Libya - 5 October 2010 (2)

Villa Sileen

While people were eating lunch, Ruth announced that we were to have a special treat.  Apparently Ali had arranged for us to visit a Roman villa and this would be followed by a trip to a nearby resort so we could sit near to the sea.  She did not plan to go back to the hotel first, but then she realised she would have to get her swimsuit so she changed her mind.

Back at the hotel, there were no keys to our rooms in reception as the cleaners were still busy.  Our room was locked, but we found the keys after a bit of searching.

Mosaic in Villa Sileen

Then it was back on the bus to head to the Roman Villa – the Villa Sileen.  This was famous for its mosaics.  There were some good ones with storks and crocodiles.  The curator took us to see some mosaics in a side room.  There were no lights and, coming in from the bright sunshine, I could see nothing at all.  Ruth tried to use her mobile phone to light them up, but it made little difference.

Peristylium of Villa Sileen

The villa had a suite of bathrooms at the back, so there must have been quite a large family living there.  There were certainly enough bedrooms.

Baths in Villa Sileen

Then Mahmoud took Ruth aside and suggested that we just went to the beach next to the villa instead of heading to the resort, which was probably shut.  So we got back onto the bus and drove to the beach.  I refused point blank to get off as there would be nowhere decent to sit.  I won the battle of wills with Ruth, especially as Darak, our driver, was also unwilling to leave the bus.  Kim and Sue soon came back as they did not want to sit on the sand and the best shade was beside the bus.  They sat on the rock outside and we chatted through the window.  Sue decided to join me on the bus and we had a really good chat.  She cares about all animals, not just cats, so we agree on a lot of things.

Fishing near Villa Sileen

Werner had left his clothes under a rock and we saw him striding purposely towards the sea “as if in search of Malta”.  The others stood around in the sea like little floating corks.  Werner was the first back and had a long conversation with Kim about cars.  Sue and I both noticed that he seemed to hear quite well even though he did not have his hearing aids.  He had been suffering through much of the tour because he had no spare batteries and both his hearing aids had stopped working.  Perhaps he coped better in a one to one conversation or perhaps Kim’s voice was easier for him to follow.