Gili Islands Boat Postcard

The white outrigger boat with its standing pilot in the foreground of this photograph floats across a turquoise, tropical sea, with the darker blue of deep water, a strip of white surf, and brownish-purple mountains in the background. A few puffs of white cloud in the lighter blue sky hang around the top of the mountains, which are on the island of Lombok, in Indonesia. The boat I'm on as I take this shot is out from one of the three Gili Islands, which lie between Lombok and Bali. The boatman and his craft are brightly coloured; he is wearing a yellow shirt with a blue hat as he stands at one end of his white canoe, handling the long steering paddle. The inside of the boat is also yellow, and it has a bright green canopy. Two white arms extend from each side of the boat, connecting to the slim, white pontoon by red brackets. By the way, the snorkelling was great that day! Copyright Gail Storrs 2006.