Saturday November 11th

We had a leisurely start to the day... Difficult not to with such a beautiful tropical island! Then Tim headed into town, about a 3.5 mile (6km) walking all the way down the beach. For a while it was very quiet, then there was lots of garbage and finally I was in a bustling fishing village. The whole of life was going on on the beach: shipbuilding, repairing boats and dinghies, cleaning fish and squid, drying squid, mending nets, people hanging out, kids playing, cooking etc etc. In an interesting first I was even photographed by one of the locals with his mobile phone.

The town was bustling with a busy Saturday market right by the quay, very convenient for getting the fish and imported items (most veggies and goods are brought over from the mainland). The whole town smells vaguely (and sometimes strongly) of Nuoc Mam, the locally produced fermented fish sauce made out of little fish (usipa for those who know Malawi). The sauce looks like soy sauce and tastes like a fishy version thereof... not bad in small doses but a bit of an acquired taste.

Just out of town on the south side are all the hotels, lined up down Long Beach. Down this way I found the dive shop to book up for two days, then headed out to a beach bar for some refreshment. Suitably fortified I did some more shopping and internet before hailing a xe om (motorbike "taxi") for a bouncy and dusty 6km (4 mile) journey back to the hotel (the beach is more direct than the road. The red dirt roads on the island are very reminiscent of Africa, and so is the dust coverage after a journey.

Tracy had enjoyed a day on the beach and the evening continued the reaxed theme: a bottle of local wine at sundown and good food in the beachside restaurant.