Cocoa Island Sandcastle
Duncan Hancox, Client.
Cocoa Island is not the ideal place to build sandcastles. There are several hurdles to overcome. We faced these in our first few days on the tiny sand- and palm tree-covered island, having been whisked there in a speed boat from right outside the airport. As soon as we set foot on the beach, welcomed by smiling faces and fresh coconuts to slurp down, it was obvious that the shallowly inclined beach and thick sand represented an ideal sandcastle building opportunity.
However, over the next few days, we quickly realised that our task would be a tough one. Living in our dhoni, accessible only by a jetty jutting out from the beach, the sounds of the water lapping at the stilts that held it stable in the water were all we could hear. Parting the curtains and looking out onto the decking at the back, all we could see were sapphire blue waters, and the horizon...next stop India, over a thousand miles away.
No clocks could be found anywhere in the rooms - time was irrelevant, and we could do whatever we wanted, whenever we felt like it. The tranquil pace of life was only interrupted by dive trips out to nearby reefs, where the sight of a turtle gracefully ambling past represented the most frantic point of a day that seemed unimaginable and unrecognisable to the mind that left London days before.
