Trish
- 3 min read

You can’t beat that beach vibe

Yesterday we tootled off to La Ferme Beach for what turned out to be a lovely lazy lunch, all it was missing was Jimmy Buffett!

We went on a Saturday so we didn't have to deal with any kind of traffic which meant it was a quick 13 minute drive on black top roads.

I chose the seafood paella that also came with a whole lobster, oh boy! Even though it was only available in a serving size for two I ordered it anyway and it turned out there was enough to feed four people. I took home a huge to go box. It was absolutely delicious and cost US $18.00. Silly me didn't think to take a photo of the food.

The restaurant has a large bar and indoor dining room, if you want air conditioning, and an even larger under cover area outdoors if you want to be able to hear the gentle waves and feel the balmy sea breezes. Which of course we did.

Right beside the restaurant is the resort style pool that's rather popular with the expats.

I really did not want to leave but it's not bad going home to a beautiful pastel sunset like this.

Today we were out and about again, lunch at a not photo worthy dump of a Chinese restaurant where, much to the chagrin of Manny, the TV was on 'the Chinese propoganda' channel (as he called it) showing off all their war machines and weapons. Bit scary, I'm glad I had my back to the TV. And I don't think I've ever tasted such bland Chinese food. Would certainly NOT recommend this place and I have no clue what the name of it was, just two big Chinese characters. However, it's all part of the adventure of exploring and trying out new places, you don't know until you go.

Dinner tonight though, more than made up for the lunch experience. We went to a modern upscale boutique hotel called Galleria that is right on the ocean and out the back by the pool was a fabulous open air area with white lounges and dining.

This photo is of the inside bar and the pool with its pretty lights.

Service was extremely slow but ohhh the food was worth the wait.

My meal was totally scrumptious, fish brouchettes and plaintains and this time I remembered to take a photo of my plate.

For some reason none of the ATMs were working today and we were all running short on local currency. It's a cash society here with hardly anywhere taking credit cards. We thought we had enough cash on us but between the five of us we barely managed to scrape together the money for our meal.

On the way home the lights had changed on the tower so of course I had to get a shot of that

Freedom Tower in Bata all lit up in blue

My last, and best, days in Bata thanks to the arrival of my new running buddy, Heather. Now I'm looking forward to coming back.

And one final picture of the moon from Bata.

Has been a lovely weekend and now only two days to go before I head home. Thankfully I was able to change my return flight to Lufthansa so I don't have to face the risk of Air France's strikes causing delays or leaving me stranded.

Life is good!

Cheers,

Trish