The rooster woke me up at 1:30am. He also woke the dogs. I got up to go to the bathroom, and Chris did too. I think he was sick. Then the rooster was quiet. I don't know how someone shut him up. But he started back up before dawn, around 5:30. We got up at 6 to shower and dress. We ate breakfast in the upper diningroom because there weren't many people, but it filled up fast. We went back to our room to change into bathing suits. Michele put on sunscreen, I wore a t-shirt over my suit, and Chris went back to bed, definitely not feeling well. Michele and I got beach towels in the lobby and took a shuttle to Puka beach. What few people there were on the beach turned out to be vendors. Luckily most vendors here take 'no' for an answer. The waves were small and calm, clear as pool water. The tide was low and pulling to the right. I swam out a ways and back, while Michele lay on a towel in the shade as though she were sunbathing. I sat with Michele for awhile, playing in the sand, and burying my feet. The sand made my hands and feet so soft and smooth that I decided to rub some on my face. Then I walked down to the public beach section to buy a coconut. I thought she said 150 pp, but when I paid it, he gave me 100pp back.
I wish I had a video of him whacking off the bottom of the coconut with a machete, then hacking around the top to remove it (like a pumpkin top). Sipping the juice with a stray, I decided that it was the best (and cheapest) coconut so far. The lady in the next stall had gotten my attention with the coconut, so I looked at her shell jewelry. She explained the type of shells she used, the kinds and colors of pearls, etc. She was very informative. I had selected 5 to buy when I realized that the hotel van was coming for us in 5 minutes. I rushed through the transaction, and walked as fast as I could, but I was still 5 minutes late. Michele was upset when she found out because a hotel van had just been dropping off two other ladies and she thought we missed our ride. But then another van showed up for us, and all was well. Back at the lobby, Michele checked the towels in, and we went back to the room. Chris was still in bed. I found a spoon in the cabinet above the sink and ate the coconut meat. Then Michele and I went to the hotel restaurant for lunch, bringing along the mangoes purchased yesterday. When I ordered the mango salad, and they didn't have it, I produced the mangoes.
Still they refused, and their English was not good enough to explain why. Michele ordered the Pansit Luglug. She ate almost half, and I had a bit. We packed up the rest to take to Chris. But he was not hungry, so we put it in our room fridge. Michele went to the front desk to ask about horseback riding. They told her the coordinator was not in and that they would call her back at the room. So we sat watching TV in our room waiting for the call. We all fell asleep. No call. When I awoke, I went out on the porch and did Sudoku for several hours. I came in just before dark. I tried to join Chris and Michele in watching a movie on TV, but was drawn back outside by the sound of drums and marching bells. Mostly hidden by the trees, a line of people walked up the road. It had the feel of a conga line. I wondered if new people were joining in as it passed. We were told later that it was a celebration of the feast of Saint(somebody). When I came in, Michele wanted supper, so she and I went to the restaurant. On the way, we saw a pidgeon sitting on the railing outside our door. It wouldn't fly away, and had a # band on its leg. Michele petted its tail feathers, and it excreted. So we quickly left for the restaurant. She got the fruit platter, which, oddly enough, had mango on it. I got the fried pork with liver gravy and pickled papaya. We stopped at the front desk to ask about horseriding again. $25 for one hour of sitting on a horse, being led by a guide on foot. Not very exciting. We brought some food back for Chris, but he still wasn't hungry. The pigeon was still there, but no sign of geckozilla. We watched Animal Planet until bedtime.
The rooster woke me up at 1:30am. He also woke the dogs. I got up to go to the bathroom, and Chris did too. I think he was sick. Then the rooster was quiet. I don't know how someone shut him up. But he started back up before dawn, around 5:30. We got up at 6 to shower and dress. We ate breakfast in the upper diningroom because there weren't many people, but it filled up fast. We went back to our room to change into bathing suits. Michele put on sunscreen, I wore a t-shirt over my suit, and Chris went back to bed, definitely not feeling well. Michele and I got beach towels in the lobby and took a shuttle to Puka beach. What few people there were on the beach turned out to be vendors. Luckily most vendors here take 'no' for an answer. The waves were small and calm, clear as pool water. The tide was low and pulling to the right. I swam out a ways and back, while Michele lay on a towel in the shade as though she were sunbathing. I sat with Michele for awhile, playing in the sand, and burying my feet. The sand made my hands and feet so soft and smooth that I decided to rub some on my face. Then I walked down to the public beach section to buy a coconut. I thought she said 150 pp, but when I paid it, he gave me 100pp back.
I wish I had a video of him whacking off the bottom of the coconut with a machete, then hacking around the top to remove it (like a pumpkin top). Sipping the juice with a stray, I decided that it was the best (and cheapest) coconut so far. The lady in the next stall had gotten my attention with the coconut, so I looked at her shell jewelry. She explained the type of shells she used, the kinds and colors of pearls, etc. She was very informative. I had selected 5 to buy when I realized that the hotel van was coming for us in 5 minutes. I rushed through the transaction, and walked as fast as I could, but I was still 5 minutes late. Michele was upset when she found out because a hotel van had just been dropping off two other ladies and she thought we missed our ride. But then another van showed up for us, and all was well. Back at the lobby, Michele checked the towels in, and we went back to the room. Chris was still in bed. I found a spoon in the cabinet above the sink and ate the coconut meat. Then Michele and I went to the hotel restaurant for lunch, bringing along the mangoes purchased yesterday. When I ordered the mango salad, and they didn't have it, I produced the mangoes. 
Still they refused, and their English was not good enough to explain why. Michele ordered the Pansit Luglug. She ate almost half, and I had a bit. We packed up the rest to take to Chris. But he was not hungry, so we put it in our room fridge. Michele went to the front desk to ask about horseback riding. They told her the coordinator was not in and that they would call her back at the room. So we sat watching TV in our room waiting for the call. We all fell asleep. No call. When I awoke, I went out on the porch and did Sudoku for several hours. I came in just before dark. I tried to join Chris and Michele in watching a movie on TV, but was drawn back outside by the sound of drums and marching bells. Mostly hidden by the trees, a line of people walked up the road. It had the feel of a conga line. I wondered if new people were joining in as it passed. We were told later that it was a celebration of the feast of Saint(somebody). When I came in, Michele wanted supper, so she and I went to the restaurant. On the way, we saw a pidgeon sitting on the railing outside our door. It wouldn't fly away, and had a # band on its leg. Michele petted its tail feathers, and it excreted. So we quickly left for the restaurant. She got the fruit platter, which, oddly enough, had mango on it. I got the fried pork with liver gravy and pickled papaya. We stopped at the front desk to ask about horseriding again. $25 for one hour of sitting on a horse, being led by a guide on foot. Not very exciting. We brought some food back for Chris, but he still wasn't hungry. The pigeon was still there, but no sign of geckozilla. We watched Animal Planet until bedtime.
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