Down the cliff where the villa is perched, there is a flight of stone steps leading down to the water. A bit further up the bay is the main Coral Bay beach, but we have our own little haven right here, a partly secluded piece of beach that we can access within minutes. Other people have found it too - it's not like it belongs to our villa only - but it's nowhere near as crowded as the main beach.

On the main beach there are all kinds of water sports, as alternatives to the more standard activities sunning and splashing about. One can paraglide, jet ski, water ski, scuba dive, or get tossed about in a 'banana boat' (long inflated tube with handles and footrests) or 'dough nut' (oversized inner tyre with handles and a floor) pulled by a motor boat. A bunch of us have a go at the banana boat - it needs a few people to fill it. I get thrown into the waves twice. My arms are too weak and the straps on my life jacket are caught on the handles and I don't feel too graceful when I clamber up to straddle the thing again.