We had heard about the popular surfing beaches of Bali, one of them being Seseh, the location of our villa. In order to discover more, we asked the driver one morning to take us a little further down the coast so we could walk back along the beach. He dropped us off at the back entrance of the Hotel Tugu, about 3 km away.

A paved path led toward the beach, past old rustic buildings

and the hotel grounds behind the wall.

Sun lounges looked inviting and we could glimpse the specks of hopeful surfers in the water.

Just as well it was too early for a cocktail, the bar appeared in need of restocking.

Barongs were on guard to repel the evil spirits, possibly to protect those seeking slumber.

Canggu, as well as being a small village, is the name given to a stretch of coastline between Seminyak and Tanah Lot. From Hotel Tugu, we walked along the black sand of Batu Bolong Beach.

The waves didn’t look particularly impressive to us but what would we know?

Volcanic rocks loomed out of the water making interesting obstacles for unsuspecting surfers.

Looking beyond the modern villas, we could see the hint of a temple.

Pura Batu Mejan is a Balinese Hindu sea temple, guarding the coast and giving its name to the beach, Pantai Batu Mejan.

One of Canggu’s most popular surfing beaches, Echo Beach is the nickname given to this stretch by the wave riders.

We watched them in action while we lunched at Echo Beach Club.

The local transport didn’t look too reliable

so we made our way down to the beach for the walk back to Seseh.

This family picnic looked lovely

but I don’t know how they keep their whites so white.

It seemed like a bad choice for me to wear with the black sand.