Woke up late – very late. Firstly my cell phone told me that it was Chrismas Day and then the cleaning man arrived – told him to come back later. Then the washing man phoned about our clothes, then the cleaning man came back. Finally we all got up! We made breakfast in the second room and got given my Rada. We relaxed – first on the veranda, then on the beach for the rest of the morning and early afternoon then returned for some lunch. We also arranged our snorkelling trip set for Thursday. Short sleep after luch (around 5pm) then went to see the aqua water park attached to the other, smarter side of the resort, then we used the internet for half an hour.
We headed for town at around 7pm and after a short while found a suitable venue (El Ramadan) for supper. Prices were around 25LE. Three of us chose the lamb and Fiona had a vegetarian dish. We also ordered a stuffed pigeon as none of us had tried it before – and we get a lot of pigeons in Cape Town. The meal started with soup – fairly thin and tasteless but improved with added lime, sald and pepoper. We were then given a mezze of panes with two types of dip and a small salad. The main meal came in 3 pottery bowls each with a different variety of lamb stew. One with potatoes, one with peas and other vegies and the 3rd with baby marrows. Fiona had rice wrapped in cabbage (it tasted better than it sounds!) We each got a fairly large plate of rice. Then the roasted pigeon arrived. 
The stews were excellent and with all the other food, very filling. We were we satisfied (which is quite an achievement for our family) and ready to head back. We caught a minicab outside the restaurant on the main road and he dropped us a little further away than usual (after we realized that he had gone too far). We walked along the tourist mile, past the camels dressed as Father Christmas and then came home for rummy in one room and finished off with whisky in the other. A most enjoyable – if somewhat different – Christmas Day.
