Fundu Lagoon - Days 7 & 8 ...

... and on with the tales!  (We're still in the throes of some beautiful spring weather.  Makes such a difference to how you feel.)

27th February ... massage, snakes and RAIN!

Lovely stiff breeze when we woke and we heard thunder in the distance but it was dry and still hot. I got noticed taking a photo of Matt.  It should have been of Matt and Anie but Anie has stopped at the jetty bar.  They'd been seeing guests off ...

The local Mama's were out making the most of the very low tide and cockle picking. 

Yep, and I did say rain!  The expected happened and it certainly does rain when they have it! Torrential downpour ... all morning. The thatched roof did it's job but where there was no roof the rain came in.

We were told, at breakfast, that an Indian Head massage had been booked for us later that morning. We were also asked to kitty sit! Such a tiny little thing. Ended up taking him to our massage appointment and he was given the run of the terrace where we were to have the massage but not before the snakes had vacated! Yep, snakes! On Pemba they're not dangerous, or big, but they're still snakes! Little Chris was sitting, staring intently at a pot of beautiful tropical flowers then we saw it ... a long, thin, black snake that was staring just as intently at little Chris. Panic! 4 full grown women ... me, Jackie, Iluh and Kadek ... and not one of us up to 'rescuing' little kitty! Girl threw towel at snake ... Jackie grabbed Chris. Iluh and Kadek - disappeared - inside the spa (we were still on terrace). I'd seen more snakes - ooops! In fact, a string of them! Several plant pots spread along the edge of the terrace. Seemed each pot had a snake and linked together. There were even snakes in the trellis at the side of the terrace! I grabbed camera but they moved too quickly and I didn't get a shot. Think the rain - which had stopped - had bought them out and the sun was starting to make them head for the shade again.

Snakes 'dealt' with, Kadek and Iluh emerged from their haven and we had our massages. Oh, heaven! Ended with really, really oily hair but we were so relaxed we didn't care. Lunch at the pool bar was followed by a swim in the pool ... for me and Chris! Infinity pool, wonderful views, cool fruit drinks while in pool. Could life get any better?

I didn't make cocktail night - couldn't manage climb to top of resort again. One climb to pool bar area a day was quite enough for me :0{

28th February ... Bao, cockles and more rain!

Really lazy day. Nothing booked or planned so jetty bar, watching world go by and reading. More thunder and heavy rain but it was so refreshing. Local Mama's out cockle picking again. They can only do this on exceptionally low spring tides and exceptionally low they were! Matt and Alex went to meet the other 2 owners of Fundu - Alex' twin, Marcus and Ellis - who were arriving for a few days stay. So strange seeing the guys walking up the jetty with umbrellas ... woosies *lol*!

Jackie had a lesson in how to play  Bao from Hoffman ...

Tide was very high (although would go still higher over next few days).  We took a dip from the end of the jetty - wearing snorkels! Jackie ventured away from jetty - I stayed on steps but still saw plenty! Matt and Anie came to join us for a while.  After the rain in the morning it turned out beautiful. The sea was like glass. Amazing sight!

  Beautiful end to the day which was finished with another Swahili night.

Jackie went to hobnob - I went to  bed - *LOL!*

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Out & About ...

... with Dad! Yep, finally made trip out with Dad just for the hell of it - *lol*

Weather has been awful this week. We've had enough rain to nearly refill the pond which had lost about 4 inches in depth from evaporation in just over a week. It's now only about an inch down, which shows how much rain we've had since the weekend. Can't really complain though as it's been a while since we've had rain like that. Yesterday, however, was all change and it was glorious. Beautiful blue sky, bright sun and very little breeze ... ideal for a ride out!

We took the 'scenic' coast road off towards the east aiming to go to Beachy Head, have lunch and then come back. We diverted the long way around Seaford. The Newhaven to Dieppe (France) ferry had just left Newhaven so we went to Seaford Esplanade to watch it making it's way into the English Channel. I've only been on that route once. Might live close to Newhaven but it's worth the 2+ hour drive to Dover to take the ferry to France. It's only an hour on board from Dover to Calais, around 4 from Newhaven to Dieppe and can get mighty boring once mid-channel and nothing to see but sea - *LOL* Anyway, Dad wanted to see the ferry so see the ferry we did! Not sure he actually did see it too well - *lol* It was reasonably close to shore but don't think Dad was looking in the right place (it's difficult to tell with him sometimes - *lol*), although he did say he saw it ☺

