FAREWELL CERIMONY, Another season comes to an end.

  We arrived from Deserts at Bali with the time counted. Me and Batatinha had a lot to do and the next 3 days were spent taking care of business. When we finished the last mission at shopping and at the post office and went back to Tete Bali inn at Uluwatu there was only one day left before my departure to Brasil. That's when it hit me. Another season in Indonesia was ending but this time completely different then the past times; The season had started a bit complicated for me.

  After living for 5 years at a guest house at Padang-padang where I created a name for them that became a tradition amongst Brazilians on the previous years, this year as soon as I arrived from Brasil in the beginning of the season when Bali was empty I was told that the place was full and after I went to look for a place to stay at another guest house in the neighbourhood and the price they told me was 4 times more expensive than what everyone else was paying it was obvious they had a plan organized with other guest houses of the area to don't let me stay around there as for a few years they were trying to take over my business of organizing surf trips and other needs of the tourists specially Brazilians that now were always staying in this area.

  I left without knowing where to go and the destiny took me back to Uluwatu that was the first place where I stayed and felt right at home on my first trip to Bali on 95. In that year, without knowing nobody and without nothing to offer I was treated like a son and a brother by many Uluwatu locals and was invited to live in their houses long before there were any guest houses in the area or before I was a travel agent full of clients. I ended up living for some time at Ibu Mitri's house that kind of adopted me in a time that I was really broke.

  That's how when I was friendly pushed aside from Padang-padang destiny made me bump into my friend Tete at the Uluwatu road and as soon as he found out what had happened he invited me to go live with him at his losmen. For years the people from Uluwatu were asking me why I didn't go back to live there and finally the time had come.

  I was once again treated with a lot of generosity that i have no words to thank. I explained everything to Tete and asked him to go together with me on a special night in the Hindu calendar to the Uluwatu temple to pray and place some offerings so I could restart my work again from the zero and for my path to be open so I could do my job without any obstacles.

  Even after having made this ceremony the first few months were kind of hard and the money was not enough even for food while my promotional job of the previous 5 years were now giving results that others were profiting from. Without never giving up and with faith in my work things started to get better and finally from the middle to the end of the season the Uluwatu area was very prosperous and full of Brazilians and Tete's and his neighbor's losmens were always full while I was frequently cooking Brazilian food besides organizing barbecues and other events where everyone in the area was coming to socialize after surf.

  The same job I had done at Padang I was now doing at Uluwatu and the result couldn't be different.many friends that were staying somewhere else before were now coming to stay with me at Ulus. The hard times were over. On this last day on Bali all of that had passed thru my mind and I thanked God in silence for giving me strength and for being always by my side in another hard battle. It was then that I came to realize that I shouldn't only thank in silence but on the traditional way of Bali, with ceremony and traditional food inviting my friends westerns and locals.

  I spoke with Tete and he told me that that night previous to my departure was very appropriated according to the Hindu calendar to organize the ceremony. It was already planned. I would give something back, at least a bit of food and offerings to the Gods and to the local people for all the positive energy that had fed me during those months.

  So I gave some money to Tete to organize a "Babi Guling", a suckling pig cooked on the traditional way accompanied by rice, salad and of course some cases of Bintangs and soft drinks that I bought with pleasure. I invited some friends Brazilians, Argentineans, Americans, Australians e French besides the Uluwatu locals and after a nice dinner we all had a nice farewell ceremony were we thank for all the good things we had lived on another season at Bali and Indonesia.

  There was a long time I didn't fell so good.

  While I was going to sleep thinking about my departure some were leaving straight from the ceremony to the road to Deserts on another typical night of Bali.

  I would like to thank all my friends, clients and associates for their preference and help on the difficult moments. It was a year of hard battle that has come to an end with a lot o success and positive energy.

  There was a thought left: "The harder the battle the better the victory!!!"

  I also leave here registered my eternal gratitude for all of the Uluwatu people for their friendship and generosity along this years specially to my friends that came to this occasion such as Tosca, Made Lana, Doggy, Wayan, the new generation boys of Ulus and the people from the warungs besides the others I didn't have time to invite.

  At this moment I'm in Brasil and I already miss all a lot. See you
in 2007!!!

  Sampai Jumpah lagi saudara dari Uluwatu, MATUR SUKSMA!!!

  Rodrigo "Digone"