Wednesday: Relaxing in Noumea

I didn't really do much on Wednesday, and it was quite nice! I've had a bit of a cold, and have been catching up on my sleep, and it was nice just to have a day to do a lot of nothing.

In the morning I delivered some late homework to one of the kids on the Canadian climbing team. Her mom had emailed it me, and I got it printed off at my hotel front desk and then walked it over to the Hilton down the street. I'm sure the girl will be delighted to receive it!

I went for a walk along Palm Beach, with its view of Ile aux Canards (Duck Island) just off the coast, down to the point at Rocher a la Voile that separates Palm Beach from Baie des Citrons (it is sort of a lemon-shaped bay). I had a delicious and very filling lunch of swordfish steak with risotto, accompanied by warm, fresh bread, then walked back, stopping to sit by the beach for a while. It was a nice warm sunny day.

Back at the hotel I relaxed by the pool, reading, and chatting with a teacher who had a group of kids from New Zealand here for "French Camp". They had finished their 3 hours of French class for the day, and were splashing around in the pool.

I found a Thai restaurant in front of the Hilton and had a delicious dinner of chicken with red curry along with a local beer (which as I had guessed, tasted pretty much like Lowenbrou; not bad, but nothing special). On my walk back to my hotel I passed by the Canadian climbing team, getting up from dinner at the restaurant I ate at last night. As I walked through the hotel pool area on my way to my room, I stopped to watch a native dance performance that was being put on for those dining at the hotel restaurant. It looked part Hawaiian, part belly-dancing, and had a bit in common with some of the Hakas I had seen in New Zealand.