Today's report is brought to you by the letters T and F. T for Tree and F for Frogs and they are making an amazing racket at this time of night, high on the hill above Orient Bay.

Today was low key but not without a noticeable incident or two. I was awake well before 7AM and headed downhill, dodging the trucks that were pruning the palm trees and the many downed fronds, to hit the bakery in Orient Village --the same one Dave (of whom, more later) has been discussing in his reports. Off to Club O after breakfast and a morning chat with Chloë and Thierry and our fellow guests at Club Fantastico. The previous day's rain was still on our minds and the morning sky didn't look promising. Boy were we wrong! This was one of the hottest days we had on the beach and we took to the water long and often to keep cool and as a result, got a little more sun that we thought. I used to think that wisdom came with age but I'm still waiting for it to happen.

We ran into our beach friends and they were trying to exhaust their beer supply before Friday when they, like us, must leave. I did my bit to help but not too much because I'm conscious of the fact that I have to face harsh reality in a couple of days and I shouldn't make that transition to normality too difficult for myself.

So, sand, sand, snooze, snooze, bob, bob and then it was time for lunch. On our way to Ethnic, we decided to check if Luiz was around. We found him snoozing with his adorable one year old daughter. He woke up but she didn't and the Goddess was able to have her final hand fitting, with the accent very firmly on the word 'hand'. I think The Goddess has found her own deity and I think that we will be seeing Luiz again next year and I know for a fact that The Goddess's girlfriends are going to hear a couple of unbelievable stories when we get back home.

Lunch was at Ethnic and our waitress, Maria, recognized us from our 
previous visit and gave us a smiling welcome. We were both hungry and decided not to split a lunch but instead loaded up on protein and carbs. On the way back to Club O, going through the Pedro's part of the beach, I spotted this guy who looked vaguely familiar. Could that be Dave? Yes, it was. We said hi and exchanged pleasantries when... up popped Peggy! We kind of forgot about Dave and Diana, which was very rude of us -- sorry, guys -- and greeted Peggy like a long-lost friend, which she is kind of becoming. 

Back at our beach spot, it was back to sand, snooze, bob... you know how the song goes by now.

The afternoon wound to its end and we headed back uphill to Club Fantastico and then I went on to US Market for some more cheese and wine.  Picked up a nice 2007 Margaux and some Roquefort. Our plan was to finish off all our cheese pâté tonight. As it turned out, we had quite a spread and our fellow guests along with Chloë & Thierry ended up sharing in it with us. The other guests' dining plans went out the window and we all sat around the table eating and drinking and sharing travel and (bizarrely) wedding stories. Thierry made a wonderful banana flambé for us all and The Goddess and I ended the evening in CF's marvelous custom-built hot tub.

Tomorrow is our last full day here and I don't really want to think about what comes after that.