Yesterday we strolled down to Marosi beach, about 30 minutes from the headland on which Nautil is located. The beach was empty, with large waves, and it didn’t take us long to understand why. It was infested with sandflies, thousands of them, despite the insect spray we had applied so liberally and continued to reapply. Today I have hundreds of bites on my arms and legs, everywhere that was not covered. They started out as small red dots that did not feel like anything much – impending doom, perhaps – but by the afternoon today they turned into small raised welts and began to itch extremely. Also, when I returned to the room after the New Year’s Eve dinner (ending at a very respectable time of around 10.30, I found a strange dark patch had appeared above my lips, looking for all the world like a moustache. This is, of course, quite distressing, more even than the sandflies, as I am worried it will remain. I really don’t understand what has caused it, and without the internet or easy access to a doctor all I can do is apply copious amounts of sunblock and hope that it disappears in time.
There was a remarkable sunset today. The number of such sunsets is now limited – the land between Nautil and the sea has been purchased for a resort and apparently the local people are very unhappy about not being consulted. The long green fields and forests rolling down from the Nautil will be built over, and the view of the sea will largely disappear.
New year’s day is a holiday and when the GF and his mother went for a walk to another beach they found a party underway, with hundreds of people celebrating. I stayed at the Nautil and managed some writing and a lot of reading (I will finish A Suitable Boy tomorrow) as I was itching and unwilling to expose the dark patch on my face to more sun than strictly necessary. A stream of local dignitaries and their families visited the resort, had tea and juice, chatted with the owners (the French Algerian and his local wife) while their children played in the pool.