The day looked overcast but we took a chance to go to another local beach,this time going straight to the Tamarina Hotel which lies at the end of the bay from La Preneuse beach we went to the other day. Sitting on the recliners under the shade of the coconut trees we enjoyed a cooling beer envious of the catamaran mooring in front of us and watching the surfers and water skiers until the heavens opened. It was time for lunch conveniently under cover as the rain pelted down. On our way back to the car we noticed a wasp nest and a colony of bird nests on the treetops. The tallest palm tree we saw was in fact a disguised mobile phone tower.
On our way back we stopped off to pick up the turkey and fresh veg for the big day but balked at paying £7 for a pound of pathetic looking parsnips but they did have a few sprouts but we declined to impose our culinary whims on our guests . However we did succumb to the wherewithal of pigs in blankets as a special request from Angharad for whom pork is normally a forbidden luxury in Qatar.
In the evening we went to the Sugar Beach hotel in the improbably named village of Flic en Flac where Kamil had run the tennis coaching for 7 years. There was a candlelit carol recital from 2 members of the National Opera on the beach which put us into the Christmas spirit as this was the first time in over a decade that we hadn't been to Winchester to watch the County Youth Band play. There was a special buffet laid on and sprouts were on the menu. Two happy women!
The manager told us that the last couple of days had been hell in the hotel as the rain had cooped up all the clientele and they had over a hundred children. Everyone was getting stir crazy as there is nothing else to do here than go to the beach. The majority of the tourists were from uk and then France who appeared to have come for Christmas whereas the Outrigger hotel we went to on Saturday was full the week after Christmas with people who were coming south for some sun after Christmas at home. The cinema is not really an option for many because as Mauritius is a francophone country the films are all in French.