Amazing day today. Obviously the weather was picture perfect, 33C and cloudless.

We met Stuart and Fi for breakfast at the Seaview Hotel at 9am. Quite nice egg dishes on toast till i noticed major mould patches on the toast…. they were so apologetic…

Tuk’d to Galgibag – Turtle Beach – and gathered our gang at the rocks lagoon side. I’d booked a lunch table for 10 at Santosh on arrival and asked him to put 4 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge for 2pm. 

Of course the beach was just idyllic as usual. Alice and Phil, who’d we’d met the night before at dinner – Pamela and Eddie had met them on the train from Mumbai – joined us. This is how friend making happens in India . Plus Johnny and Marion, now firm friends from last year at Sea Front.

We had about 3 hours of swims in both the sea and the lagoon. Just lovely. There were some guys spearfishing who caught some good sized fish on the tide. It was very hot and there’s no shade on the sand. It’s a turtle beach. No umbrellas or loungers obviously. Some good sized protected turtle nests this year with hundreds of eggs between them.

Came up for lunch about 1345 and it was fab. Rawa oysters, calamari and prawns suki. Some lucky people had the fresh crab with garlic butter sauce. All at a fraction of UK prices and all utterly amazing and perfectly cooked. Plus of course the wonderfully cold white wine.

Our tuks came back for us at 4pm and we returned to Eve’s and frankly slept till 7. Then dashed down to Sea Front for our farewell dinner with Gigi. So sad to see her go – far too soon.

Palak Paneer for me. Lovely rather boozy evening on the beach, continued back at Eve’s. Just a fabulous day spent in great weather with lovely people, eating and drinking so well at a pauper’s price.