The sea here is shallow & clear as crystal, the tide goes out a long way. There is a coral reef a mile out which you can walk to at low tide. It is also very windy here – bit of a hint in the name stupid! But it is a warm wind & we need it to keep cool. The beach is studded with coral & tiny coloured shells. We have lunch on the beach, you just hang a coconut from your sunshade & someone comes & takes your order. We have cocktails, coconut coated prawns and calamari. Oh Mr F has a beer not a cocktail is case you thought he had turned! Just time for a quick snooze now I think and then a swim before dinner.
Dinner tonight was a BBQ – but no burgers here. We had the choice of so many salads, rock lobster, calamari, prawns,many different types of fish, lamb, beef, suckling pig.There are salad dressings, chutneys, beautiful homemade bread. It was all laid out in little stable type rooms. The doors of the stables are ornately carved and hung with wooden masks of zebra, giraffe and antelopes. Our table is laid with a leopard print cloth and the seats are covered the same. As I am typing this up back at home I realise I cannot paint this picture with words. It does not sound anything like how wonderful and so tastefully done it actually was. I cannot do the restaurant and food justice, there was a lot of choice but not mass produced. There are only 40 rooms in this hotel, all the rooms are in little cottage blocks,there are not many people about. It is balanced with just the right amount of bustle going on.
We have no idea what the temperature is, it is hot day & night. We have finished our meal when the lights are dimmed, chanting & singing starts up, a few yip yips echo across the room. They bring out a cake and then the waiters sing happy birthday to someone, 2 minutes later the same thing happens again – no it is not like TGI Friday’s it is very special. This time the recipient is Mr F, yes today he is 55. What a fabulous day for a birthday. Everyone shakes hands with Ian & wish him health & happiness.

Day 2 - must be Sunday.

Having written most of this diary up whist in Zanzibar I found myself reliving Kenya & not appreciating Zanzibar – now I am ready to enjoy it. This morning we walk along the beach to try to work up an appetite for breakfast. The beach is strewn with huge chunks of coral & I want to take some home but it is forbidden. Coconut husks are washed up along the shore, small white crabs scuttle across the white sand. The wind is a faint breeze in the palm trees and this feels like an advert for Bounty bars. It is very hot and absolutely glorious.