What a great time to fly! Thursday, mid night flight, early September when the kids are in school.

Empty airport! And we only had carry on bags so no need to dumb our bags and go through that palarva. No one at security either!

Straight through to duty free, champagne bought for the Monday antics. (Not ready to say the number but it's my birthday) not sure if you knew?

We went to the pub of course and had my first beer in 3 and half weeks, wasn't sure how it would go down with the cocktail of medication I had in my system but I guess it would work as a night nurse for the plane.

In fact it did, boarded the little plane with the paper thin seats and little to no leg room. This was a treat for Jemma travelling in the sardine can and peasant class. She's usually a first class snob. Haha.

We managed to sleep the entire flight, got woken up and asked if I wanted veggie or chicken - no I do not please leave me be.

The Indian man next to me had hair in his ears so long they were almost tickling my shoulder. Yuck.

The plane was also a sweat box bloody boiling in there.

Got bused to the shack of an airport didn't realise that we needed a Visa to enter this was going to be fun we had to fill out all the paperwork so this took time annoyed because we could've done it over the Internet before we arrived my fault didn't check that one I'm slacking on this holiday. Anyways we filled out the two pieces of paper that had the exact same details on love to waste a few trees don't they! Waited in a huge queue to get a stamp then we had to go to another queue to pay $50 for the Visa then another Q to confirm the Visa then we were allowed through to the E gate which was ironic considering The whole process was in the dark ages before you got to E gate it's stood out a little bit. Then the security guard checked our passport for the stamp then we walked another 2 m and another man stopped us to check our passport again honestly getting into this country seemed very hard work we put our bags through the scanner and out we went to find the man holding the piece of paper with Jemma on.

It was like a dream it was raining how wonderful and it was even fresh clean air I know they said that rainwater is no longer safe to drink but I felt like I wanted to open my mouth and take a swig because it was lovely and fresh at least it felt like that the Sun wasn't up just yet and we headed off to Jambiani with our driver that will be with us for the next few days it was a good one and a half hours to Jambiani and I'm expecting it to be longer because everyone keeps telling me that the roads are super bad they clearly haven't been to India and driven a rickshaw on the rocky roads because they were fine! Well the main roads were the side streets were just sand and rocks, found that out when we got to the hotel roads but the hut is directly on the beach so it was expected.

On our way there we went through all the mango trees and past the street stalls made of rickety wood with questionable fruit and veg on them. Loads of papaya trees aswell!

1.5 hours down and we reached our destination, now we had reached the rocky roads down to the beach and through a little village. super early, they were expecting us so not too worried we would be locked outside. Lovely quaint little place, didn't realise it was also a chain of 3 hotels, one being next door but one with a tiny little swimming pool in it. Marvellous!

We got checked in and took up to our room(s), we were in the attic. Terrific for the numb foot and dodgy leg…

Two separate bedrooms with a little wooden bridge connecting the two rooms together. Jem was sent to the back one I had the front one looking over the sea.

In time for breakfast we sat in our sweat for a little on the varanda over looking the sea. Quite happy to sit around in own filth all day and bake in the sun over looking the aqua water, we fell asleep on the sun beds for an hour. Isn't it the best sleep on a sun bed in the sun?

We soon woke and decided to go into the sea, amongst the seaweed farms there were little trails we walked through them and out to the sandbank. I must have jinxed myself because I had only just said remember to look out for sea urchins and little miss seaweed farmer put her seaweed in my trail so I had to try and scooch around it only to loose my footing and step into a patch of seaweed and instantly felt down the outside of my left foot stinging and I knew straight away I'd stood on a sea urchin, got to the sandbank sat down to check. I did indeed have 3 or 4 black spikes in my foot and some puncture holes. I was lucky to have only stood on it on the side of my foot and quickly move it off, I also think it was a tiny baby one not with long big spikes. Jem tried gauging them out but no luck and my foot instantly started aching, I suppose it was a good thing that I could feel my foot slightly after the last two weeks?!

Hobbled back through the seaweed farms being super duper careful and got back up to the hotel, Francis the bar tender told me I was super unlucky because there aren't many out there… great, thanks hun!

He got some papaya seed which had the juice/milk on it and rubbed it on my foot he said this would help the splinter work it's way out. I had back up tools ready to gauge at it as we ironically both forgot to bring tweezers… so spikes shells it was!

I left it for a while and realised it was 12 o'clock! Beer time… the overly anticipated Kilamanjaro beer that I've heard everyone speaking so highly of. It went down beautifully and was pretty good. The safari beer was next and I think I preferred that one, nothing to do with it being stronger than the other in Acl % …

Time had come for Jemma to enjoy her 10 minutes of inflicting pain on me, she hadn't had chance to do this since she shoved her elbow in my arse cheek in June for a "physio massage".

She got the first one out fairly easy in the ball of my foot, where I have least feeling so I don't exactly how much damage she did with regards to gauging the skin out! Second one was a right little tinker, did not want out and it hurt. Like an annoying ingrown if hair that just won't flick out when you tweeze at it. I got in there and had a try and before long with a little bit of blood and slight pain we managed to get it out, wasn't until now I realised I had a fair few puncture holes and was actually very lucky to only have had to get those two out!

Well that of course caused for another beer and by now the tide had started to come in and was enjoying smashing against the wall and up over onto us and the beds, we were in the splash zone! But that didn't mean we moved… oh no! We are brits abroad we will stay and drink our beer on a sun bed whether it means getting soaking wet and cold by the sea. Haha!

We started chatting to a couple who were on there honeymoon, moving to the other hotel for sea view room. Then we headed upstairs from a sun break and an afternoon siesta, travelling through the night had done us in. We will sleep until 5:30… "I'll put the alarm on" … 7pm we woke up, not sure what happened to the alarm but we were shattered! A solid 4 hour nap haha. That's the age in us…

We forced ourselves to get ready and go out for dinner, restaurant called Pishi, I had lobster it was only tiny but delicious (no Boston Harbour Lobster) but it was only £5 so you can't go wrong.

We popped back to the sister hotel for a drink and got left to our own devices as they shut tab at 10:30pm, we didn't realise how late it was because we hadn't gone out until 8pm because of our over extended nap.

Never the less we were well rested and looking forward to the next few days in island Zanzibar!

Jambo!