Rachel and the Big Kahuna

Last weekend the school gang and the Embassy gang went on a five and a half hour road trip up North to Playa Venao, on the Pacific side.  We left after work, and mainly drove in the dark.  Ariel's directions to us in Ben's car were, 'Just go straight'.  We followed these instructions until we got to the end of a dead end.  With each new instruction from the locals in each town we were told 'Turn right and just go straight.'  Our favourite game in the car was 'Spot the ratty', where on the dirt track we eagerly scoured the small area, in the pitch black, lit by the headlights, for the beady little eyes of rats on the roadside.  They are actually agoutis.

The hostel was really nice and rustic.  There was only cold water, and bugs aplenty in the toilets, but Shan and I had our little dorm, 'Seduction', to ourselves. 

Pancakes for breakfast called at the little hotel on the beach, two minutes from our hostel.  And we sat with our pineapple smoothies in the open air restaurant watching the surfers, and pinpointing who I might need to give a few little tactful hints to. 


We all hired boards and headed out to the waves.  I showed them who was master, and did a few little warm up tricks, before paddling out to the Big Kahuna, which I surfed on for a couple of hours or so before reaching the shore, where all the other surfers were cheering.  An awkward reception for someone as modest as myself.

Although the beach didn't have white or black sand, it had a really beautiful, magical feel about it.

Over dinner we made a horror film using Shan's video on her camera and in the evening we played games, including 'Hunt the Giant Toads'. 

I received a nasty injury when trying to pick one up. 

Ariel then said they could be poisonous and might start frothing white foam.  But they seemed friendly enough. 

Some of the group had brought fancy dress things for the evening, and there was a D.J. who liked to only play dance music, and pretended not to be able to speak English when I asked for Jackson 5.  The dance floor was out in the open air, and they set off fireworks and Chinese lanterns.

Here is Shan and Natalie with me.






 Here is Ben, Ariel and Natalie, who work at the British Embassy.  They are all lovely, and we usually do things with them at weekends and things.





The next day we played beach games and swam, which was really fun. 

Then it was time to go home.

And that was that.

Can you smell what I smell?

Yes, it's a burning building.  A burning building next door but one to my building!  You may think I took this photo immediately.  Actually I took it twenty four hours later, from my smokey flat.  The night before this was taken, I was meeting my friend Natalie, who lives right next door to this burning building, on the other side.  There were fire engines, and hoses, and loads of people stood right next to the burning building.  I was also allowed to just amble past, letting my clothes collect the smoke.  I went up to Natalie's flat and told her it was probably best not to have that glass of wine in the flat but head straight out.  I encouraged her to collect a few special possessions and we left.  I thought about crawling with a damp scarf stuffed in my mouth, and I suggested this to Natalie.  She thought it perhaps a little unnecessary, so we just walked normally and used the lift.  Fire or no fire, she lives on the 54th floor, and that's a long way to walk down stairs.  We got to the bottom where there was loads and loads of smoke billowing from the other side of the building.  There was a few people outside.  We asked one man if he spoke English.  He did, and Natalie asked him if it was safe.   The man said "Sure it's safe round here, there are bars and restaurants, and you can walk around".  Natalie said "I meant the burning building".  "Oh" And he looked around until he caught sight of the smoke pouring out.  "Well I hear you can get parachutes now for if you live high up, because the fire men can't get up to the high floors..I actually know the person who sells them here."

We went on to have Sushi.  My first ever, and now my last ever.

Natalie and Ben were evacuated from their building, the following morning.  But the fire has now been put out. 

We just have to worry whether it will topple down now...

Do you hear what I hear?