RTW Day 21 - Coral Coast

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Today we decide to remain on the resort. There are roadworks on the driveway. Yesterday we got stuck behind a convoy of vehicles attempting to add, dampen and flatten gravel and it took almost an hour to cover the 5 km to the road.

I eat breakfast; bananas from the market in Sigatoka which weirdly doubled in price when I told her I only wanted half a bunch. Tree ripened bananas taste so different to the tasteless yellow blobs we get at home. Then I head for the pool to make the most of the rain intermission. It’s still early – not even 8. There aren’t any Germans here, but if there were they would be hard pressed to get their wet towels on a sun lounger before me. The staff bring the cushions out and unwrap the parasols. This is a good omen – the first time either of these two events have been risked in 6 days.

The old man makes his daily pilgrimage to the dive shop. This time he does not return. Of course at his age, I cannot rule out the possibility that he has got confused and wandered off, but it looks as if his dive has actually gone ahead.

I have a relaxing morning swimming, reading and sunbathing. I figure I’ve probably had enough sun when my iPhone tells me it needs to cool down! I have lunch – tuna with avocado from the market. Again it’s sweet and juicy and delicious, not like the green bullets we have to make do with in the UK.

The old man returns content from his dive having seen lots of marine life. A debate ensues; to go shopping or not to go shopping. It’s a 42 mile round trip. The answer, when you factor in the price of resort beer v supermarket beer, is yes. We have dinner at Baka Blues Cafe which is highly recommended by Lonely Planet and seems to specialise in weird pizza toppings. We are the only customers yet it takes 62 minutes for our Cajun shrimp pizza to arrive. Ironically, after such a long wait, the base is so burnt it’s black.

We return to the hotel where I set about annotating the various errors in my travel guide to return to the publishers in disgust. Meanwhile the old man spends the evening moaning and muttering. He has sunburn and he doesn’t intend to suffer in silence.

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