Amazing Gilis

Landscapes

On the north west tip to Lombok there are three tiny islands. Their name Gili, means ‘island’ in the local language. To distinguish them they have been called: Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan. They are tiny. The largest island, Trawangan, has a circumference of just 7,5 km. There are no cars on the islands but small horse carts. There are many tourists and they put considerable pressure on them. I went for some great dives in the Gilis. Saw small sharks, sea turtles sleeping on the bottom of the sea, hundred of different fishes. However the strongest image is not from underwater but at the water surface. It was the end of the dive at Shark Point. Emerging on the surface. Nine thirty in the morning. The sea is flat as a piece of paper. Intense blue water that you could not distinguish from a blue cloudless sky. At the horizon the shape of the three volcanoes near and on Bali. They were like huge silent statues keeping an eye on the ocean. That image is a memory now. The images I have are to share what a great place the Gilis are.

These photos are dedicated to Mari-Anne Okkolin who has just completed her PhD at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) with a thesis titled: Equality of educational opportunities? Experiences and insights by ten highly educated Tanzanian women. Well done Mari-Anne!