The dark night is beginning to lighten and the sounds of a new day slowly bring you awake. Dogs barking, cockerels crowing, locals talking quietly in a language we do not understand.
The smell of wood smoke drifts into the open window. Soon the pots will be boiled, breakfast will be cooked and a new day will begin.
Later the sounds of scooters will be heard bringing huge slabs of ice for the shacks to cool the drinks.
The first of the shack boys are waiting for when the food starts to arrive. Fresh fish, prawns, chicken, eggs, huge bags of onions, peppers and chillies arrive on scooters and are rushed to the beach ready for the early breakfast brigade.
9am, on the way back from the beach are the early risers, they have seen the dolphins, and are now keen to have their breakfast.
The morning rush starts, usually couples arrive first heading for their favourite shack, followed by a bus load of sellers. You then hear their chatter as they decide how to split the beach up today.
By mid morning taxis are dropping latecomers off, more people are arriving by scooters and the whole beach is busy. Someone wants a lobster for lunch and Sunni is given the job of finding one.
Lunch is already being served when the late night lovers make their way down to the beach. They are swapping stories about how they enjoyed the previous night and why is the sun so bright.
Mid afternoon and while the dogs are asleep the cows slip by hoping to find a half eaten melon by their favourite sun bed.
Even while some people are making their way down to the beach some of the less hardy are returning, looking for a cool shower and quiet snooze before another energetic night.
The drink lorry arrives and shack boys can be seen converging from far and wide. Kingfisher, Kings, Coca cola, Pepsi, Mazza, Limca, water and numerous other crates of drinks are dispersed into the waiting shacks.
A huge box of fireworks arrives, where will the BBQ be tonight?
It is beginning to get cooler and the sun will soon be setting behind the boats on the horizon. More and more people are returning to their hotels, some brown, some still white and others a bright red. Will they be back tomorrow or is today their last night?
It's now dark and lights on the boats are shining in the distance, the music in the shacks can be heard and a few people are making their way down for the BBQ.
Suddenly a huge bang is heard followed moments later by the start of tonight's light show. What follows is a five minute spectacular of light and sound, then you hear what at first appears to be gunfire and you remember it's the firework finale when a whole box is set alight at once.
A few people drift by on their way home, the last of the scooters is fired up and heads off from the beach.
All is now quiet, left alone again to the sounds of insects, dogs and the odd cow.
Another day comes to an end.
There is only one question left where were we?
I really 'lived' that as i read it, ...... so amazingly realistic, well written steve by the way thanks a lot for the fab photos received successfully
I thought I was at Baga Beach. You summed up everything beautifully.
