A gentle start to 2009

It goes without saying that it is a late start. Everyone in the B&B is down for breakfast around 11, so some have to sit in the other room as there isn't enough space on the table. It is going to be a easy day, so on go the board shorts before Mandy & I jump on a bus to go to the beach at Vina. Another bright sunny day, so it is a case of hiring a brolly and just sitting and reading. The beach is busy but not heaving, but it does get busier as the afternoon drifts by. It is so easy to drift away into a light slumber . As I move my legs to keep them out of the uncomfortably hot sunlight I accidently kick a dog who has quietly sneaked in to use our brolly. Apart from one short stretch of his legs, the dog spends then next couple of hours keeping us company, which is fine until he passes wind!

It is interesting watching the locals on the beach. There is the usual mix of diferent types, families out playing, with the kids building sand castles. One kid is buried up to his head in sand then the others pour cold water on him, which is a bit cruel. This is something I have seen in the odd comedy but never in real life. Then there are the teenage girls out to sunbath, and the small group of lads out with their boogie boards. Maybe I am just getting old, but I don't see much use of sun tan lotion. We then get the bus back to our B&B and freshen up before walking down the hill into Conception again.

I use Mandy's camera to take some of the shots that I had taken a couple of days ago. We then are lucky enough to get a table with a view of the port area at The Brighton Hotel. It is easy to look down on the main square of the port area, where people are still clearing up from the celebrations. A friendly old waiter servers us trying to converse in very broken English. I try and respond in Spanish, but probably sound even worse to him than he does to me. At least we communicate and I get to have Hake, which is the local fish. Shame the wine isn't up to much. It is a slow and gentle walk back up the hill as the sun is slowly going down.

Back to the B&B where I settle down and watch the film Control, about Ian Curtis/Joy Division. Am well impressed by the performance of the new guy playing Curtis. Also good to see the story of JD's emergence, of which I only know snippets. It puts a fresh and broader complexion on my views of their songs.