Later in the afternoon I got bored of sitting around and decided to go and check out one of the beaches that is further up the coast from where we are staying. For some strange reason (although I imagine it is to do with the private hotel resorts) the coast road from Flic en Flac stops abruptly a few miles along the coast. So to progress around the west coast you have to go back up to the main road and then drive back down until the road brings you back onto the coast. It's this little drive that I embarked on by myself so taht I could visit Tamarin beach.
This was the first time I had driven this way and so the views were new to me and I drove down the road with my jaw dropped and head swiveling at the new landscape. I say new , it was still sugar cane and mountains but from a different angle! Lucky the road is fairly straight!!! After taking a wrong turn that took me into the Tamarin Beach and Hotel Resort (looks a bit posh!!) I got into Tamarin and turned right down a little side road that lead to the beach (thank you Google Maps once again!),
It was very busy. With not much space to park.
I managed to squeeze into a space at the end of the "car park" and jumped over the small fence and strutted through the younger, trendy looking tourists as they all turned to check me out, women and men alike.....(well I didn't do that at all as I'm still hobbling around with a bad leg but "limped through the pedestrian gap in the fence, stumbled and kicked sand everywhere as I navigated through the groups of hot tourists who were probably wondering what this dodgy looking old bloke was doing here and proceeded to try and cover themselves up from me" didn't have the same ring to it!)
It was busy today, probably to do with it being the Eid holiday, and there was definately a different type of people here compared to Flic en Flac. This was full of more surfer/"cool" types whereas Flic en Flac felt more family/local/Barry Island-ish. This was probably due to the fact that there were waves breaking on the beach here rather than half a mile out at the barrier reef. So I got stripped down (to my shorts!!!) and gracefully glided into the sea, diving like a dolphin into the first wave as it broke on me....... ;-) I'd borrowed a waterproof camera bag from a friend and decided to try and use it here. Not the best place considering how turbulent the water was!!!!
After about 20 minutes in the water it was time to head back as we were going to my Uncle Ahmed's house to see them on Eid. Got stuck trying to get out of the car park behind a bus but getting stuck in car park with a stunning beach on your right hand side, listening to some Kids in Glasshouses and Exit_International, and knowing you are going to be popping over to the family you haven't seen all your life for tea isn't so bad!
When we got to Uncle Ahmed's house everyone was in a good mood (no doubt to the fact they can now eat during the day!) and we were given some Vermicelli; a sweet, milky drink that contains nuts, raisins and vermicelli pasta. It was very nice (although I'd have prefered it without the raisins in!!!) and several people in the group had a second cup!!
While we were with the family I finally got to meet the uncle that I am named after; Uncle Sharif. I'd read my brothers description of him but I was not prepared for the whirlwind that I was greeted with!!! Smiling as he came in wearing his black and white checked scarf and rasta wooly hat, I couldn't help but beam back at him as I shook his hand. After some quick introductions and some broken English humour about being to remember my name at least he headed off with the promise of seeing more of us tomorrow at the family meal.
It was nice to have a relaxing day that wasn't spent rushing around trying to see things and also to celebrate Eid with my family, and finally meeting Uncle Sharif. I'm not religious, as you might be aware, but that doesn't mean you don't have to respect others who are and also enjoy some of the benefits. This celebration was an example of some of the good things in religion;families coming together and people helping people who aren't as well off as them.
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