Up for a slow start and breakfast at home, then the challenge of finding a coffee shop somewhere for a good coffee.... Need to find one for our morning wakeup. We head off anti clock wise and everything is shut - its 9AM. Through Muri township, shut - through main town ship, shut - OK guess we go to one of the better big hotels and we head to the flash looking "Raratongan".
Lovely foyer, heading to the beach and it gets tired looking and shabbier as we get to the beach. We sit on the deck and have a very average black coffee while the residence feed the fish from the deck and smoke a cigarette with the kids yelling in the pool area. Not for us.
Right, there must be a decent shop somewhere - we head clockwise back the way we came it is now 10AM, and town is not opening at all. We get to Muri township and low and behold 2 coffee shops are open and we go into LBV (no idea what it stands for), cappuccino and piccolo later we are very happy and impressed. WE FOUND IT, it is not as good as Tai's of Stockton but very close.
Now we can snorkel - it is cloudy and windy and raining occasionally but not cold. Bert goes for a snorkel and I go for a swim in the shallows. There is plenty of fish right off the beach - dinner plate size rainbow parrot fish, striped smaller fish and some lovely light blue snapper type fish all around my feet. Bert says the reef further out is pretty damaged but there is plenty of wild life there. We see two glass bottom boats trailing snorkelling tourists further out - guess that is how it is damaged either the boats or novice snorkelled.
Now to lunch, we decided on The Mooring Cafe, near Captain Moko fishing charters. Wow, double wow. Bert had raw tuna and tonnes of it with fresh salad, salsa and some chips NZ$19 and fresh coconut juice. I had mahi mahi, salad and chips... same price and very clean, tidy and friendly. We will be back here...
Home for a nap and some blog writing, then we plan on another visit to LBV for coffee and wait for the 5pm night market to open at 5pm.
Watch this space and I will let you know what the evening holds..
We went to LBV for coffee and it was very good, again, then across the road (almost) was the Muri Night Market and it is all food, excellent fare at a great price. Bert went healthy with Lentils, Quinoa Salad and Taro/beetroot salad, and I had the Thai Beef salad - cooked while I waited.
The highlight of the evening is the police stop on the way home. The lady police stopped us and asked Bert if he had been drinking, he said no - she replied "excellent thank you" and let us go... no breathe test or licence check at all.
Home and it is raining hard outside.
We had a great day!!!!
