficult to get this last bit of mixture smooth but don't worry as the blobs even out during cooking
9. Bake for about 45minutes, until the apple is tender when prodded with a knife or skewer.
10. Remove the cake from the tin, turn it upside down to cool on a rack
11. Dust with icing sugar and serve either when still warm or when cooled. This will keep well in the fridge for a few days.

Our current motto for our last week in New Zealand

Nature

Everywhere (well, almost everywhere) we go in New Zealand, we get the feeling you are in a Nature Reserve.

We stood under a tree enjoying wonderful sounds this Sunday, just a walk, by the river.

Spirals