Tropical Island Escape

Well here I am on a tropical island escaping the cold winter in my home town. Exotic vegetation and fauna abound. The food in my resort style accommodation is plentiful but it is only buffet service. The room is a little on the small side but it is adequate for my needs. Unfortunately there is no internet connection so I am bloging this on my laptop and uploading via a thumb drive when I chance to find an unguarded connected machine.

The weather is a bit cooler than I expected but the minimum shouldn’t drop below 20 C for the period I am here and the maximums are in the high 20’s. Rather a pleasant change from the first winter cold that has descended back on my turf.

Sadly my darling and son aren’t here to enjoy the facilities afforded to me but some how I don’t think they would be enjoying it as much as me. While the natural wonders of this location are many and varied the man made environment dominates and it is not really suited to family activities. In addition the local laws forbid entering many of the mangrove and beach areas. Having said that just this morning a huge bird appeared over the cliff that the outdoor bar is built upon. It was so big that as I first caught sight of it from the corner of my eye I thought it was someone on a hang glider.

Of course the only way to get here is by helicopter and that is always fun. Zooming over the reefs and other islands that form this archipelago. The heliport was just as chaotic as the last time I was here just over three years ago.

There were a couple of years when I was a real regular. The locals all knew my name and I knew quite a few of theirs. As you would expect the younger staff have a fairly high turnover rate but most of the old hands knew me. I even caught up with one of the guys I went to high school with.

Well It’s getting on for 9 pm and it is time for bed. I have to be up at 5:00 to get a chopper out to one of the nearby man made islands. I am lending a hand to the locals – something about commissioning a new oil export pump system.

And some people call it work!