COCONUT BEACH

Coconut Beach. White sand, a quiet bay, a fishing fleet, and the reef a short swim out. Public. Shared with the village. The beach the rest of the estate is built around. On the map it's Song Lambung. Around this part of the island now, it's Coconut Beach. We've built onto it.  Dawn on the sand, the Beach House on the cliff above, the Sundeck cut into the cliff between them, the Pontoon moored offshore — but the beach itself belongs to the village. The jukung boats pulled up on it belong to the families who fish from them.

We share it the way everyone on the bay shares it.

The water is calm in the lee of the bay most of the year. The bottom is sand close in and the swimming line out to the reef is clear of boats inside the mooring field. North along the sand toward the cliff and the boardwalk up to the Sundeck. South along the sand to the swim point and out to the Pontoon, an 80 metre swim. The reef break right in front is called Playgrounds which is a fun left and right peak wave suitable for all surfing levels. Board hire is available from Dawn. Dawn is on the sand, open from 6am. Order coffee and breakfast and walk it to a chair. Lunch is held there too. Dusk upstairs takes over from late afternoon — same building, different hour. There are benches at the back of the sand, a few timber tables, and the steps up to the boardwalk. Most people sit on the sand. We don't put loungers out across the beach, it isn't that kind of beach.

Coconut Beach is public, open at all hours. There is no gate, no fee, no closing time. Sunset is around six on most evenings of the year. The sun drops over Bali to the west. From the beach you face it directly; from the Sundeck you face it across the cliff edge; from Dusk you face it over the bar. There is no single sunset spot. The whole bay faces the same direction. This is a working beach. Fishing happens. Boats are repaired on the sand. Dogs come down with their owners in the morning. Children swim back from school in the afternoon. The village runs ceremonies on it a few times a year, and we move out of the way when they do.