We left Seaford behind and headed onto the A259 towards Cuckmere Haven and the Seven Sisters Country Park, past Friston Forest and East Dean village then up the hill to Eastbourne, taking the turning at the top of the hill towards Beachy Head. The views from this road and around this area are amazing and everywhere you look there are sheep! Dad hasn't been in this area for years but he remembers the sheep - *lol* After lunch we continued on a circular tour, stopping at suitable points to take photos and admire the view. We passed Belle Tout lighthouse, Birling Gap and drove into East Dean as Dad had never been to the village - passed by it on the main road but never been in. It's a lovely little, olde worlde, typical flint Sussex village which has changed very little over the years. Going back on the same coast road we arrived on gave us stunning views over the Cuckmere Haven estuary. Unfortunately there's nowhere on the road to stop to take photos of this amazing view - :0(

View of Eastbourne from Beachy Head Road


Belle Tout Lighthouse and views west to Seaford Head/Cuckmere Haven


Seven Sisters from Birling Gap towards Cuckmere Haven and beyond.
Just look at that sea! Like glass and yes, it was that colour as was the sky!


East Dean panorama (3 photos stitched together)



View Beachy Head trip in a larger map

Dad's reaction to his trip out? "We'll have to do it again sometime. Perhaps we can go to Tonbridge ...?" Tonbridge is just over county boundaries and is in Kent. It is where he was born and raised ...

On my way home from Dad's I took the opportunity to take more photographs but this time closer to home! Been after this one for a while - Roedean School - although it's still not from the angle I'd like. Opportunity for that one hasn't arisen yet due to busy coast road and roadworks *LOL*

Then I spotted this solitary yacht, making it's way to Brighton Marina I assumed, as it was nearly there.

And the weather today? It's grey, cold and miserable again. In fact it's raining but at least it waited for me to do the Post Office and bank run ☺


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The nearly after ...

Remember the nearly before? ... if not check here

Here's the nearly after - nearly because it's bare except for the rare tree in the middle of the paving. I think it's called 'black-rubber broom' - LOLOL! It's also nearly after because it's to be hosed down (recycled paving slabs) and the decking, which has been down for around 3 years, needs freshening up. OK, this is another stitched photo to make a panorama - 4 photo's this time.

Here's a view from the bottom looking up towards the house. Guess what it is that would have wound me up if it hadn't been put right - which it has now! What you can't see are the 2 sheds that are behind the raised car hardstanding. One is a 12'x10' - intended as a workshop for hubby but currently being used as a storeroom - and a 7'x7' one for the garden. There's also one of the big green & cream plastic stores between the sheds but, it's not a big garden compared to the one we left when we moved here - lol! - especially as we've lost about a third of it to the hardstanding, extension and ramps. You can just see one of the seagull parents sitting on the chimney.... which my 'craft room' (if it ever gets finished) goes around - and no, it's not the dormer.

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Sports day ...

... or perhaps that's more of 'have a go at different things' day - lol!! Weather was glorious Tuesday afternoon but a little cloud cover would have been welcome. There were a few competitive races although nobody was declared a winner. The main thing was that the little ones enjoyed it. Not sure of the full age range but there were a good few around 6 years old and at least one of nearly 33 - LOLOL! There were about 12 different activities and they got to do them all. Here's a few of them ....

Trike race ..........

.......... Sack race (I love this photo!)




Egg & spoon race..........
Well, that's what it should have been but by the time my little grand-daughter got to that rotation they'd run out of eggs so, it became a bean-bag on the head race instead - lol!!








.......... Obstacle course.


I decided to try a bit of video recording on my camera - having only just remembered that I could use it for video snatches as well as stills and, here's the result. The 33 year old child (well, he will be in 3 weeks time and is my youngest) is in the green and young grand-daughter is facing camera with hat on. The voice is the organiser of this particular game and is the school caretaker, who gets involved with every event the school holds - bless him!

I spent the afternoon, when there was nothing much going on, playing 'hunt the shade' as was very hot in the full sun - lol!! Now here's the anoraky bit - I know, it's getting boring now but it's my diary/ramblings and I like it and ... it's relevant to this post - lol!!

This is the view from the school field - looking west towards Brighton. Only 2 photo's stitched this time.

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Saddo here! ....

...... another photo stitched project. This time it's only 3 photo's stitched together. It's the view from my Dad's front garden in Woodingdean (check out where he's based from the map in the sidebar). Note the horses at the top of the field to both the left and right. Horses are kept in this huge field but are not always visible as there's still loads of it out of view to the left and right. Sometimes cows join them!! Photo's were taken on Tuesday when a lot of the country were suffering heavy rain and thunderstorms. It was forecast for us as well but never arrived. Same today .................. lol!

