Day Thirty - 20/12/25
After the big day out on the boat yesterday, today was always going to be a slower one. I skipped the morning run and took the sleep-in instead, which was well overdue. The kids found Rosie again (honestly, she’s everywhere), and then we all headed down to breakfast together.
Breakfast was another let-down. The original cook still isn’t back, the coffee was bad again, and the food just hasn’t been the same. We ate what we could, then decided to walk down to a local spot to grab decent coffees and some fresh juices for the kids. Much better.
As part of the hub program, the day had a learning focus around plastic pollution in South-East Asia and its impact on the environment. That flowed straight into a beach clean-up. Everyone gathered and headed down to a beautiful local beach. In just one hour, with around 20–30 people, we filled 13 large garbage bags with rubbish.
It was confronting, but also really grounding. When you first arrive in this part of the world, the amount of plastic is shocking. After a few weeks, you almost become immune to it, which is probably how locals feel day to day. Coming from Australia, where things are generally pretty clean, it really stands out. It felt genuinely good to do something practical and leave the beach better than we found it, even if only for an hour.
After the clean-up, we moved next door to a restaurant right on the water for lunch. The kids swam, climbed on rocks, and one of the boys even tried his luck fishing. Kia and I sat there with a beer, watching the kids play, totally relaxed. We stayed for hours. It was one of those rare moments where everything just feels easy.
By mid-afternoon we headed back to the resort. The kids went straight back to playing with their friends and swimming, while Kia and I hung around chatting with everyone. It honestly felt like a backyard barbecue at home…minus the barbecue. Just people sitting around, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company.
Because lunch was late, the kids weren’t very hungry, and this being the last official night of the hub, everyone gathered in the common area for a breakup night. Tonight was karaoke night.
It was brilliant.
Maddie and I sang “Horses”
All the mums got up and smashed “Wannabe”
All the dads belted out “Wonderwall”
Other families did duets and group songs
The kids absolutely owned the stage
It was one of those nights where everyone let their guard down a bit, had a laugh, and let the kids shine. We ducked out around 9:30–10pm, but plenty of people kept going, and there were definitely a few sore heads the next morning.
All up, another fantastic day. Huge gratitude to Daniela and Fernando for putting together such an amazing two weeks. What they’ve created here is really special. Hopefully we’ll cross paths again later in the year when we’re in Spain.
A simple day on paper, but one we’ll remember for a long time.