WEDNESDAY 16TH FEBRUARY

Waking up to rain in this tropical paradise was horrible but luckily it cleared and we all set off on an hours trek to North Beach where we were going to try and fish for dinner. It was a fun walk past dramatic crashing waves and small rocky islands, through swamps and onto some even lovlier golden beaches. Tom went out fishing with his spear and Ivars went with some serious dedication and a hand line but they were both unlucky and only got one small fish each. myself and casey meanwhile went hunting for coconuts and we all spent a good few hours trying to get into the protective shell - god knows how monkeys do it with no knives! However, I did one all by myself and there was enough meet to feed all four of us for lunch. yum yum.

The sea was quite rough though with some big waves crashing offshore and a very string current that was hard to swim against, I struggled to even stand in it! It was an awesome day and we came back late in the afternoon sunburnt but happy for cold showers and another night in the bar. the evening was slightly more sedate (slightly) and we ended up playing board games with some swedes and norweigans - very very funny. I love this place, great people, great food, great beaches, the only problem is that all this sun is melting my brain...

THURSDAY 17TH FEBRUARY

Dragging myself out of bed this morning was so hard after last night, but I managed and we went down to the mariner to try and fish again as there are some huge red snappers hanging about. unfortunately the fish are spoilt with food waste being dumped into the sea so they werent biting. wed probably have had better luck with a net! Still, we got to see a boa constrictor who we called balboa (cute...) that was sat out of the back of the hostel room, he was a big boy at about 7 foot.

Most of the day was spent chilling but we did go down to the beach to body surf in the waves and we saw a pair of pelicans dive bombing and catching fish perfectly in time with each other.

FRIDAY 18TH FEBRUARY

The plan was to head to wizard beach at the north of the island which is meant to be the most beautiful but the weather was looking a bit ominous and there was some serious grey clouds coming in so we head into the forest to search for some red frogs which were so tiny and cute and it was just in time before the heavens opened and we had to race back to the hostel. It did clear a bit later so we did a bit of body surfing and had lunch at the beach bar listening to some reggie in the sun. the mariner was holding a party that night so we got all dressed up, landed ourselves some invites and set off for free booze and free food which was soooo good! We, including myself, made the most of the free rum and partied hard until the wee small hours of the morning. I could give a break down of the night but I think I might save those stories for later... either way, my head is hurting a little bit this morning and i feel kinda sorry for myself but chuffed at the same time. My luck is definitely changing, especially professionally. woop woop!