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I just luuurrrve ...

... this photo stitching software. OK, the panorama's aren't perfect as there is some 'ghosting' but then I'm taking the photo's standing in one spot and turning my body. Not the best way to try to take a series. Need to sort out a tripod to get it as near perfect as possible. Probably need a better camera as well but I like my little Casio point and shoot - lol!

I took the photo's for the panorama below - 5 in total - from the top end of the path/roadway (called Old Parish Lane, Woodingdean for anyone who's into Google Maps as much as I am) leading to the school I attended at primary level (4 to 11 years of age) and which my youngest school-age grand-daughter now goes to. I was on my way to her sports day yesterday. It is also just over the road from where fellow imag-e-nationer, Joyce, lives. Unfortunately Old Parish Lane (which is 90% farm track and goes between Ovingdean and Woodingdean - and the bushes at top of this photo are bordering it) is also well known in the Brighton area as the lane in which band-leader Ken Lyon's son was murdered back in 1967. His killer/s has never been found. (Click here for an article from the local paper's archives or here for a more recent article in The Guardian)

To the left, in the dip between fields and housing, is the main road from Rottingdean to Falmer and the bypass. The houses make up the southern part of the village estates and I live right down near where the smoke is in middle of picture. The sea is obvious, in the distance, which is roughly 3 miles from where I live and you can see why we (that is the whole village) get lovely aroma's occasionally - being surrounded by farmland ...... lol!

From this vantage point you can see 3 other villages/towns. Saltdean, to the left and, in a larger view, a crane can be seen. This is where Butlins used to have an hotel - called The Ocean Hotel - but it closed down a few years ago and is now luxury flats. In the middle is Rottingdean, a quaint, old smuggling village - very olde worlde - (big white building is flats right on the sea) and is also famous for it's windmill which can be seen right on the brow of the hill. It overlooks the village and can be seen for some distance. To the right is Ovingdean and St Dunstan's, holiday home and rehab centre for blind ex-Service men and women. It's where I started Archery and where I met my hubby - and no, he's not blind but perhaps he should have been - LOL!! I used to be a voluntary escort for a while here. A few hundred yards along the coast road from St Dunstan's is Roedean School, the very famous private girls school (would probably be in view if it wasn't for the bushes on the right - lol!).

Here's a Google Map to show where I took photo's from and showing the places mentioned. OK, so I'm being an anorak now but I just love maps and I think I'm finding an interest in another 'craft' - lol!!

View Larger Map

If anyone, after clicking on the photo to enlarge, would like an even larger copy (if you're as sad as me you might do - lol!) just leave a comment and ask for one but I'll need some contact details....

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What a great ...

... weekend and over all too soon. Could easily have stayed a few more days - :o)). Brilliant views, good weather and totally chilled. It was soooo peaceful. Nephew, who works there, was given time off from when we arrived on the Friday until 10pm on the Saturday which meant he could spend a fair bit of time with us but we still got to see him performing, which was great. I had my full body massage and a facial and it was wonderful, especially as we did get a discount as well - BONUS!! Me & sister-in-law (who had a full body while I had my facial) have decided that we could definitely be ladies who do .... we just need the men who can - LOLOL! We did a couple of local trips .... to Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth, but nothing too strenuous and ..... s-i-l and me managed to empty 3 bottles of white grape juice between us on Friday night - lol!! It went down very nicely with the Chinese take-away ..... and I stuck to the J20's for the rest of the break with the exception of my last drink Sunday evening!

I took a good few photo's of the view from the caravan and I've been playing with a trial version of a photo stitching program to join some of the view photo's together.

This, above, is the result of one play (click on it to enlarge) ..... It looks very cloudy but it wasn't really. The clouds were moving so ended up in each frame! The front of the veranda looks curved because the view is taken from both sides of the van and the front so the prog has to curve what should be straight, to get the whole image in. May try playing with other formats though - lol!

Here's a piccie of (l to r) sis-in-law, eldest nephew (Naughty Ned), youngest nephew, Bradley Bear & me (urgh!) ...

... my 'little' bro (he wishes - lol!)

... and here's a couple of pics of eldest nephew performing (sorry, photo's are rubbish - too far from stage for my little camera's flash - lol!) He's far right in bottom photo and the middle in the top one.


Below he's Rory the Tiger with (l-r) Greedy, Naughty Ned, Anxious, Polly and Bradley - :o))








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