(1888PressRelease)
October 22, 2006 - American Swims for Bali, Peace, and UN Millennium Campaign
October 16, 2006, world-record ocean swimmer Monte Monfore made the first recorded swim across holy Lake Batur, in the highlands of Bali, Indonesia. The Bali Swim for Peace and Against Poverty supported two major events: Dewa Sraya, a Bali Hindu ceremony conducted at Pura Tuluk Biyu temple overlooking the lake, and the United Nations Stand Up campaign.
Located next to still-active Mount Batur, inside a huge crater at 1050 meters, Lake Batur is considered sacred by the Balinese. Following permission to enter the water the 45-year-old Californian was blessed by a Bali Hindu priest at lakeside Pura Jati temple prior to the historic swim.
Monfore’s route connected the two holiest locations on the lake: the isolated village of Trunyan nestled under the eastern rim of the crater wall, and Toyabungkah at the foot of Mount Batur, which last erupted in 1994. Believed to be the oldest village in Bali, Trunyan is the location of an ancient burial ground, still in use, while Toyabungkah is the site of a sacred hot spring.
In a pre-swim announcement the endurance athlete dedicated his swim to “the beautiful Balinese people”. Beginning at 3:40pm the swimmer was accompanied by a small boat decorated with Balinese ceremonial adornments, which carried local Hindu priests, community leaders, and a gamelan bronze-gong orchestra. Despite high winds and the frigid mountain water Monfore made the three kilometer crossing in just under an hour (58 minutes 25 seconds).
The swim took place prior to the conclusion of the nineteen-day Dewa Sraya purification ritual at Pura Tuluk Biyu temple in Kitamani, one of the oldest and most sacred in Bali. Held once every five years, the Dewa Sraya ceremony attracted thousands of worshippers from across the island, who prayed for peace and harmony in Bali and the entire world.
The swim was also part of the global, UN-sponsored Stand Up Against Poverty and Stand Up For the Millennium Development Goals event held on 15 and 16 October. With more than 23 million people participating worldwide, including some 300,000 in Indonesia , the event will be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are 8 initiatives agreed to by 189 UN member countries in the year 2000. Among these goals is to promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, combat HIV/AIDS, and the primary goal is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015.
Monfore concluded speaking about his island home, “Bali is no longer only a place of transience for surfers and holiday makers. It has evolved into a place of substance. More than 20,000 foreigners live here. Many, like me, are planting roots and intending to spend the rest of their lives on the Island of the Gods.
Bali is one of the most spectacular places on the planet. It has one of the richest cultures and most beautiful people in the world. This place is a tropical paradise with incredible scenery and great surf. There’s a reason readers of international travel magazines continually vote Bali the most beautiful island in the world and I encourage everyone to visit this magical place.”
Following his swim, Monfore and Ketut Putranata, a local community leader, recited the Stand Up pledge along with 30 children and ten adults from the vicinity. The swimmer and participants, from boatmen and children to gamelan musicians and priests, all wore white wrist bands as a symbol of commitment to the Global Call to Action Against Poverty.
A Bali resident since 2004, the marathon swimmer holds numerous channel crossing records throughout the region. This was his third UN-related event in six months. Earlier this year he contributed to two World Food Program efforts. In May as part of the worldwide Walk the World/Fight Hunger campaign the athlete swam a double crossing of the four-kilometer Bali Strait. In June following the devastating earthquake in central Java Monfore’s 12.5-kilometer Yogyakarta Earthquake Relief Swim raised awareness and support for victims and publicized WFP emergency relief efforts.
Event footage was sent worldwide by Reuters TV and Associated Press Television News.
For photos please go to: www.stormbird.tv
Contact Monte at: montemon4 ( @ ) hotmail dot com
For more information please search Monte Monfore on the Internet.
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