View of Amed.

The last two days in Tauch were highlighted by the kids’ snorkeling, but we saw a big stormfront move in each night, high tides, big waves, lots of rain. The day we left dawned drizzly and overcast, no sun.

We asked at Tauch how much a ride is to Amed (about 20km), they said $15/person, then $15 for all of us. Not good enough though. I went out on the street and shopped for transport, arranged for $8 ride with a nice driver, Wayan. He picked us up at 11am after spending the morning in the pool with the kids, and drove us to Amed. Very dramatic change in terrain. Very steep hills, larger boulders in the fields, road is narrower. We are definitely in the sticks. Still drizzling, the village of Amed is large mud puddles and dumpy storefronts with lots of garbage. Garbage stands out in the dim overcast light, it probably looks nicer in the sun. Lots of signs for paradisical tourist bungalows, but its clear there are no tourists now and that most are not open. Driver tells us how most drivers would just let us out here in Amed, not take us to where we really want to go, which is another 5-10 km to Pemlikan, where the good hotels and snorkeling is.