Jan 01

Happy New Years!
So the day dawned beautifully as it always does in Punta, and after sleeping until about 2:30pm the boys came around and Riki and I showed our gratitude to them by cooking them french toast with dulce de leche, yoghurt, fruit salad and champagne and orange juice. We then walked to Conrad Jupiters and enjoyed the aircon while sipping a fruitshake, and the boys organised some dune buggies, nicely named 'Raptor'. With a maximum speed of 60km/h we ripped it up along the main street. Upon returning to the hostel we decided that the New Year had infact not been started off as it ought to and treated ourselves to our ´FIRST´ ice cream of 2007 resolutionally sharing the ice cream of super dulce, mora, and coco marmolado. A nap, a read and a preen later we headed out the door to meet up with the boys and eat at a place called ´Los Negros´. After a mammoth taxi ride out along the coast with the sun going down on one side and the full moon above us I didn´t think it was going to get much better but I was sorely mistaken. The restaurant is set on its own beach with a a view down the coast on the one side and a conveniently perfect lighthouse on the other side. The moon made the perfect side order and I would be lying if it was not one of the most beautiful and perfect little settings in my life. It is basically a house on the beach turned restaurant with big wooden furniture, heavy creamy white linen and red and white striped canopies. Naturally set to serve people eating outside, the kitchen is little but the smells and the serving style....to die for. As with all good things there is a price and I think Beanie's face when she looked at the menu can only be described as priceless. Jars of white sangria whetted our appetites and we ended up sharing various plates between four such as a wood oven pizza, aubergine slivers with bread crumbs, fig pulp and goats cheese and a zuccini sliver 'dance' of mint, lemon and parmesan as a starter. For mains we did the seafood tin box- prawns, baby lobsters, scallops, various squidbits and a heavenly lemon flavouring. Bean risked a bit or two...tentatively trying the frutos del mar, and sharing the steak with the boys.....the bill is another day's story and as we both concurred this morning the overall price was not ridiculous but as backpackers LUDICROUS. $117 nz per person- now before parents want to shoot us...we were kindly treated to dinner and no we were not required to sell any bodyparts or work in the kitchen. We taxied home or rather I slept and we continued that trend. Tummy full , eyes shut.

P.S when and if we ever get married, note this down as the address for the receptions!!!