May 3, 2026

MASON'S ELEPHANT SANTUARY was a little slice of Heaven! in crazy, congested Bali! I really wanted to treat the Spa Manager Stacy and our Entertainment Manager Kelly, to a fun, non-stressful event that they could truly enjoy! Stacy had never seen elephants before and her squeal of delight, when we first laid eyes on them was pure joy!

We walked right into the male ( with long tusk) getting frisky with the female, in the swimming hole. Note, the female then mounted him!   Then they both cooled off, for awhile, before exiting the pool for some food. Then we move over to feeding them and the trainers had them posing for photos with us all.

After feeding the elephants we cleaned up a bit and went to watch a 20 minute documentary about the history and mission of the Santurary. We heard all about the Australian founder, who married a local Balinese woman, and started the whole mission over 25 years ago and who now continues to run the Foundation with their 2 sons. We no sooner walked out of the movie tent and who do we walk straight into ? the Mason Family ! They were celebrating the wedding of the son. We chatted with them for a bit and then got the below photo with them. So impressive what they have created and sustained over all these years!

Next we were off to jumbo wash an elephant, a first for all of us! This beauty lady is 45 years old.

BALI, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • May 3, 2026
BALI, INDONESIA has so much to see - it's hard to pick where to start. All I had seen to date, was the Airport. So I figured one of the many Temples was a good start. Our fellow shipmates, had just been here 2 weeks ago for 4 days, when we were off in Raja Ampat and had lots of insight and advise. I found a driver's What's app contact info, through another resident and arranged a 10 am pick up. Delia, joined me and we decided the Hindu Temple, Tanah Lot on the west coast looked picturesque, set out on a rock from the coast.

PADAR ISLAND, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • May 3, 2026
PADAR ISLAND , one of the other 3 major islands in Komodo National Park is stunning and unihabited with a walking trail of over 800 steps to the summit, for these amazing views.

KOMODO VILLAGE, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • May 3, 2026
KOMODO VILLAGE is a small, mainly fishing family population of just 300 to 350 households. It sits on the east end of Komodo Island within the National Park and is a unique community where locals coexist alongside the native Komodo Dragons.