Amed & Tulamben Wreck – Bali

After a few days we decided, albeit a bit reluctantly, to leave Ubud and head towards a beach. We chose Amed because of its proximity to the Tulamben shipwreck which we heard that you could snorkel to.

We got to our homestay, dropped off our bags and then took a stroll on the beach where I do believe my jaw dropped at this view. Although the area we were in was a bit junky right up against the houses and businesses, after you pass that you get this black sand beach with a cloud-hugged volcano as the backdrop. I just stood and watched the waves hit the beach and then rush back out into the ocean. Once again, Bali proves that it is paradise to me.

Stacey and I played in the ocean, letting the water move us, playing with the GoPro and just relaxing in paradise.

The town of Tulamben was just a short van-ride away from our place in Amed where we decided to snorkel out to the shipwreck – The Liberty, a US Army Transport that sank when it was hit with a torpedo by the Japanese in 1942. This was appealing to us because we heard we would be able to see the wreck just snorkeling.

When we arrived we were simply dropped off, but we weren’t quite sure where to go from there. We laid our sarongs, water bottles and shoes on a bench while we waited to see where we needed to go. We both thought that we were going to be dropped of by a boat, like in Koh Tao, but no, we had to swim out from the shore… Me, the girl with the massive ocean phobia.

This doesn’t look extremely far, but it felt like an eternity to get out there and I felt panicked the whole time. It drops down pretty deep and we honestly had no idea where exactly we were going because everyone else there was diving and dropped below the surface pretty quickly.

We finally came across a man who seemed to know where the wreck was. He also noticed that I was freaking out and offered to hold my hand, but I was already holding Stacey’s. When I looked down and saw nothing but the abyss below me, I wasn’t sure that I was going to make it. I was hyperventilating.

the first semi-view of the wreck

making out a bit more of the shape

and a bit more

a little bit more

This was the best view I got of the shipwreck because as soon as I could see it, I freaked out about what was going to possibly come out of it. It was at that moment, when I saw what I came to see, that I was ready to go back. Stacey still wasn’t quite ready which, I’m not gonna lie, made two little tears come out of my eye knowing I was ready and going to swim all the way back on my own. I calmed myself and then put my head down, closed my eyes (so I couldn’t see the sharks coming at me – haha) and made my way back to shore kicking as hard as I could. When I got back, my heart was racing and I pulled my fins off to get out of the water – even though I was a long way from my sarong and water & had to walk across the stones.

Safely back in Amed, we took in the sunset at a cafe where we had soup and drinks enjoying the natural beauty before us.

This was our last real stop in Bali and it felt really nice being able to relax and enjoy the beautiful views. Bali is truly my personal version of paradise and I’m so eager to come back for a much longer stay.

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