Archive for September 22nd, 2008

22nd September
2008
written by bob

Sunday, September 14
Today we planned to rent a boat by ourselves and take it out on the lagoon to explore the island. However, it was too windy and the company wouldn’t rent any boats in these weather conditions. This probably ended up being a blessing in disguise since the boats we could rent only had 6-horsepower motors which wouldn’t get us too far in the wind. The company also had 15-hp motorboats BUT you had to hold a boat license in order to rent one! What? For a 15-hp motor, a license is required? Whatever.

Anyways, we decided to relax by the pool this morning to see whether the wind would die down in the afternoon. Not so much…now what? Well, remember Avis? They rent bikes and we caught the ferry over to Vaitape and choose to rent bikes for a ride to Matira Point Beach. Once at Avis we discovered they didn’t have any bicycles left to rent. Damn! As we contemplated renting a car, our friends, Tim & Alex rode up on 2 bikes that they were turning in for the day and told us we could have these. Sweet! After filling out the paperwork for the bikes and paying $14 FPC each ($28) we were on our way. Our bikes were cruiser-like bikes; comfortable but only one speed and had the old brakes where you push the pedals backwards and the brakes are applied. Remember those style brakes? I’m not sure I have seen those since my childhood especially since I ride mountain bikes now.

Our adventure took us south along the only road around the island. We saw lots of little restaurants during our tour and passed the world famous Bloody Mary’s again. We went to stop in for a drink but soon discovered that they are only open during the dinner hours; so, on we went. We made to Matira Point Beach and looked around for a little while but all that biking created an appetite that needed feeding. We passed a small restaurant located right on a beach and decided to head back there for a bite to eat. It was worth noting that the sandwich I ordered contained a French bread bagette, hachis (ground meat), french fries, and BBQ sauce. That’s right…I said french fries. I thought it was kind of odd BUT it was delicious!! Now all fueled up and ready to race back to Avis before closing time and catch the ferry back to the resort.

Our combination of sun, wind, and bike riding lead us to call room service for dinner tonight. We were exhausted and decided food in our room while watching a couple DVDs we brought with us was in store. Dinner was pretty good. We order a pizza dish and a pasta dish. It was “dinner and a movie”!