18th September

After breakfast we walked up to the castle overlooking the town. It encompasses a large open area enclosed by ruined walls. Not very impressive apart from the magnificent views over the harbour. The British had been there but we don't know when or why. In the afternoon we took a tour to the south of the island and the beaches surrounding Lagana. We'd been told it was a bit like Blackpool but ten times worse. I quite like Blackpool but we drove through streets with bars, nightclubs and discount markets. The beaches and off lying bay are known as the breeding grounds for turtles. There are restrictions to boat traffic and anchoring. The speed limit of 6 knots was widely ignored. We set off on a glass bottomed boat. Very soon we found a solitary turtle which was instantly surrounded by half a dozen boats. Ours was in danger of capsize as everyone rushed to one side for a view. Overhead four seaplanes were circling, landing and picking up water to fly off, presumably to dump their load on areas at risk of fire. We then powered off to see some caves and ended up stranded for an hour on an island where turtles breed. There were none around but several boatloads of us gathered at the water's edge, bought snacks from floating cafes and waited to be picked up for the return journey. The day was rounded off by watching Vertigo, the Hitchcock film. Oh, and the immersion heater seems to have broken. Another for the list.