That means, enjoy the amenities and the food/drink-athon at the hotel. We woke up and had a big breakfast of made to order omelettes and pancakes, fresh fruit, etc. This is day 6 or 7 on the trip, but it is day 1 of breakout the Immodium. I think it was last night’s “midnight snack” – damn you cream of mushroom soup! So Nads makes me bolt from the middle of breakfast so she can have some quiet time in the room before we head out to the beach, but when we get to the room, the key won’t work. So the maid comes over and tries it – still won’t work. Then she calls her supervisor who comes over and tries it – surprise, still won’t work. It was beginning to get comical – Nads is starting to dance a little in the hallway and she is starting to rock her Bombay face (which I guess is the perfect complement to the Delhi belly she is developing). Finally – a guy comes over with a toolkit, and tries to install a whole new lock – but he has to get into our room first. So he lets himself into the room next door – jumps from that balcony onto our balcony, opens the door, and begins to change the lock. Nads is turning 3 shades of green at this point. Finally, the guy changes the lock, and even though he insists on spending 5 minutes showing us how to change use our new lock (which is just like the old lock) – but I hustle him out laughing. However, the joke was on me, as I developed sympathy rumblings, and I had to do the dance waiting for Nads to doo her thing.
After the minor gastro-fiasco, we headed down to the beautiful beach. We grabbed a couple of beach chairs and some books and chilled out. There were some highlights to this early morning relaxation time. We were (re)introduced to European swimwear choices. As has been often said – some of the best gifts come wrapped in curses! The topless women weren’t attractive, and the men were wearing the good old hammocks. The second highlight was Quag taking the time to explain how sand becomes glass (and as a no-cost-to-me bonus, why my camera is not taking pictures with the vivid colors it did when i first bought it). Both issues are closely linked to silicone I have learned. You will need a Red Bull to process the rest.
After lunch we took a couple of 2-person kayaks out into the ocean and decided to race about 1/4 mile to the pier at the hotel down the beach. It was like another event in the Amazing Race that we pretend to be part of from time to time. With Nads manning the front, and me calling precise paddle-strokes from behind, we were able to stroke our way to the finish line in a comfortable first place. Lets just say there were no Giggitys at the end of this race.
Next stop – bar then pool. In between the beach drinks, I guzzled my customary club soda + lime, but here we had to make some adjustments. No lime, but they had some lemon and with some prodding I got some ice. I went back to the same bartender so often that we created a name for the drink – somehow she came up with Churchill. No idea why – but it worked. I did some smiles/winks, and I got the best Churchills no money can buy. Nads came down and gave her the stink eye though, and I think I am going to have to go train a male bartender on how to make Churchills from now on…
Dinner was served buffet style on the terrace, with everything from the standard chicken doner, breads & spreads, to steak and pasta. Beautiful views of the sunset, followed by a marathon game of Phase 10 that took us until our “early” night of 12:30. Tomorrow – we are off to Ephesus.
