Friday 9 April 2010
Yet another leisurely breakfast that commenced this time at 8.00am (yes folks, Goog was up and about and once again showered before 8am!)
Of course, a shopping trip beckoned - a real reason for a girl to get out of bed and prepare one’s self.
The bus arrived at around 9.20 and we all piled on in the hope of obtaining a good seat. This we did, but at the cost of sitting there for nearly half an hour without air conditioning. A sauna would have been more comfortable.
It is now perfectly clear why so many of the buses have no windows - air flow is the key to comfort around here.
The bus lurched off at around 9.50 and belted down the highway at a full 40 km/hour. Even at this speed, the condition of the road fully tests even the best suspension on a vehicle, and then for good measure, the authorities have installed speed humps through each village along the way. You do not strike these babies at anything more than about 5 km/hour - they are massive.
Arrived at Sigatoka at 11.15, after stopping at a local gift and souvenir shop along the way, to find that this was a town that one would imagine belongs in the third world.
Singapore it is not. Dirty and untidy it is.
Cars, trucks and taxis with many dents - some of them decorated in all sorts of ways. We assumed that this was the Indian influence as many of the people there were of Indian extraction.
The ladies trawled some shops in search of a bargain or two (which were eventually found) and the boys just wandered around and had a bit of a look.
As the trip to town seemed to take about an hour, the boys decided that a couple of travellers were the order of the day. We were surprised to find that after conversion to Australian dollars, the price for 4 stubbies of Stella was only around $14
We returned in time for lunch and a stint at the pool bar (a familiar theme will emerge for regular readers) before once again heading out to the lagoon for more snorkelling.
After all her practice, Goog had finally mustered the concept and the four of us swam along the side of the reef admiring the incredibly coloured fish that live there.
Once again, after an hour or so, it was decided that this activity was still a little strenuous and those batteries again required recharging with the help of a white or two and some Fiji Bitters.
After eating dinner, we sat down to watch the kids go through their places playing statues on the dance floor after they made their solemn oath to their parents - I will not cry, I will not complain, I will not..... And so on. Oddly enough, it worked as only one child wound up in tears. After that we were treated to a display of the local dancing talents
You will not believe this, but Goog and Grumps were back in bed by 10pm again. Something is going on......mainly weariness!
