El Andalous - Celebrations

Ocean Breeze, Sahl Hasheesh - Tom the Tortoise

The joy and sadness of living here as a permanent resident is that most people come over just for holidays, which means that you are just getting to know people when they go again. However, since people are owners, you tend to see them at regular intervals, so it’s a bit like a constant stream of friends coming (joy) and going (sadness).

Anyway, Mondays is a popular departures and arrivals day. I’d spent much of my last week exploring snorkelling areas in Sahl Hasheesh with Jack, Rosario, Jeff, and Nessi. Sometimes we were also joined by Kath and Tom or Ajay.

We finally made it back to the “dangerous” snorkelling area and this time I made it over the reef. It’s true, you have to breathe in and pray that you don’t scrape yourself on the corals and then suddenly it’s just a blue expanse of sea below you and a mountain of coral facing you. It is quite spectacular. Further exploration is required to see if there’s an easier way to get there.

We also went to the Tropitel pier, where I’d been last year. This is probably the best place for snorkelling. This time, before we went, we popped into Ocean Breeze to visit Tom, the resident tortoise of indeterminate age.

And then on another day we tried the “ramp” area where there are lots of bundles of coral just close to the shore. It’s a very easy swim and on low tide, you could probably see it all without even having to float on top of the water. I’m convinced I saw a barracuda.

Anyway, a week of this and then Jeff, Nessi, Jackster and Rosario all had to go home today. Consequently, I invited them and some other folk round for drinks and cupcakes (and burnt shortbread) on Sunday evening. It was partly because Jeff seemed to think I should have a year’s anniversary celebration (thank you Kathleen for the lovely card you made me!) and it was also, from my point of view, a chance to say goodbye / thank you / come and have a look at my flat to those about to leave. I'd had a meal with Safi on Friday to celebrate already (thank you, Safi!).

It was a lovely evening; Jac and Chris turned up and even Ajay popped his head in for a minute before he went for his Arabic lessons. Jackster, a professional musician, brought his guitar along and we were privileged to have him play a few of his songs for us as we all sat out on the balcony (it was a bit of a squeeze, but it worked out fine). I sat there counting my blessings thinking that this really is my ideal life (it was a shame Safi and Nicole didn’t come!). Thank you to everyone for making it work!

Although today is a sad day, with these four people leaving, there is also some joy because tonight Kathryn and Stephen arrive, so I can’t complain too loudly. It’s just nice to know that we have some great people here in El Andalous.

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PS. On an unrelated note, 25 New Year's Resolutions--for Cats! should be available by the end of this week, all going well. I should be offering it for free download on amazon on Saturday 18th October, so save the date and get yourself a free copy! Also watch out for my article in Your Cat magazine in the next few months.