Tuesday morning. We’re wondering where the time is going.

Breakfast at the Mercure is always good. The food is varied and tasty and good value of course, but it is the breakfast staff who start our days off with smiles.

Some names and recognitions are appropriate. Bahrun greeted us most mornings – enquiring as to whether we had slept well. We always did! Ayu was a gracious and gentle hostess. She made us welcome as if we were guests in her own home. Fina always greeted us with new words or phrases. It was she who taught the Piepersons to say Minta kopi. The “omelette twins” rarely spoke, other than to respond with huge smiles at our attempts at Indonesian. And Chef King Kong – my Balinese twin! We met him on our first night ... and in the mornings he greets us with a huge smile and a wave.

We visit Made again for our usual morning chat. We speak Indonesian and Balinese with him and he teaches us more words. This morning he asks us to wait and runs away upstairs somewhere. I guess he is getting a card with his address for us - but after a couple of minutes he returns with a package. We open the package. It is a most exquisitely made carving – a Garuda. Garuda is more than just an airline – he’s a mythical bird or some sort of bird-like animal who is found in Buddist and Hindu stories. Made has carved our name on the front with the date ... and his name and address on the bottom. It is a special gift from him to us! Garuda is just beautiful. He’ll have an important place in our home. There are not a lot of things that move me. This is one.

We go down to Face-to-face to order my special present for the Piegirl. Why on earth she wants the Pieboy’s mug on a pendant is anybody’s guess. But with luck it will be here this evening with the key rings.

We’re getting low on time in Bali – and big on excess baggage we fear. But there is always room for a few extra things. We discover the Athlete’s Foot outlet in Matahari and pick up a couple of pairs of Converse shoes for the Party Pies. Too good to pass up at 159,000 (women’s) and 229,000 (men’s).

An announcement as we walk along beach lets us know that “last night the baby turtles were born”. And today, “at two o’clock, the baby turtles will be returned toodasea”.

What? Toodasea?

To the sea. OK.

We – the beach – all of us – are invited. We’ll be there.

At 2pm large plastic buckets with 70 or 80 baby turtles are carried down to the beach. They were hatched in captivity and will released to their true home.

Everyone is grouped – Aussies at one end – various other nationalities spread along the line too. It’s a media occasion and there was a definite interest in photographing the Aussie tourists.

Everyone who wants one gets a baby turtle to hold – they’re about 3 cm long and their little flippers are flapping like crazy – a line is drawn in the sand.

At the count, the baby turtles are placed on the sand and they’re off! Racing for the sea. We’re amazed that they know which way to go but they are returning to their home that they’ve never been in before. And they move pretty fast for turtles ... across the sand and into the water.

Some are carried back by waves and stranded on the sand – people pick them up and take them to the sea again. Its an exciting and moving moment. The race to the waves is won by an Aussie turtle – however we think that Piegirl’s turtle is probably still running.

Who knows when we’ll ever get the chance to see something like that again.

We need to get to reflexology early this evening, so we can go to the restaurant and then be round at Matahari before 9pm to pick up our engravings.

We go to Ibu Jari – The Relaxation Zone. All this team have become friends. But its not our last time there ... just getting way too close. While Piegirl has the big massage I wander back to the hotel and then down to Matahari to buy some more software. The prices seem good and there are a few extra titles I would like.

Dinner tonight is at the Treehouse restaurant in Poppies I.

We both had a Spring Roll as our entrée and decided that the main course – for both of us – should be pizza. Fine Asian cuisine of course. Both are fresh and local.

After dinner we go to Face-to-face to pick up our keyrings. They are perfect. The Party Pies will love them. And great news. My ugly mug pendant for Piegirl is ready too!

We spend the next few hours packing.

By midnight our bags are all but packed and ready to go home. We’re not of course. We’re afraid that the bags may be toting even more excess weight than their owners – we don’t even want to weigh them in case we give ourselves a fright. So we don’t.