Take a 'bemo' from Klungkung in the direction of Amlapura. On the descent, you'll come across gigantic lava beds, effluvia from Gunung Agung's 1963 eruption.

Where the main road meets the sea, and where your nostrils meet the aroma of drying fish, about eight km east of Klungkung, is the working fishing village of Kusamba. On its sparkling, black-sand beach you can see many 'jukung' in daily use. Turn south at the Y-junction in the center of town and drive about one km.

Upon Kuta's decline in the mid-1800s, Kusamba became southern Bali's busiest and most important entry port for agricultural products and slaves. It was also the center for a specialist clan of blacksmiths skilled at weapons-making. In 1849, Kusamba was the site of a pivotal fight between the Dutch and The Virgin Queen Istri Kanya. The Balinese emerged victorious and Istri Kanya has been a national heroine ever since.

The mixed and rather dour Hindu and Muslim population also mines sea salt, the other major industry of the area. Driving the coastal road east of Klungkung, you'll see small, brown, thatched, peculiarly shaped beach huts-salt-making factories. Across the road from Goa Lawah, three km east of Kusamba, they'll ask for money just to peer into one of the briny troughs. Go farther up or down the coast to observe this centuries-old technique for free.

Wet, salt-rich black sand is first carried by yoked buckets from the sea and spread out on flat terraces along the beach. After drying, the sand is dumped in a large palmwood vat inside a hut. Next, seawater is leached through the sand, producing a clear, salty water, which is then poured in hollowed-out coconut-log troughs set in low platforms in rows beside the huts.

Under the sun's blazing heat most of the water evaporates, leaving a salt slush, which is further processed into salt crystals. Weather permitting, the whole process takes two days. The salt panner can make three to five kilos of salt per day in the dry season. The coarse white sea salt, used in salting fish and not as table salt, is sold to distributors who in turn sell it in the markets of Klungkung, Amlapura, and Nusa Penida.