November 16 – 25, 2002
Well, to paraphrase the song, it was just another nine days in paradise. I got a little burned (inside and out), got rained on a lot, and got a cold before leaving, but it was still a great trip.
I took the bus to Hedo, and totally forgot to time the trip. The new road is nice, though, and takes a lot of time off the ride. I shared the bus with four other couples all on their virgin trip, and filled them in a little bit on the ride. Through the week I kept in touch with the three couples that hung out on the nude side, and am pleased to say that they fit in well and will probably be repeaters.
My H-block room was typical except that there was no coffee maker in it. That’s not a problem, as I’ve never used the coffee maker, but was surprised to see it missing. Another surprise was that there was a beach towel on the dresser, and three or four more in the closet. I was sharing the room with another single so didn’t know if the towels in the closet were his, but through my stay a new beach towel appeared on my bed about every other day. A very nice touch in my opinion.
There was a significant amount of rain during my stay. Only one day out of nine was totally dry, and at least one had a few long showers. I learned from other guests that the weather had been exceptionally rainy for quite a while. The sea was rougher than I’d ever seen it during much of the week. I usually like to take a kayak out on some mornings, but the waves usually made this impossible or impractical. The rain also showed that there is still a problem with the tiles near the fitness center being slippery, even though they have put down some skid-proof material.
There were a couple of improvements in the dining room. They put leg extensions on the dining room chairs, so that your chin isn’t in your plate while eating now. Also, the dance floor, which last year had been plywood, was now hardwood flooring and looked great.
While I was there, they were knocking out a wall between the boutique and sundries shop. I also noticed workmen one day putting a clear plastic “wall” on the railing around the skating rink, so apparently they haven’t given up on that yet.
I got to try the water slide a few times. It was more fun than I thought it would be, and it would be nice if the slide were open more hours. And I get to go on the slide again in only 334 days…