It is beginning to feel like déjà vu all over again. Slightly later awakening and then a stroll down to breakfast. Food was good but after three days of it already I am starting to crave some porridge and some larger mugs of tea. Still cannot fault the waiting staff who still all seem so happy all of the time.
Karen was keen to secure sunbeds under the shade of a Tiki shelter today to protect us from the sun which was already out in force. She marched ahead and secured her choice one. It was in a great position near where the Corn Hole game was set up. I had a quick go and was quite proud of my score. Afterwards some Americans came and played. It would have been men against boys if I had played them. They were very good and it was a learning experience watching them.
Then we laid on our sunbeds peacefully and agreeably reading our Kindles and messaging on our phones. It was really relaxing. We may have had a cocktail or two whilst we laid there with Karen trying and enjoying her first “Dirty Banana’.
I was reading the first of the Richard Osman novels. There has been a lot of buzz about these and the film rights have been purchased by Spielberg. I expected something light and fluffy with the story thrown together. I was wrong. It is an absolute joy to read. Every character is well developed and interesting. The storyline is fabulous and a real pleasure. I found myself keep putting it down as I didn’t want to get through it too quickly as I was enjoying it so much.
After a few hours we decided to relocate to the Hot Tub. Today we were able to listen into a conversation between a German Airline Pilot and an American lady who works to rehabilitate murderers in the State Penitentiary system. Karen was glad when they left as she was able to do her prescribed exercises on her arm without people wondering what the heck she was doing.
For lunch today Karen wanted to try the Caribbean Walk which is the buffet restaurant as we had not tried it at that time of day. There was lots of rice and beans, which meant I struggled to find much to eat until I discovered there were also offering fresh Marlin cooked on a grill. It was absolutely delicious and full of flavour. I went back for seconds.
After this we decided to venture out to find the advertised Petting Zoo in the resort. It was over in the Family section close the Tennis courts and various Football pitches. Close by was also the Paintball area which I am still sure I can get my head around being here in a resort by the sunny Caribbean Sea. With a minimum of 4 people required for a game (@ $20pp) you can fire paint pellets hard at each other hitting presumably bare flesh. I have done it once and that was once to often. I hated every second of it. Getting shot was very painful and once it happened you had to walk seeming miles back to the base camp with your arms up whilst the opposition still just took pot shots at you. On a couple of occasions despite hiding at the back we were told we were amongst the few still ‘alive’ and had to advance to steal the flag. We ignored that instruction and just hid the best we could even more. It didn’t help that the opposition not only had guns with a longer range than us but were also paid hundreds of pounds between them on extra pellets. We did at one point contemplate shooting each other on the same team just to end it early so we could get a cup of tea.
Anyhow back to the Petting Zoo. What can I say other than it was not good. There was one lonely goat who was pleased to see someone. He was rather boisterous and so we didn’t fancy petting him. There were some ducks that looked as though they would have your hand off if you went near them. Finally, there were three manky looking donkeys that looked as though they may have some disease. We declined to pet them also. There were lots of other empty pens where I suspect that the animals that had occupied them may have already been used in some of the curries on offer in the restaurants.
At least we hadn’t had to pay to get in and we enjoyed the short walk. We wandered back to our room to chill for an hour and have a well-deserved cuppa after all our exertions.
It was then time for our daily walk on the beach. Very enjoyable and so much nicer than 30 minutes in the gym which is actually not too far from our room. The bay here is suffering from lots of turtle grass called Sargassum being washed up which is apparently an annual event. There were notices up apologising for it but saying that apart from having tractors clearing it when it happens there was nothing any of the Islands can do about it.
Now Sargassum sounds too much like Sarcasm to me and I wondered if the signs were actually spoof. However, we had seen earlier the tractor clearing it from the shoreline but it was a thankless task with so much of it coming in with every wave. For this reason, it did not make the prospect of swimming in the warm Caribbean Sea an attractive proposition but it was still nice to walk along just getting our feet wet.
Once back at the resort we thought it rude to pass one of the bars without first of all having a Mimosa and then a Kir Royale. If the bar wasn’t free, it would have some water each in our room.
Tonight, we had a reservation at the Trattoria again but not until 8.45pm. We thought that was too late to eat and Karen was keen to try the Caribbean Walk buffet for dinner, so that’s where we went. Again, for me it was not great. What is it with eating Plantain all the time. I swear they offered it mashed, fried or baked. What’s wrong with some good old fashioned potatoes on the menu as an option?
I did like though the creole fish of the day. No idea what it was and perhaps neither did the chef as if I’m sure he had known there would have been a label put out. We both had a freshly cooked to order mini pizza as well, which were nice but small.
Then for the first time we ventured upstairs to have a look in the ‘posh’ restaurants. They seemed fine and we found the one we are eating at tomorrow. At the adults only bar we both had a large Baileys on the rocks and sat outside on the balcony. It was very peaceful. After a while though we made our way back to our room and got back at the rather late and decadent hour of 10pm.
Doing nothing can be so tiring.
