25th January - Rebak marina days

Saturday 25^th January

So yesterday was a go-slow day.  More or less… Pete remained glued to his computer and his paperwork.   I did a bit of this, a bit of that, including some knitting while listening to a fascinating interview with George R. R. Martin.  (Sadly, much as I love SF and fantasy, I can neither read nor watch the HBO series of Game of Thrones – far too violent, far too confronting – but I am still very interested in the phenomenal success of this series.  GRRM is a very talented writer – not for the squeamish – and he certainly was a most intelligent and interesting man to listen to.)

Just in case you think my life is ALL leisure & pleasure…

After my cosy beanbag time I got a small spurt of energy and decided to scrub the decks.  This is always fun, in a hot climate, when cold fresh water is available from a tap.  On this occasion I didn’t get quite the thrill of seeing a wonderful result… The cockpit is full of stuff.  Stuff which can’t go anywhere else.  Apparently, as Leo would say.  So this is what it looks like now…

It didn’t look much different before.  Only I know that underneath all of the old batteries, fuel bottles, bits of conduit, there is a very clean carpet, and underneath that – oh joy – a very clean and shiny floor.

Not sure if I have ever captured the extreme prettiness of Rebak Island resort, aka Vivanta.   The decorations in the main building are just beautiful.  At Christmas it was paradise; now it is all prettified for Chinese New Year.  I asked one of the receptionists to tell me who is responsible for the decorations, and she said they employ someone each time there is a new event.  I said, She is very talented, and the receptionist blinked a bit and said, Yes but that is her job.  She is a professional decorator!   Well…yes…

I went for a bit of a stroll in the late afternoon and captured 2XS, hiding prettily behind a white bougainvillea in the late afternoon light.

And then a most impressive sight – the FumigatorMan!  Death to the mosquitoes!  (Well, to some of them…Not all, unfortunately.)

At 6.30 we went down to the beach bar and talked to Mark and Rachel, who live here on their 42’ yacht, Glayva with their son and daughter (14 and 16.)  They both do jobs on boats in the marina, and Rachel homeschools the children.   Mostly they are based here at Rebak but when it rains and gets a bit stinky – off they go in their little boat, to find a cool breeze off a lovely island.

I suggested cooking dinner (we have a few not very thrilling sausages in the freezer…) or going to Hard Dock Café for a cheap & cheerful meal, but Pete had a better idea – dinner at the resort!  A la carte, not the buffet.  The buffet is huge and neither of us ever do it justice.  I had my favourite  noodle and seafood dish; Pete had chicken curry with roti canai.  We were very happy.

I told Pete about a lovely Indian man I had seen in the pool with his little girl.  He was trying to teach her to swim while she was sobbing and clinging and carrying on as he very patiently assured her she wouldn’t drown.  Later in the afternoon I came upon the same man, with a lively baby strapped to his chest, walking up and down the pathways with his little girl who was riding a bike with training wheels.  She was complaining bitterly, saying she was going to fall; it was too fast; her legs were aching.  I said, Isn’t it nice being in your sixties and never having to learn really hard things again?   Pete agreed heartily that this particular age is extremely pleasant.  

The man at the next table must have overheard, because he said, I couldn’t agree more!   We went and sat with him and his wife (Peter and Tia) for a few minutes.  They were from Oxford, having a three months world holiday, flying Emirates business class (oh how I envied them the business class!  No cramped knees and elbows!  Proper recliner seats!  Snoozytime while flying instead of the horrid dull limbo which is all you can hope for in cattle class!)  They were very interested in our sailing adventure, and told us that they had hired a yacht in the Greek islands last year, and had had a (mostly) lovely time.  They went with another couple… I immediately asked if they were still friends and Peter burst out laughing.  Funny I should ask but no… He and the other would-be skipper are no longer on speaking terms…

Today we are back to busy times.  We are catching the 11am ferry to meet up with James, Bron, and Jabba (aka Jason Bayly-Stark) who has arrived from Vietnam, where he is currently working.   I am sure we will cram lots of sightseeing into the day, plus some much needed shopping – oh the horror, I have run out of cheese!