Balito Bay

---

Balito Bay is a beautiful place. A real beach paradise with the beach lifestyle, small town size, and big city vibrancy. I loved it there. Once Sam decided she was going to extend her trip in South Africa and was given an opportunity to work in Balito I instantly wanted to go down with her for a bit and help her get settled in. I think it was about 7 years ago that our family went there and we just had the most amazing time so having the chance to go again was not something I could pass by. Chris and Nan offered to let us stay in their flat out there which is right on the beach and absolutely beautiful! We flew down to Balito on Monday afternoon. Sam and I were not a hundred percent sure that we could remember what Brent and Leigh looked like, all I could remember for sure was that Brent shaved his head and had a smile that makes you smile and Leigh had dark hair and was gorgeous. They of course did not know us for sure either and so we were looking for a silver BMW (as we walked outside we realized that these were popular cars since there were 3 parked at the curb) and they were looking for a girl in a yellow dress! Once they pulled up I recognized them instantly I started waiving and all was smooth sailing from there! We had a fantastic dinner at their house and sat around catching up and drinking the night away before heading back to the flat and calling it a night.
Sam started work the next day at 9am. I unpacked her things and organized all her stuff then Alex and I went to the beach. When we got down there the lifeguards were blowing whistles and everyone was running out of the water… Still not sure what was going on but it was not super-hot so Alex and I just sat out in the sun in the sand for a bit and read our books. Then we walked down around the corner to the little grocery store and stocked up on a few things and made some lunch. After Sam finished with work we went back down to the beach and walked the whole length taking our time exploring the rocks and pools of water along the way.
Wednesday was the Christmas Party for Brent’s employees (including Sam, who is now working for them). Leigh picked up Alex and I and we headed to the little restaurant/bar to meet up with everyone. As soon as we got there the drinks and shots started. Alex and I were picked to be the judges for Karaoke, of course once the competition was over and more drinks were taken in we all joined in on the singing front! It was a lot of fun meeting all the people Sam is working with and singing the night away. Afterwards Brent, Leigh, Jacob, Hayden, Sam, Alex and I went to Spur for some food and then we were off back to the condo where Sam, Alex and I continued to drink a bit and stayed up late talking out on the balcony listening to the ocean.
Sam was given Thursday and Friday off. When we got up Thursday the sun was not out but Sam and I decided we were going to go swimming anyways! The waves were massive and the current was strong. After getting knocked around for a while we headed back to the flat to shower and warm up to get ready for the Litchi Festival. After the Christmas party I decided I was not drinking anymore… Of course that didn’t work out to well because the Litchi festival is just a reason to get together and party and eat litchi’s that have been soaked in vodka for days. A Litchi is a fruit, for those of you who don’t know, and it is usually really sweet and very good! The party was held out on a Litchi farm, they handed out cups filled with litchis soaked in vodka. There was a DJ and large bar. We were there all afternoon till about 8pm when we headed off to Mozambique, a restaurant, for dinner. It was great food! After that we went to a bar called Shakers where we danced and had another drink or so until we were all too tired to carry on!
Friday we woke up planning on having a day at the beach and instead it rained! We spent most the day inside reading. I finished the last of the trilogy I was reading which was fantastic! (City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass – if anyone is looking for some good fantasy books, these are really enjoyable!) Brent and Leigh picked us up to go have a traditional curry dinner at their friends house. The food and company was great! Afterwards Leigh took Sam and I to Shakers and Alex went back to the flat. Leigh had a drink and then left, she was too tired to stay out for the night again. Sam and I spent a good amount of time there dancing and talking to people. We were supposed to get a ride home with some of Leigh and Brent’s friends but they were all pretty hammered and so we ended up having to call Bent to come and get us.
Saturday was Alex and my last day there. I was quite bummed about leaving. Brent and Leigh are such wonderful people I would have loved to have spent more time there with them but I’ll just have to work it out so that I can go back next year! Brent and Leigh came and picked us up and we went to a little place for breakfast which was really good and then we headed to the beach for the afternoon. We spent a few hours basking in the sun and swimming in the waves before going back to the condo to finish packing and get ready to leave. Brent took us to the airport, I did my best to hold back my tears when saying goodbye to Sam and we got in line to check in. Our flight was delayed for an hour and so we wondered around the airport for a bit. Grandpa picked us up and we made some boerwars(sort of like a bratwurst) and pap (which is made from corn) for dinner and watched a cheesy made for TV Christmas movie. Alex and I had to then repack what we would need for the next leg of our journey up to Zimbabwe because we would be leaving at 3am. Only finishing after midnight we laid our heads down to try and get an hour or two of rest….

---

Comments

[Kathy]

Smile
Sounds like you had a great time in Balito sure put a smile on my face reading about it. Love you mom

[Adriana]

:)
This place sounds awesome!! and I absolutely love the picture with the lightning bolt! Glad you liked the books! :)