BALI MOUNTAIN WEEKEND

Do you ever dream of dropping out of the rat race?  Maybe... starting a bar on a Caribbean island; living in the hills of Mexico; sailing around the globe. P, the kids, and I are taking a single precious year away, and will return to our American life this summer.  Our friends Cath, Johnny, and seven-year-old Huey have taken a profoundly deeper plunge. Their little family unit has left behind Australian life on the gorgeous and posh Sunshine Coast in order to open a small resort in the mountains of Bali. So damn bold!

Johnny, Cath, and Huey are not vacationing - they are making a new life for themselves. They are now part of a village, very far from home. Kanciana is a small village where local kids run around, splashing in the river. Huey, too, joyously runs wild and talks eagerly of the natural world that is now his own.

We got to spend a long weekend at Johnny and Cath's newly opened Bali Eco Stay on pristine Mount Batukaru. The stunningly serene resort is no small undertaking. There are extensive permaculture gardens, hydro power, gorgeous bungalows, a sparkling swimming hole, and an airy restaurant with views down to the sea.

I'm not sure how many of you remember Mini, and her fabulous recipe for Cap Cay, that I shared here last September. Well, she and her husband are Johnny and Cath's local business partners at the Bali Eco Stay.  I got to go back into the kitchen with Mini while she made a sumptuous feast of Balinese duck, green beans from the garden, and local rice, of course.

Bali Eco Stay is remarkably peaceful, blissfully off the standard tourist path; plus, the service has a level of graciousness that is rare in this world. What a delicious weekend!