This is what we came for

The sky was an unbroken sheen of glorious blue when we flipped open the shutters and drew back the blinds. Whilst the persistent easterly continued to.... persist, at least this was the type of vista we expected when we first envisaged this foray. And so in order to make sure we could tick off as many items on the "to do" list as possible.. first up breakfast..nah kidding ..that wasn't on the list... Kayaking was and Kayaking we did.

Paddling furiously against the wind and currents we weaved our way amongst the coral spikes to get as near as we could to the outer reef. Yep.. we eventually got stuck. Teamwork prevailed and we easily zoomed back (with a tailwind and current to help) to our beach front harbour. Next (on the list) was repeating the long trek back along the picturesque beaches to a perfectly located boutique. Run by locals and leveraging off the Hideaway clientele this little shack offers manicures, pedicures, massages, and tattoos.

Partaking in all but the later the following hour or so was spent whiling away the time there whilst effectively giving to the local village. An interesting setup....Perched somewhat precariously between the main road and the cliffs to the beach and backing onto the resort concrete wall (think Berlin ..or maybe modern day Israel ...soon to be Mexico/US .... get my drift here?) the staff are....well locals learning the trade. If you want a 1st world Toorak Road Armadale experience then stay there. The views out the windows of the corrugated iron extension perched high over the beach which houses the 3 massage tables is priceless. The strength in the fingers (let alone the physique) of the masseurs is testament as to why they recently won their first Olympic gold medal.

And thus rubbed, oiled, clipped, filed and painted we fell out of the shack into the burning sun and facing a 4 km walk home. Which we did. Foresight is great...we had sunscreen to reapply and so it was a glorious trek back over now well known terrain. Along the way we picked up previously noted biochemical hazards ..D-Cell batteries. Thought there were 4 ... eventually collected 10 of the monstrosities. Someone around here needs some educating.

Lunch ensued (not on the list...) and then kick back and see if the weather will be kind....and it was. A dip in the (always tempting for the last week) pool at our doorstep was performed (yep...it was on the list) by one and the other later on headed to the outer reaches of the reef - this time armed with two underwater cameras and snorkeling gear (also on the list). Combined, capturing over an hour of never to be looked at footage. At least a couple of selfies may prevail. The reefs are great, mostly so because you can walk out your door and go straight into them. Very few places in the world you can do this. (Note to self : don't be here when a tsunami rolls in.). By then then sun was heading elsewhere an d Pre's were the order of the day. By the time we emerged from our little slice of heaven the sun had gone, Venus was brightly chasing it and in the other direction the full moon was shining brightly behind (curiously) still palm fronds..